5-hour Energy is repositioning its caffeine shots as a cocktail ingredient, launching a range of mocktail recipes as non-alcoholic drinks move upmarket from simple soft drinks to elaborate bar menus. The brand marked the permanent addition of three flavours, Cotton Candy, Fruity Rainbow and Confetti Craze, with a Dry January event at New York's Pebble Bar, where beverage director Tim Sweeney devised zero-proof cocktails around each. The move places the energy-shot brand within a growing celebrity-backed non-alcoholic drinks market, though it is approaching the trend from the opposite direction to most rivals by adding caffeine rather than removing alcohol.

Recipes include a Cotton Candy Spritz with non-alcoholic sparkling wine, club soda and lime; a Strawberry Rainbow Lemonade with ginger and Seedlip Garden; and a Confetti Cake Break blending coconut, pineapple and orange. 5-hour Energy's Extra Strength shots contain 230mg of caffeine, and 2026 has seen an expanded flavour range including Red Licorice, Firework Freeze, OrangeSicle, Raspberry Cooler and doughnut-inspired variants. The wider non-alcoholic sector has attracted celebrity investment, including Tom Holland's Bero beer, Katy Perry's De Soi, Bella Hadid's Kin Euphorics and Lewis Hamilton's tequila alternative Almave.