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ZOA energy drinks became popular in 2021 when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson announced the launch of a new line of cleaner energy drinks. ZOA is supposed to be this well-rounded energy drink that can give your body the fuel it needs to reach its full potential.
And when the demigod of muscles and charisma promotes a new, health-conscious energy drink, we are bound to listen. After all, the Rock takes such good care of his body, so this product must be something special, right?
While ZOA is a step in the right direction, it’s still only slightly better than other mainstream energy drinks. It boasts 160 mg of caffeine per serving, which can definitely cause a crash, jitters, and other side effects.
Unlike ZOA, MTE (More Than Energy) doesn’t rely on caffeine to give you the energy you need. Instead, it uses a synergistic formulation of 11 nootropics, adaptogens, and superfoods that work together to support healthy energy levels instead of giving you a manic rush of energy that leaves you crashing.
We wanted to do something different because reaching for caffeine every few hours to keep us going was just not sustainable. A constant circle of overstimulating energy highs and unmotivated lows hinders your focus and productivity.
So, let’s see what we do differently.
While ZOA offers a slightly healthier alternative to mainstream energy drinks, it still relies on caffeine for that much-needed jolt of energy – 160 mg of caffeine, to be more precise.
Although consuming up to 400 mg of caffeine per day is safe, according to the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), some people experience side effects when consuming 160 mg in one sitting.
So, they get a short-term energy boost with the side effect of becoming an overstimulated anxious mess with a rapid heartbeat. Doesn’t sound very fun, does it?
However, for most people, ZOA can provide a necessary kick that helps them overcome a midday slump. And thanks to the formulation that contains fruit extracts, vitamins, electrolytes, and amino acids, ZOA aims to do more than just charge up your body. It wants to support your immune system, keep you hydrated, and ensure you have enough energy and motivation for everything life throws your way.
It sounds good on paper, but caffeine isn’t the right approach for what they want to accomplish.
That’s why we at MTE wanted to take a completely different approach and create a path to feeling good and productive all day long. After all, stimulants aren’t how your body gets energy. They just trick your brain for a little while to forget about fatigue and continue being productive until the inevitable crash.
Feeling energized comes from having a balanced diet, sleeping well, managing stress, and getting your body what it needs. MTE seeks to be a trusty companion on the road to a healthier life, providing your body with a secret power of nootropics, adaptogens, and superfoods.
That way, your body, and brain have everything they need to function optimally, which allows you to feel stimulated and focused without feeling tired.
So, what does MTE promise, and is it any different from what ZOA offers?
Most importantly, we use 11 naturally occurring ingredients that work well together to support your well-being and offer a plethora of benefits. For example, adaptogens and nootropics in our formulation help you manage stress, reduce inflammation, sleep well, support calm energy, improve focus, support immunity, and more.
These ingredients support the balance within your body by regulating and maintaining signals and keeping your systems in order. Adaptogens, in particular, manage the adrenal system, lowering the levels of stress hormone cortisol. At the same time, they work together with nootropics to promote the balance of certain feel-good chemicals like dopamine.
As a result, MTE helps optimize your body, which results in several benefits, including:
Here’s what ZOA’s website says about the benefits of this energy drink:
“ZOA is here to light that spark inside you with a cleaner energy formula. Crafted to help you reach your potential and inspire others to reach just as high.”
With a new slogan: “Fuel Something Bigger,” ZOA aims to provide the necessary energy, immune system support, hydration, and muscle growth support to active people. So, let’s see how ZOA can do that.
ZOA energy drink uses a formulation of high-quality ingredients and natural colors and flavors. On their website, they list the five most important elements of their formula:
Vitamin C and camu camu extract reduce oxidative stress and help optimize our immune system response. This contributes to normal energy metabolism and helps reduce fatigue.
B vitamins are essential for many body processes, including energy production, metabolism, and mental focus. That’s why you can find B vitamins in most energy drinks, including ZOA.
The natural caffeine in ZOA is sourced from green tea and green coffee beans. There is a common misconception that natural caffeine is better than synthetic and doesn’t cause side effects. However, the dose is much more important than the source. Consume too much, and you may experience headaches, anxiety, and insomnia, whether natural or synthetic.
Electrolytes like magnesium, potassium, and sodium in ZOA help maintain proper fluid balance and nerve and muscle function. These electrolytes can help you hydrate, which is vital for every cell function. In fact, fatigue is one of the first symptoms of dehydration.
Lastly, ZOA contains amino acids to help muscle growth and repair and provide necessary building blocks for enzymes and hormones. However, the website doesn’t state which amino acids are there, and the information is a little vague.
MTE contains 11 different nootropics, adaptogens, and superfoods combined in an easy-to-take powdered wellness companion. We’ll briefly go over them below, but you can read a bunch of in-depth articles about each ingredient on our Wellness Blog.
Most nootropics are natural compounds that support and enhance brain function, improve focus, and reduce fatigue.
There are five nootropics in MTE’s formulation:
We carefully selected these five nootropics because of their benefits, safety profile, and extensive potential to improve well-being.
Theacrine is the star of our formulation, allowing people to feel a calm influx of energy without all the bad stuff associated with caffeine. L-theanine, GABA, and saffron support cognitive function, improve stress response, reduce anxiety symptoms, and so much more.
Lastly, green tea extract acts as a fuse for all other energy-promoting nootropics in our formulation. With only 50 mg of caffeine per serving, it offers a perfect balance of benefits without drawbacks. Plus, there are theacrine, L-theanine, and GABA to balance things out.
Adaptogens are natural compounds that interact with our central nervous system, helping us adapt to stress and become more resilient. As a result, the cortisol levels in our bodies lower, and we experience many health benefits.
MTE’s formulation contains four adaptogens:
All these ancient herbs and roots have been used for thousands of years to support various areas of people’s health. Together, they have the potential for:
Superfoods are nutrient-rich foods that may provide certain health benefits due to their naturally high content of vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, and other compounds.
We’ve decided to add two superstar superfoods to MTE for another layer of benefits: amaranth and spirulina. These superfoods complete our formulation, creating a perfectly-balanced wellness powder for maximum benefits.
These superfoods support:
If you go to the ZOA Energy website, you’ll see that you can order these energy drinks in 12 packs. A standard 12-oz 12-pack costs $24.99, while 16-oz is $29.99. That comes to around $2-$2.5 per can, which is more expensive than most other energy drinks.
The good thing about ZOA is that you can choose a subscription option and get 10% or 20% off, depending on the product you select. The delivery frequency is every two or every four weeks.
MTE is a little pricier, but you have to keep in mind that it offers more than a temporary energy boost. With MTE, you get several health benefits that stack over time and help support your well-being. Having more energy is just one part of the whole feel-better transformation that MTE brings.
With that in mind, MTE costs $4.25 to $5 per serving, depending on the plan you select. If you decide to subscribe, you get 15% off your orders and free shipping.
After the heatwave we’ve experienced this summer, it’s more than evident that we need to pay attention and minimize our harmful impact on the Earth. That’s why we use post-consumer recycled plastic, which reduces the amount of waste in the environment. We also use cardboard boxes for shipping and avoid packaging with polluting ingredients.
ZOA Energy drinks come in recyclable cans with a cool, colorful design. Sustainability is not their primary focus, and they instead want to put the emphasis on providing that cleaner energy to help people do great things.
One big advantage of ZOA over MTE is that it’s available at most major grocery stores. So, you can easily grab a can on the go or order a 12-pack of the Amazon and stock up on one of several available flavors.
ZOA doesn’t contain:
That makes it a somewhat cleaner and healthier alternative to most mainstream energy drinks.
But MTE isn’t an energy drink.
We are playing a completely different game, trying to help people feel better in a more natural and sustainable way. That’s why MTE doesn’t contain:
We are vegan, organic, keto-friendly, halal, and kosher, making MTE suitable for various diets.
MTE prioritizes quality ingredients and the synergistic power of adaptogens, nootropics, and superfoods over empty stimulants. That’s why the energy you get when you take MTE is calm and doesn’t overstimulate your brain. If you want to learn more about MTE, check out why we’ve made theacrine the start of our energy-boosting formulation and why it is often called “clean caffeine.”