Hell Energy Drink
| Type | Energy drink |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Hell Energy Magyarország Kft. |
| Origin | Hungary |
| Introduced | 2006 |
| Variants | HELL Classic HELL Strong Apple HELL Strong Red Grape HELL Strong Cola HELL Multivitamin HELL Zero HELL Summer Cool HELL Ice Cool HELL Magnum HELL Strong Focus HELL strong Watermelon Active Speedstar HELL Black Cherry FloeWater |
| Website | www |
Hell Energy Drink (stylized as HELL) 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.[1] Within three years of its establishment, it became the market leader in Hungary.[2] 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[3][4] and is available in more than 50 countries worldwide.[5] Hell produces the energy drink Speedstar for NORMA supermarkets. Hell Energy has headquarters in Hungary, Romania, the United Kingdom, Russia and also in Cyprus.
On 3 July 2023, HELL ENERGY developed HELL AI, the world’s first energy drink created entirely using artificial intelligence systems. AI tools were applied across multiple stages of development, including product design, formulation, flavour profiling, taste evaluation, predictive modelling, quality and safety processes, and marketing-related elements.
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.[6]
Factory
The Hell Energy factory was built in 2011 in Szikszó, Hungary. It has multiple can filling lines with production capacity up to 18 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. The factory integrates aluminium can manufacturing and beverage filling at a single location, enabling full control over packaging supply and production scheduling. This vertical integration allows continuous production of milk-based canned beverages, a capability that is limited to a small number of facilities in Europe. The production complex also manufactures ready-to-drink iced coffee products. The facility is equipped with dedicated high-hygiene production lines designed for milk-based beverages filled into aluminium cans, including aseptic processing and on-site quality control laboratories. Iced Coffee products manufactured at the site are distributed to multiple international markets, alongside the company’s core energy drink portfolio.
Ingredients
| Nutritional value per 100 mL[7] | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 196 kJ (47 kcal) | ||||||||||||||||||
11 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sugars | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||
0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Saturated | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Other constituents | Quantity | ||||||||||||||||||
| Salts | 0.2 g | ||||||||||||||||||
| †Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults.[8] | |||||||||||||||||||
The caffeine content of a single can of Hell Energy is 80 mg/250 mL (32 mg/100 mL).[9] This is about the same as one cup of espresso coffee.[9]
Health Concerns
A single 250 mL can of Hell Energy contains approximately 27.5 grams of sugar (11 grams per 100 mL), which exceeds the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommended daily limit of 25 grams of added sugar for adults.[10] 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.[11]
Marketing
In 2018, Hell Energy signed Bruce Willis as their brand ambassador.[12]
In 2024, Hell Energy launched their premium water brand FloeWater, with Eva Mendes as the face of the campaign.
In 2025, Michele Morrone became a brand ambassador for HELL Energy drinks.
In 2025, Megan Fox became a brand ambassador for HELL Ice Coffee.
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.[13][14]
As business owners, the Barabás family was included in Napi Gazdaság (Daily Economy)'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 over unwanted publicity; 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 Hell Energy Kft 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.[14]
Footnotes
- ^ "A cukorpiactól Bruce Willisig és még tovább - a Hell Energy és a Barabás család" (in Hungarian). Magyar Narancs. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ "The HELL won the MagyarBrands award this year again". Trade Magazin. 17 November 2015. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ "Energy for the energy drink". ABB. 5 November 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
- ^ Bálint Fabók (27 June 2021). "Hatalmasat nőtt, már harmadik a világpiacon a borsodi energiaital-gyártó" (in Hungarian). g7.hu. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ^ "Hell Energy drink company to invest HUF 25-30 bln in Hungary". Budapest Business Journal. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ^ "Avalonpark.hu / Awards". Archived from the original on 2019-03-30. Retrieved 2018-07-25.
- ^ "HELL Summer Cool" (in Bosnian). 28 August 2019. Archived from the original (photography of part of the can with nutrition information, BiH import) on 28 August 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ United States Food and Drug Administration (2024). "Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels". FDA. Archived from the original on 2024-03-27. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
- ^ a b "HELL Summer Cool" (in Bosnian). 28 August 2019. Archived from the original (photography of part of the can with general information, BiH import) on 28 August 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ "Healthy Diet". World Health Organization. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
- ^ Malik, V.S. (2006). "Sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain in children and adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis". The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 84 (2): 274–288. doi:10.1093/ajcn/84.2.274. PMC 3210834.
- ^ "Bruce Willis is the new face of Hungarian Hell Energy". Media Marketing. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
- ^ "Firma HELL Energy confirmă că patronul Ernő Barabás e călăul lui Mihăilă Cofar, românul linșat la Tg. Mureș" [HELL Energy confirms that the owner Ernő Barabás is the executioner of Mihăilă Cofar, the Romanian lynched at Tg. Mures]. Evz.ro (in Romanian). 28 April 2020. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
- ^ a b "A cukorpiactól Bruce Willisig és még tovább - a Hell Energy és a Barabás család" [From the sugar market to Bruce Willis and beyond - Hell Energy and the Barabás family]. magyarnarancs.hu (in Hungarian). 15 October 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
