This past weekend it came to my attention that there is a new drink-of-choice on campus. With all of our discussion about binge drinking in class, I can’t help but pay more attention to the drinking-related behaviors that I witness among my peers on a regular basis. On Friday and Saturday nights it often seems that many college students are more focused on attaining an inebriated state and less focused on which alcoholic beverages they choose to get them there. However, amidst the usual Busch Light cans, Smirnoff fifths, and Andre bottles, this weekend I discovered a new player in the college alcohol market: Four Loko.
Released in the U.S. in 2005, Four Loko is a caffeinated, alcoholic, malt beverage produced by Phusion Projects Inc. of Chicago, Illinois. It is sold in brightly colored 23.5 oz aluminum cans and is currently available in eight different flavors: orange, grape, watermelon, cranberry, fruit punch, blue raspberry, lemonade, and cranberry lemonade. The name “Four Loko” is attributed to the drink’s four key ingredients: caffeine, taurine, guarana, and wormwood, though it contains alcohol, sugar, and artificial flavoring too. The beverage has 12% alcohol content with approximately 660 calories, and is the alcoholic equivalent of drinking about three beers. Four Loko is for sale at most convenience stores nationwide for about $3.00 per can.
Currently, Four Loko is the second highest selling alcoholic-energy drink behind a similar brand, “Joose.” While the energetic design and colorful cans are certainly eye-catching, cool packaging alone is generally not an order winner for selective college students. Perhaps the added benefit of alcohol PLUS caffeine is what students are drawn to. Not only can they get three-drinks-in-one, but they also get the added bonus of energy so they can stay out later and drink even more if they want to. Similar to the popular Red Bull and vodka pairing from a few years ago, the idea of mixing alcohol with caffeine is certainly not new. Unlike Red Bull and vodka, however, Four Loko has a “2 in 1” benefit that eliminates the need to buy two different products or travel to both the liquor store and grocery store to create a single mixed drink. Thus, there is an element of convenience that comes with drinking Four Loko as well. Perhaps it is these product differentiators that have allowed Four Loko to break into the heavily saturated college alcohol market and become one of the first alcoholic-energy drinks to take off on campus.
Not only is the idea of an alcoholic-energy drink gaining in popularity, but students seem very brand loyal towards Four Loko as well. The “Four Loko” has become a sort of cultural phenomenon that is showing up in social media and popular culture nationwide. Just search “Four Loko” on YouTube and you will see what I mean (one “music video” in particular exclaiming “I’m going Loko for them Lokos” has over 600,000 hits). Similarly, a Facebook group dedicated to the brand has over 5,000 fans.
This heightened public attention isn’t just good, though. In fact, there are several health risks associated with Four Loko and other popular alcoholic-energy drinks that have come under the scrutiny of the FDA recently. Dubbed “liquid cocaine” in several ongoing lawsuits, the combination of caffeine and alcohol in Four Loko is argued to be dangerous for drinkers. In addition, these brightly colored cans are being mistaken for non-alcoholic drinks by many teens and children, and are often erroneously sold to underage consumers by many retailers.
The fact that an unsafe or unhealthy beverage has taken off among today’s health-conscious college students is somewhat surprising to me. As part of a generation where habits like smoking cigarettes are increasingly frowned upon, it is interesting that a potentially hazardous drink has become so popular. Perhaps for now the “benefits” of drinking Four Loko outweigh the health risks that are still in the process of being proven. Regardless, for those of you who have not yet encountered the infamous beverage, it looks like it is only a matter of time before you “go Loko for them Lokos.”
Four Loko website: http://www.drinkfour.com/
For more on the Four Loko health controversy, see this article that cites a Wake Forest University study on the risks of alcohol and caffeine:
-Jacqueline Buff is a senior Business & Enterprise Management major with concentrations in Marketing and Arts Markets and an Art History minor.
I am familiar with the Four Loko brand and the increase in popularity that it has recently experienced on our campus. This article really made me think about the decisions that we as students make when it comes to purchasing and consuming different types of alcohol. I really liked your point about our generation starting to frown upon things that are not good for your body; your example was smoking. Yet, for some reason Four Loko (and other types of alcoholic energy drinks) seems to be widely accepted within our community.
ReplyDeleteThis led me to think about a perceptual map on our views of alcoholic beverages. I had never really thought about why I buy the particular drinks that I do, and in what situations/scenarios I buy them in. Certain types of mixed drinks, for example, come across as “classy” and upscale. When at a nice party or evening banquet type of event, mixed drinks are extremely popular. We almost associate these types of drinks with these types of events (same goes for wine). On the opposite side is beer. Beer is perceived as the “cheap” alcohol choice. I have heard it been called “frat water” and other names along the same lines. Essentially it is a low cost way to get drunk. At least from my college experience, beer is hardly the beverage of choice when just relaxing and enjoying a drink. Four Lokos add another dimension to the perceptual map. It is also a pretty low cost drink (relative to its size and alcohol content) as compared to the others. Yet, with it comes the perception of a crazy, fun, energetic attitude. Thus, I believe that people consume Four Lokos to fit these characteristics (because the taste definitely leaves something to be desired). It is interesting that something as simple as alcohol, which as we’ve said in class is largely used on campus for binge drinking, can have many associations and auras that surround it.
-Adam Hanson
I think your analysis of the Four Loko trend is very interesting. If you were to look at Four Loko on a price versus quality perceptual map, it would fall at the very end of both spectrums, joining Natural Light, Busch Light, and Aristocrat vodka. Since all of those drinks are incredibly popular among college students, Four Loko supports the idea that in general, college students are not too concerned with either taste or brand prestige when drinking. They have a “bang for their buck” approach to buying alcoholic beverages. College students are typically price sensitive, so I think that Four Loko fits into the niche very well.
ReplyDeleteIf four loko were to be placed on a map that included convenience as one of the dimensions, Four Loko would be considered “highly convenient.” It would be interesting to see how big of a factor convenience plays into the sales of the drink. While it is very easy for someone to pick up a four loko at the gas station before a party, I do wonder if Four Loko were only sold at one grocery store in town if it would have the same widespread success. I personally think they would, as college students typically do not have a problem “stocking up,” and especially at only $3 a can, buying multiple cans would not dent the wallet very much.
- Alison Henley