Sneak Energy – Does it deserve the hype?

I personally have a love/hate relationship with energy drinks. If you are of a certain age, you might remember being plied with luke-warm Lucozade when ill as a child or maybe indulging in a Red Bull (possibly mixed with something else) as a teen. Let’s face it, both of these drinks taste revolting and were just a means to an end; not something to be enjoyed in themselves. 

However, recently energy drinks have had something of a revival (we loved Wraith) and we now have a massive range of brands to indulge in. One of the big hitters, certainly on the social media scene where it is being championed by celebrities of the gaming world, is Sneak Energy. With its eye-catching, brightly coloured graffiti-style packaging you can see why it’s taken off on a visual platform. But, what we really want to know is if it’s more than just eye-candy – is Sneak Energy actually worth the hype?

Let’s start by getting the price of Sneak out of the way. A quick look on my Asda app tells me that a 500ml can of other branded energy drinks will set you back anything from £1 up to £1.70. A single can of Sneak Energy (minus p&p) bought as a twelve can pack is £2, so it’s most definitely on the upper end when it comes to price. However, a tub of powder costs £39.99 and you get forty servings from that; much cheaper if you don’t mind the initial outlay.

Many people drink energy drinks purely for the flavour, so how they taste is an important factor. Sneak Energy is available to buy as a powder in tubs or single-serve sachets as well as in cans, of the pre-made fizzy variety – liquid Sneak. There is a lot of choice of flavours when it comes to the powders – eleven in total. Some are pretty self-explanatory in terms of what to expect, for example Raspberry Lemonade and Grape Crush. Others are a bit more mysterious – think Purple Storm and Neon Punch. There is less variety with the cans, with only four flavours available.

I followed the recommended way of making up the Sneak Energy powder by adding one scoop or sachet to 300-400 ml of water and shaking. I found the flavour to be very intense, but there is the option to add more water if you prefer things a bit milder. Drinking a non-carbonated energy drink does take some getting used to, but I guess there is no reason why you couldn’t use sparkling mineral water, or even the retro fav – a soda-stream, if you like a bit of fizz. The website also suggests that you can mix the powder with milk, certainly some of the flavours like the Strawberry Millions would make a tasty milkshake if that’s your vibe.

All the flavours I tried were delicious – think fruity with a sharp kick. In fact, I couldn’t find a dud amongst them. My favourite had to be the aforementioned Purple Storm, which was very welcoming over ice on a particularly hot day. Its flavour reminded me of an old favourite – Vimto – so certainly worth hitting this up if you like a cheeky Vimto every now and then.

In terms of the ingredients that make up Sneak, it is sold as ‘a clean energy formula’ and that ‘it improves your performance without the junk’. I’m not totally sure what they are implying is found in other energy drinks, but I think it is the dreaded S-word… sugar. I know that sugar in itself is not a bad thing, in fact if you want sustained energy then it is a very good thing and what you might expect to find in a drink that is manufactured to provide you with energy. However, unless you are going for a run you don’t need your muscles to get an extra shot of sugar and might want to avoid consuming all those calories in a drink. Sneak contains artificial sweeteners – sucralose and acesulfame k – which keeps its drinks tasty but with very few calories (a can of Sneak contains just 5 kcal). 

So, what else is in Sneak? The thing you are probably most interested in is the caffeine. This little molecule is what is going to give you the boost of energy and alertness that you crave – especially when gaming. Each serving of Sneak contains 150mg of caffeine – about the equivalent of two cups of coffee.

Sneak claims their drinks react fast, taking approximately ten minutes for all the key active ingredients to start to take effect. I can certainly attest to this, at least to the caffeine. I could feel a pleasant buzz almost immediately after the first few sips which increased gradually over the next thirty minutes or so. The effects seemed to be very long lasting, which I felt outperformed other energy drinks I’ve tried. I was still more alert than average after a number of hours. This is great if you are preparing for a long gaming binge, or need to concentrate on work or revision for a sustained period of time. However, it’s less than ideal if you are expecting to sleep anytime soon. The buzz I felt from Sneak was definitely more than what I would experience from the equivalent amount of caffeine from coffee, possibly due to the extra ingredients Sneak contains.

Plus, Sneak is a much more refreshing choice, especially in the heat-wave Europe is currently experiencing. The added electrolytes will certainly help to replace any you lose during any particularly sweaty activities.

Whether you are a gamer looking to rack up more wins, or just up for a tasty new energy drink to keep you hydrated and alert, Sneak is definitely worth a try and deserves the hype it is receiving. 

Massive thanks go out to Sneak for providing us with their products for review. You can shop for the powders, cans, shakers (including a nifty insulated one – the blizzard shaker) and merch at Sneak Energy’s website.