British American Tobacco launches energy drink in Australia and Canada

Called Ryde, an energy drink from British American Tobacco (BAT) has seen its first promotional actions in Australia. It aims to establish BAT in the well-being segment and should soon include recipes that include cannabidiol (CBD). The identity of the cigarette manufacturer, which owns the brand and its producer, has not been revealed, however.

The first promotional bottles of Ryde, a new energy drink, were distributed on the campus of the University of Sydney.[1]Currently available in three flavors according to their supposed effects on tone ("energy", "focus", "relax"), this drink highlights its "invigorating" action and its "healthy" flavors.

This promotional operation, however, hides one of the tobacco multinationals, British American Tobacco (BAT), which here confirms its entry into the market of products stamped "well-being". The cigarette manufacturer is the sole owner of the producer of these drinks, The Water Street Collective, but only appears under its initials on the Ryde site.

A promotional operation that goes beyond its framework

A University of Sydney representative said she was not informed of the promotion, nor that videos filmed on campus would appear on TikTok. The agreement for the promotion appears to have come from a university union, but was reportedly limited to the distribution of free samples. The union disputed who owned the trademarks and asked that all references to the university be removed. The videos posted on TikTok quickly disappeared.

This concealment of ownership is primarily intended to avoid the repulsive effect associated with cigarette and tobacco companies. In Australia, however, subsidiaries are not required to reveal the names of their owners. The maneuver is therefore legal, even if it may appear to be dissimulatory.

Tobacco Industry Diversification Strategy

There are several reasons for BAT's foray into the energy drink space. Laura Schmidt, a professor of public health at the University of California, said the diversification strategy is not particularly new. The tobacco industry had already invested heavily in sugary drinks in the 1960s, before abandoning this sector in the early 2000s[2]The tobacco industry's expertise in flavouring, marketing and targeting young people was transferred to the sugary drinks sector. It is now being used in the wellness and energy drinks segment.

According to Cristina Watts, a researcher at the Daffodil Centre (University of Sydney/Cancer Council NSW), this strategy is mainly aimed at broadening the range of resources, rather than replacing the tobacco trade. In countries like Australia and Canada, where legislation on tobacco and vaping products is very restrictive, the wellness segment appears to be poorly regulated and allows more freedom in terms of marketing.

Well-being, a poorly defined and high value-added sector

Some tobacco majors - BAT, as well as Philip Morris International (PMI), Altria and Japan Tobacco International (JTI) - have invested in recent years in the tobacco markets. health and of well-being, what Laura Schmidt calls "healthwashing" (money laundering through health products). Through its subsidiary Btomorrow Ventures, BAT has already marketed various cannabidiol (CBD) products in other countries and has also invested in “recreational” cannabis. Its subsidiary The Water Street Collective has filed trademarks for food and dietary supplements with CBD and psychoactive cannabis.

Becky Freeman, a professor of public health at the University of Sydney, says the wellness sector is a perfect fit for the tobacco industry, selling products at high prices with unsubstantiated claims about their actions and benefits. But she says consumers have a right to know what they are buying, who they are buying it from and how they are being targeted.

Tags: Australia, BAT, Ryde, energy drinks, CBD

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[1] Davey M, May N, Australian students handed 'wellbeing shots' made by subsidiary of British American Tobacco – as experts fear new front in health wars, The Guardian, published January 14, 2024, accessed January 15, 2024.

[2] Nguyen KH, Glantz SA, Palmer CN, Schmidt LA. Tobacco industry involvement in children's sugary drinks market. BMJ. 2019 Mar 14;364:l736. doi: 10.1136/bmj.l736. PMID: 30872273; PMCID: PMC6890456.

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