Hell Energy Drink
Hell Energy Drink is a Hungarian energy drink brand distributed primarily in Europe and Asia. It was established in 2006 by a privately owned company founded in Hungary in 2004, which took the name "Hell Energy Magyarország Kft." in 2009. Within three years of its establishment, it became the market leader in Hungary. The brand gained popularity during a two-year sponsorship deal with the AT&T Williams Formula 1 Team, where Hell Energy became second in the energy drink sector to enter the world of Formula 1 Racing.
Hell Energy is now also a market leader in Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, North Macedonia, Greece, Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and is available in more than 50 countries worldwide. Hell produces the energy drink Speedstar for NORMA supermarkets. Hell Energy has headquarters in Hungary, Romania, the United Kingdom, Russia and also in Cyprus.
Hell Energy is the builder and owner of Avalon Park, a resort, spa and event center complex in Miskolctapolca, a resort belonging to Miskolc. Avalon won several awards including gold medals in three categories at the World Luxury Hotel Awards. It received the internationally recognized 5-star classification at the International Hotel Awards.
Factory
The Hell Energy factory was built in 2011 in Szikszó, Hungary. It has two can filling lines with production capacity of 2 million cans per day. There is a laboratory for the constant monitoring of the drinks' parameters. The factory has the highest food safety certificate - FSSC22000 - available in Europe. In 2012 the factory was officially voted as one of the best three factories in Europe in the 'Global and World Class Manufacturing' category at the Strategic Manufacturing Award in Düsseldorf, Germany. The plant is accompanied with a fully automatized logistic center with an area of 6000 square meters.The Hell Energy filling factory is able to manufacture 250, 330, 475, and 500 ml cans. Hell Energy has been producing for the domestic and export market since 2011 in the Szikszó bottling factory. The factory can process 10 billion aluminium beverage cans annually - manufacturing 4,406,400,000 and filling 6,103,176,000, thus it can accept assignments and outsource requests from other brands.
Ingredients
The caffeine content of a single can of Hell Energy is 80 mg/250 mL. This is about the same as one cup of espresso coffee.Health Concerns
A single 250 mL can of Hell Energy contains approximately 27.5 grams of sugar, which exceeds the World Health Organization's recommended daily limit of 25 grams of added sugar for adults. The WHO advises limiting added sugar intake to reduce the risk of conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. Regular consumption of high-sugar drinks like Hell Energy may lead to exceeding these recommendations, potentially increasing the risk of adverse health outcomes.Marketing
In 2018, Hell Energy signed Bruce Willis as their brand ambassador.In 2024, Hell Energy launched their premium water brand FloeWater, with Eva Mendes as the face of the campaign.
Controversy
In 2020, both a Romanian newspaper Evenimentul Zilei as well as a Hungarian newspaper Magyar Narancs confirmed that the ethnic Hungarian Ernő Barabás is the owner of the Hell Energy Drink. On March 20 1990, during the ethnic clashes of Târgu Mureș, Ernő took part in the beating of Mihăilă Cofariu, an ethnic Romanian from Ibănești. Following the beating, Cofariu remained neurologically disabled all his life. Ernő received a 10-year imprisonment sentence from the Romanian court, but he escaped by emigrating to Hungary. The Hungarian authorities denied all requests for extradition to the Romanian authorities.As business owners, the Barabás family was included in Napi Gazdaság 's Top 100 list as early as 2013, their fortune estimated at 6.9 billion was enough for the 86th place. Forbes estimated this year at HUF 48.5 billion. Ernő Barabás' fortune, making him the 26th richest Hungarian. In 15 years, the family built a global brand in Szikszó, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county. The current owners of Hell Energy Kft. are the founder's two sons, Ernő Barabás Jr. and Zsolt Barabás. There is very little publicly available information about the family, even though it represents a significant economic force and is one of the largest employers in Hungary. The Barabás family has often filed lawsuits against the press; for instance, against Forbes, after the business magazine mentioned the Barabáses in its list of the richest Hungarians, and their business was presented in a later issue. In addition, the Barabás family have received a significant amount of financial support from the Hungarian state and from the European Union; Between 2008 and 2020, companies connected to the Barabás family received non-refundable state subsidies, EU subsidies and subsidised loans with a total value estimated to be as much as HUF 46.2 billion.