Riff Energy+ is a sparkling infusion of food-grade, processed cascara and appeals to planet-conscious consumers as it utilizes a nutritional coffee industry by-product that normally goes to landfill.
Riff, an Oregon-based maker of cold brew coffee, doubles down on promotion of the green credentials of its new RTD cascara beverage by earning it certification as both GMO-free and carbon neutral, claiming that this is a first for an energy drink.
Riff Energy+, launched in 2021, is a sparkling infusion of upcycled, food-grade cascara, which is the dried pulp and skin of the coffee cherry. Coffee processors around the world discard this byproduct in vast quantities every year.
Since starting work on the drink in 2019, the company conducted studies to assess and reduce its carbon footprint. This led to the rating of Riff Energy+ in March 2022 as carbon neutral under the Carbonfree® Product Certification Program of Carbonfund.org
In July, Riff announced that the Non-GMO Project Product Verification Program certified its cascara drink as being produced without genetic engineering or ingredients obtained from genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Founded in Oregon in 2017, and backed by venture capital, Riff produced a successful brand of cold brew coffee for a couple of years when its team decided to go beyond the bean and experiment with cascara. Riff Energy+ is marketed as a sparkling performance drink packed with high levels of antioxidants, potassium, iron, and magnesium. It's also vegan and gluten-free. Each 12 oz/355 ml can has 120 mg of caffeine and is available in three fruit flavors: pomegranate, guava, and blackberry.
The drink is being positioned to appeal to planet-conscious consumers because it utilizes a coffee industry by-product that normally contributes to landfill.
An environmental impact study by Oregon State University sponsored by Riff found that some 70 billion pounds (31 billion kilos) of cascara is discarded as waste each year around the world, despite its nutritional value. This is also a climate hazard. Food waste represents approximately 10% of food-related global emissions, which account for 20-40% of total global greenhouse gas emissions.
Energy+ is a part of 1% For The Planet, donating 1% of revenue to forest preservation and reforestation projects in coffee-growing regions.
"There’s no reason why good for you, and good for the planet can’t go hand in hand,” said Paul Evers, Riff c.e.o. and co-founder.
Inclusiveness and social equity are other values promoted by Riff. Evers has noted that commercial use of cascara helps farmers by providing an additional income stream. Affiliations with professional athletes are part of its outreach. Retired American football star Vernon Davis invested in the company and joined its advisory board in 2020. In 2022, Riff named women's basketball player Sedona Prince as the company’s chief community officer.
Cascara tea has been drunk for centuries in coffee-growing regions in the Middle East, Africa, and South America. It has a fruity, floral taste, with less caffeine than brewed coffee but is rich in antioxidants and other nutrients.
Cascara infusions started popping up on cafe menus in the United States and Europe over the past ten years. The ingredient went mainstream in 2017 when Starbucks introduced a latte black drizzled with cascara syrup.
In 2021, Nestlé launched a RTD beverage called Nescafé Nativ Cascara in Australia, positioned as a sparkling soft drink that can double as a cocktail mixer.