- Anheuser-Busch is launching a new energy drink. The beer giant is teaming up with UFC CEO Dana White for the debut. Bud Light became the official beer of UFC two years ago.
As beer sales remain flat (or worse), Anheuser-Busch is branching out.
The company has teamed up with Dana White, CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship, to release Phorm Energy, a new line of non-alcoholic energy drinks. This is the first product in the beer giant’s previously announced partnership with White.
Phorm, releasing Wednesday, has zero sugar and is filled with electrolytes and caffeine, courtesy of green tea extract. It comes in four styles—grape, orange, blue and one called “screaming freedom,” which is a mix of blueberry, cherry, and citrus.
Energy drinks are a category that’s expanding, but Anheuser-Busch has missed out on. (The company bought one in 2017, but sold it in 2023. It gained a stake in another in 2020, but lost it when the drink (Ghost) was bought by Keurig Dr Pepper last year.)
Rival Molson Coors, however, has seen success in the field, particularly with its ownership stake in Zoa, which was founded by actor Dwayne Johnson.
Anheuser Busch is working with Missouri-based 1st Phorm, a sports nutrition company, to create and market the drink, as well as White.
White and Anheuser Busch first came together in 2023, when the Bud Light brand was reeling from the aftereffects of a boycott over its collaboration with Dylan Mulvaney. The brand became the official beer of UFC and will hold that distinction through 2029. (Modelo Especial had been UFC’s official beer prior to that.)
“With the launch of Phorm Energy, we’re bringing together two American companies based in St. Louis and Dana White – all united by a powerful commitment to brand-building, quality, innovation and meeting the evolving needs of consumers,” said Brendan Whitworth, CEO of Anheuser-Busch, in a statement. “I couldn’t be more excited to take on the energy category with this partnership and product.”
