Capitol Hill hopped up on Celsius energy drinks amid weight-loss claims: ‘It’s everywhere’ (2024)

Move over Dunkin’ — America runs on Celsius.

From congressional staffers to reporters on Capitol Hill, it seems everyone in DC is hopped up on Celsius energy drinks amid claims they suppress appetite like Ozempic.

“It’s everywhere,” Brent Robertson, chief-of-staff for Republican Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, told Business Insider this week.

With flavors such as watermelon, kiwi guava and cola, Celsius is billed as an effective and healthy energy drink. The brand has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years.

Founded in 2005, Celsius Holdings Inc. in August reported record second-quarter revenue of$326 million, up 112% from$154 millionduring the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the TikTok hashtag #Celsius has over 1 billion views, as college students praise the product and nutritionists try to dispel false claims about it, i.e., that Celsius contains Ozempic (it does not).

Axios reporter Victoria Knight, who covers congressionalhealth policy, said she’s noticed many congressional members and staffers sipping on the energy drinks.

“Congress would probably go into a government shutdown without Celsius,” Knight said to Business Insider.

She even excitedly tweeted updates on the new Celsius vending machine in the House basem*nt.

“I love to take meetings in front of the Celsius vending machine,” lobbyist Matthew Hoekstra quipped to Business Insider. “I’ll recognize people who go there every day.

“Everyone’s glued to their phones, and even if you’re disciplined, you go to lunches and dinners where you’re eating bread and steak and drinking,” Hoekstra continued.

He believes the “health aspects,” combined with the strong caffeine kick, have helped popularize Celsius in DC circles, as it helps people “manage” their “incredibly intense jobs.”

Celsius seems to have hit a sweet spot with Americans desperate for caffeineand desperate to lose weight fastin the age of Ozempic andother get-thin-quick shortcuts.

While Celsius reps confirmed to The Post that the energy drinks do not contain semaglutide (the primary active ingredient in Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus),Celsius’ site boasts of thermogenic properties that “increase metabolism and make the nervous system more active,” allowing “your body to burn more calories and body fat than you normally would with exercise alone.”

Celsius says its ingredients — which include the green tea compound epigallocatechin gallate, caffeine, guarana seed extract, taurine and ginger root extract — work together to suppress appetite and boost metabolic rate.

A 12-ounce can has just 10 calories and 200 milligrams of caffeine — around double the caffeine in a cup of coffee.

GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida confirmed that the combination of a caffeine boost and health benefits enticed her to try a swig while campaigning last year.

“I needed to get my daily dose of vitamins while door-knocking,” she told Business Insider. Now she “usually has one a day unless we’re in late-night votes, in which case I usually have two.”

Amid the drink’s soaring popularity, Celsius Holdings recently found itself in hot water for “labeling its productsmisleadingly” by describing them as “containing ‘no preservatives'” even though they contain citric acid.

The company reached an agreement in January on a2022 class-action lawsuit.

Meanwhile, Celsius is savoring its role as a crowd-pleaser on Capitol Hill.

“Not only is Celsius used by athletes preparing for competition, for fueling workouts, and celebrating life’s best moments, Celsius also plays an important role in providing our nation’s lawmakers with Essential Energy to carry out critical work for our nation,” the company told Business Insider.

Eric Garcia, the Washington bureau chief for the Independent, told the outlet he became a fan of the slender cans because they seem like “a decent replacement” for his Coca-Cola addiction.

“I think more than anything, given the long hours covering Congress … you need something to stay awake,” Garcia said.

“In a perfect world, if House Republicans could find a speaker or pass a spending bill on time, we wouldn’t need to rely on Celsius.”