Slow Cow–Calm down and improve your concentration?

Leveraging a twist on the appearance of the energy drink, Red Bull, a Canadian company is marketing a new ‘anti-energy’ drink called Slow Cow Drink.  The design features two cows juxtaposed face down on the ground. Lino Fleury and his team spent just over a year and half creating a drink that’s creating a new market niche which goes against the grain of the already enormous and competitive energy drink market.  5 Hour Energy, 6 hour power… where does it end?  24 Hours of Insomnia (TM)?  36 Hours of Psychosis(TM)?  Lino Fleury, perhaps, is hoping that the energy drink ‘hour’ war ends with Slow Cow Drink(TM).

If they overcome potential litigation from Red Bull over the likeness of their product appearance, leveraging the popularity of Red Bull’s brand awareness could potentially be a brilliant marketing strategy.  At the very least, it’s certainly drawing some attention to their new product.  As a newly dubbed, ‘anti-energy’ drink, Slow Cow is touted as improving both concentration as well as relaxation.

Unlike energy drinks which often include Caffeine and Taurine along with various other combinations, the key ingredient in Slow Cow is L-theanine, an amino acid, found in tea.  L-theanine is believed to increase levels of GABA production in the brain.  GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter.  It  also promotes alpha wave production in the brain (Nobra et al, 2008).  Alpha waves are found in EEGs during periods of waking relaxation.  A recent study by Parnell et al (2008) found that L-theanine when combined with caffeine are actually beneficial for improving performance on cognitively demanding tasks.

References:

Nobre AC, Rao A, Owen GN. L-theanine, a natural constituent in tea, and its effect on mental state. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2008;17 Suppl 1:167-8.Owen GN,

Parnell H, De Bruin EA, Rycroft JA. The combined effects of L-theanine and caffeine on cognitive performance and mood. Nutr Neurosci. 2008 Aug;11(4):193-8.

For more information, visit: Slow Cow Drink.