NRI's energy drink under lens for 13 deaths in US - Efresh India
NRI's energy drink under lens for 13 deaths in US - Efresh India
NRI's energy drink under lens for 13 deaths in US - Efresh India
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Source: Times of <strong>India</strong> Date: November 16, 2012<br />
NRI’s <strong>energy</strong> <strong>dr<strong>in</strong>k</strong> <strong>under</strong> <strong>lens</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>13</strong> <strong>deaths</strong><br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>US</strong><br />
WASHINGTON: A high-caffe<strong>in</strong>e <strong>energy</strong> <strong>dr<strong>in</strong>k</strong> which has propelled an <strong>India</strong>n-American<br />
bus<strong>in</strong>essman to the billionaire's club--and arguably to the top of the wealthiest NRIs <strong>in</strong> America<br />
list — is <strong>under</strong> scrut<strong>in</strong>y after be<strong>in</strong>g cited <strong>in</strong> <strong>13</strong> <strong>deaths</strong> over the last four years.<br />
Lucknow-born Manoj Bhargava, whose "5-hour Energy" <strong>dr<strong>in</strong>k</strong> has a cult follow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the <strong>US</strong>,<br />
particular among truckers, traders, party hoppers, students and other late-night types, is at the<br />
centre of Federal Drug Adm<strong>in</strong>istration (FDA) fil<strong>in</strong>gs exam<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g l<strong>in</strong>ks between <strong>energy</strong> <strong>dr<strong>in</strong>k</strong>s and<br />
serious fatalities such as convulsions and heart attacks.<br />
S<strong>in</strong>ce 2009, 5-Hour Energy has been mentioned <strong>in</strong> some 90 FDA fil<strong>in</strong>gs, accord<strong>in</strong>g to media<br />
reports, which add that the fil<strong>in</strong>g of an <strong>in</strong>cident report with FDA does not necessarily mean that a<br />
product was responsible <strong>for</strong> a death or an <strong>in</strong>jury or contributed <strong>in</strong> any way to it.<br />
Still, the fil<strong>in</strong>gs have <strong>in</strong>vited scrut<strong>in</strong>y of the multi-billion dollar <strong>energy</strong> booster market <strong>in</strong> which<br />
Bhargava's 5-hour Energy, <strong>in</strong>troduced <strong>in</strong> 2004, got a head start and has never looked back even<br />
as other <strong>in</strong>dustry giants have tried to catch up. A Forbes magaz<strong>in</strong>e article earlier this year said<br />
that Bhargava may be the wealthiest <strong>India</strong>n <strong>in</strong> America, and some estimate put his net worth at<br />
$4 billion.<br />
Bhargava moved to the <strong>US</strong> with his parents as a teen and grew up <strong>in</strong> Pottstown, Pennsylvania, as<br />
his father pursued a post-graduate degree at Wharton. A math whiz, Bhargava Jr enrolled at<br />
Pr<strong>in</strong>ceton but dropped out <strong>in</strong> his freshman year, return<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>India</strong> <strong>in</strong> search of a spiritual<br />
education and liv<strong>in</strong>g as a monk and mendicant <strong>in</strong> ashrams across <strong>India</strong>. He took on a variety of<br />
jobs, work<strong>in</strong>g as a construction labourer, clean<strong>in</strong>g contractor, account<strong>in</strong>g clerk, taxi driver,<br />
pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g press operator and bus<strong>in</strong>ess manager, be<strong>for</strong>e start<strong>in</strong>g a plastics raw material company <strong>in</strong><br />
1990 called Prime Conduit which he grew to $20 million <strong>in</strong> sales and then sold it to a private<br />
equity firm.<br />
Early last decade, Bhargava founded the consumer products company Liv<strong>in</strong>g Essentials, and <strong>in</strong><br />
2004, <strong>in</strong>troduced 5-hour Energy, a caffe<strong>in</strong>ated and vitam<strong>in</strong>ized <strong>energy</strong> booster that he developed.<br />
Sold <strong>in</strong> two-ounce shots <strong>in</strong> stores across <strong>US</strong>, the <strong>dr<strong>in</strong>k</strong> became a monster hit, rack<strong>in</strong>g up a billion<br />
dollars <strong>in</strong> sales with<strong>in</strong> seven years.<br />
In that time, new competitors, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g other established beverage giants, have tried to muscle<br />
<strong>in</strong> on the market with similar <strong>dr<strong>in</strong>k</strong>s (and arrest<strong>in</strong>g names such as Monster, Full Throttle,<br />
Relentless, Semtex etc). Bhargava has fended them off with aggressive tactics, su<strong>in</strong>g imitators<br />
such as 6-Hour Power and 8-Hour <strong>for</strong> trademark <strong>in</strong>fr<strong>in</strong>gement. Meantime, the <strong>in</strong>dustry itself has<br />
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een <strong>under</strong> scrut<strong>in</strong>y <strong>for</strong> misstatements about the <strong>in</strong>gredients and overstat<strong>in</strong>g claims about its<br />
effectiveness and benefits.<br />
At a personal level though, Bhargava has earned a reputation as a philanthropist, sign<strong>in</strong>g up with<br />
Bill Gates-led Giv<strong>in</strong>g Pledge by billionaires to donate 50% of their wealth. A m<strong>in</strong>imalist who<br />
does not believe <strong>in</strong> excessive personal consumption, he plans to offload as much as $1 billion <strong>in</strong><br />
charity <strong>in</strong> <strong>India</strong> over the next decade through a non-profit foundation he has established.<br />
For now though, his energies are be<strong>in</strong>g consumed by the FDA scrut<strong>in</strong>y of the product that<br />
brought him the billions.<br />
URL: http://articles.timesof<strong>in</strong>dia.<strong>in</strong>diatimes.com/2012-11-16/us/35156329_1_<strong>energy</strong>-<strong>dr<strong>in</strong>k</strong>-5-hour<strong>energy</strong>-manoj-bhargava<br />
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