Berlin, May 19 -- Major energy drinks were collected from all six inhabited continents - spanning not just the world's major markets such as the USA, Germany, Japan, and China, but extending to every corner of the globe, from Nepal and Kenya to Mauritius, Chile, and New Zealand, among many others.

To ensure fair comparison, each brand was counted only once, based on one selected core or flagship SKU assessed as sold and labelled to the consumer, even where the brand was present in multiple countries or continents, or sold several variants or flavours.

Each product was assessed individually against a 36-criteria objective product quality index. The framework focuses exclusively on objectively verifiable product characteristics, including...