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LONDON, UK: ‘Onest Energy, the UK-based natural energy drink brand, has been named Best Sports/Energy Drink at the UK Soft Drinks Awards 2026, one of the most respected independent industry honours in the UK beverages sector. The brand was also recognised as a finalist for Best Packaging & Label Design. ‘Onest Energy is just eight months old.
The UK Soft Drinks Awards, run by FoodBev Media, recognise excellence and innovation across the UK soft drinks sector. Winners are judged independently on criteria including taste, ingredient quality and brand execution. ‘Onest Energy secured the category win ahead of established global brands including NOCCO, Holy Energy and Ghost Energy.
Maya Bedeau, Founder of ‘Onest Energy, said: “We started ‘Onest with a belief that the energy drink market was ready for transparency and honesty: better ingredients, no nonsense, and a brand that customers can actually trust. Winning Best Sports/Energy Drink at the UK Soft Drinks Awards, against brands with decades of history and hundreds of millions in funding, means everything. It tells us the product is right. Now we continue to build the brand around it.”
Bedeau raised £225,000 in pre-seed venture capital funding before the company had launched a product, bringing total funding raised to date to £475,000. The achievement is particularly notable given that Black female founders received just 0.02% of UK venture capital funding between 2009 and 2019, according to research by Extend Ventures. The company is currently undertaking its next funding round.
The brand’s formula combines three simple ingredients: 80mg natural caffeine from coffee beans, magnesium citrate to help prevent crashes, and B vitamins (B3, B6, B12 and B7) to support natural energy production, delivering just 30 calories and 4g of natural sugar per can. ‘Onest Energy is available in two flavours: Sparkling Apple Berry and Sparkling Tropical Peach.
The category featured some of the most established and well-funded names in the global energy drinks market. Despite operating with a fraction of the funding and resources available to its competitors, ‘Onest Energy secured the category win ahead of:
Ghost Energy: acquired by Keurig Dr Pepper in a deal valuing the brand at approximately $990 million in 2024, with revenue quadrupling between 2021 and 2024.
Holy Energy: Berlin-based brand with over $13 million in venture capital funding raised and reported annual revenue of approximately $22 million.
NOCCO: Swedish performance drink brand, the number one performance drink in the Nordics, sold across 40+ markets globally as part of the Vitamin Well Group, which reports €650 million in group revenue.
Winning Best Sports/Energy Drink less than a year after launch, ahead of some of the category’s largest and most established brands, marks a significant milestone in ‘Onest Energy’s growth and reflects growing consumer demand for simpler, more transparent energy drinks.
ABOUT ONEST
‘Onest is a UK-based natural energy drink brand founded in 2025. Built on the belief that energy drinks should be transparent, taste good and actually be good for you, ‘Onest uses natural caffeine, clean ingredients and zero artificial flavours. Available online at drinkonest.com and through selected UK stockists.
Image source: drinkonest.com
