Into2 Energy

Here is the thing about Style and 'The Scene' as a cultural phenom. Style and Fashion are not meaningless. It is an indirect expression of contemporary dispositions and our personal ego. The way we dress ourselves is a direct aspiration to who we want to be and what our culture reflects. Gangstas are not gangstas without the CK showing atop their saggy jeans, Grillz and Pimp Bling. Hipsters can not truly live ironically without re-purposing an old fashion, like Muttonchop sideburns, caterpillar mustaches or Big Glasses. Even wearing nothing but jeans and a T-shirt is telling about what kind of person you want to be and how you want to be treated.

Being put into groups also makes it easier to be marketed to. Sporting chrome chrome 22 inch spinners and a Long Soulja Boy T shirt? Joose Caffeinated Malt Liquor. Testosterone pumped High School Jock? Kronik or Monster. Marathon runner? 5 hour energy. Hipster? Tab. So what if you are a Fashion Diva or Actor-Slash-Model on the town? Sure , when you are at the local dive you can pull off a Red Bull and Jager bomb, but when your handbag perfectly matches your Giambattista Valli dress and you are balancing in your Jimmy Choos, Red Bull won't cut it.

That is where a new drink sent to me, perplexingly called Into2, is trying to position themselves. For Into2 it is all about image. Sure, it looks just like Red Bull and tastes like Red Bull, but their cute 8oz energy can is meant for the fashion art club scene, trying to squeeze their way into exclusive parties and be seen hanging with today's hot celebrities and scenester superstars. This is less of an energy drink and more like a fashion accessory that makes you look more hip holding it.

We can all but skip the taste and the buzz of this drink, as it tastes exactly like Red Bull, or any Red Bull clone. The only minor difference is that this seemed to be barely carbonated, which would do well for the nightlife scene, as dancing, flirting, kissing and burping don't really go hand in hand. Also, they sweeten their drinks without the use of aspartame or High Fructose Corn Syrup, and have a minimal amount of preservatives - so it is up to you to find other bad babits to fuel your party lifestyle. But overall, it is just a flatter small can of Red Bull.

There are other drinks in this category to be sure. The thing that makes this unusual is all the other premium lifestyle drinks come at a price. Others come in high priced high class bottles, some of them glow in the dark or shine in blacklight. Instead, into2 comes in an 8 ounce Red Bull sized energy drink can. While the design on the cans are Very nice - I wonder if this is enough to make it stand out. There is no unique ingredients separating it from the masses, like pomegranate, goji, blood orange or acai, and the taste is pure energy drink clone. This drink even comes from Austria, the home of all of the energy drink clones.

Mind you, I would pick this drink over a small Red Bull or Monster, but would this be enough bang to fuel my fashion inspired art walk clubbin trust funded corporate alter ego DJ Concert Promoter scenester lifestyle?
Not quite.
Buzz:5 taste:5 packaging:7