Shawn Eshraghi is the co-founder and CEO of Arcane Brands, a California-based startup that produces a line of better-for-you energy drinks that are zero caffeine, zero sugar, and zero calories.
Arcane's healthy energy drinks are designed to offer increased energy, better focus, and improved strength without the jitters, anxiety, and crash that come from caffeine-heavy beverages.
Eshraghi first entered the energy drink industry in 2018 after working as a personal trainer, physical therapist, nutritionist, and entrepreneur. He founded his own organic meal prep company, SUB10, in 2017 and then launched Arcane more than a year later.
Although the multi-billion-dollar energy drink industry continues to grow and evolve year after year, it remains dominated by beverages that are laden with caffeine, sugar, and artificial ingredients. Eshraghi took some time to answer a few questions about where he thinks better-for-you energy drink brands are headed, and how Arcane is changing the perception of energy drinks in the health and fitness industry.
What gave you the initial idea to launch Arcane Brands?
Like most people in my generation, I've always sought ways to maximize my energy, time, and efficiency. I was always a big consumer of energy drinks to give me a boost for my active lifestyle, but usually at the expense of the inevitable crash in the middle of the day. I wanted to find a way to still maintain a high level of focus and energy but without the trade-off you'd normally find in caffeinated drinks. As a nutritionist, I'm very particular about what I consume which sparked the idea to solve a personal need first and then transformed into a greater purpose - I wanted to make the ultimate energy drink with the perfect formula.
An energy drink with zero caffeine and zero sugar sounds too good to be true. How does Arcane provide energy without using loads of caffeine and sugar?
That's always the first question everyone asks, and the secret is in the formula. The name Arcane means "understood by few." We use full vitamin and supplement dosages of Alpha GPC, L-Tyrosine, L-Carnitine, Ginseng, and BCAAs to create the mental focus and energy without targeting the heart. The common misconception is you need caffeine to feel awake and alert, when in reality what you need is proper sleep, hydration, and essential vitamins.
Why was it important for you, and the health and fitness industry as a whole, to offer an energy drink that doesn't contain caffeine?
The beverage industry has transformed so much in the past decade. We've evolved from drinking sugary sodas for taste, to caffeinated drinks for energy, and now to nootropics for focus, alertness, and recovery. In today's market, people expect more from products they put in their bodies. All the research and science over the past several years has allowed us the opportunity to be at the cusp of innovation with a caffeine-free energy drink. I believe it's our duty now to offer a better alternative to caffeine.
As the health and fitness industry continues to grow and evolve, how do you think energy drink companies can keep offering quality products that consumers will want? Are there any specific industry trends you could see having an impact on Arcane?
There's the sentiment that we must "innovate or die." The health and fitness industry is exploding faster than ever, especially with recent events like COVID-19, and with that means more expectations surrounding better-for-you products. As our society is becoming more informed, I believe people will demand higher standards for what they're willing to consume on a daily basis, including what benefits it can provide for them.
How did your professional background guide you to the energy drink market? Was this always a goal of yours?
My experience in creating these better-for-you products and witnessing the positive impact they've had on my clients and customers is what inspired me to enter and challenge the energy drink industry. Strangely enough, it was one of my clients, who is now one of my co-founders, that possessed the industry expertise in beverages to give me confidence in bringing Arcane to market. Much like the trinity in our logo, my two co-founders, Brandon Johnson and Ricardo Rodriguez, and I each possess a specific knowledge to shape what Arcane is today.
What's your favorite Arcane energy drink flavor, and what are you usually doing while you're drinking a can?
Definitely Black Raspberry - I love anything sour! Arcane is my new daily routine, so I'll either drink one as my morning supplement stack or right before the gym as a pre-workout.
Where do you hope to see Arcane Brands in a few years? Can we be expecting any new flavors to try in the foreseeable future?
Our quest is to dominate the eSports and fitness scenes as the alternative, healthy energy drink. The beauty of zero caffeine means there's no bitter aftertaste, so we're able to launch a multitude of flavors without having to add sugar to balance the taste. Currently we have Black Raspberry and Watermelon flavors with Citrus ready in the pipeline, as well as some product variants in R&D, but we won't spoil the surprise here today.
Where can people purchase Arcane's energy drinks today?
Today, Arcane can be purchased nationally across the U.S. on Amazon, through our website drinkarcane.com, and throughout Southern California in convenience stores and several gyms like Iconix Fitness. We're still in incubation so any reviews and feedback you leave us is extremely helpful for us to continually improve our product.
