A fast-rising UK drinks start-up has taken one of the sector’s top honours, as ‘Onest Energy was named Best Sports/Energy Drink at the UK Soft Drinks Awards 2026.
The awards, organised by FoodBev Media, recognise excellence and innovation across the UK soft drinks industry, with winners judged independently on taste, ingredient quality and overall brand execution. ‘Onest Energy also secured a place as a finalist in the Best Packaging & Label Design category.
Remarkably, the brand is just eight months old.
Founded by Maya Bedeau, ‘Onest Energy triumphed over a competitive field that included major global players such as NOCCO, Holy Energy and Ghost Energy. The latter was acquired by Keurig Dr Pepper in 2024 in a deal valuing the brand at approximately $990 million, while Sweden’s NOCCO operates in more than 40 international markets under the Vitamin Well Group, which reports €650 million in annual revenue.
Despite significantly lower funding and resources, ‘Onest Energy secured the category win, underlining growing demand for simpler, more transparent energy drinks.
Bedeau 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.”
The company raised £225,000 in pre-seed funding prior to launching its first product, bringing total funding to £475,000 to date, and is currently undertaking its next investment round. The milestone is particularly significant in the context of wider industry disparities, with research from Extend Ventures showing that Black female founders received just 0.02% of UK venture capital funding between 2009 and 2019.
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‘Onest Energy’s formulation centres on a streamlined ingredient list, combining 80mg of natural caffeine derived from coffee beans with magnesium citrate, aimed at reducing energy crashes, alongside B vitamins (B3, B6, B12 and B7) to support cellular energy production. Each can contains 30 calories and 4g of natural sugar.
The drink is currently available in two flavours: Sparkling Apple Berry and Sparkling Tropical Peach.
Securing a category win less than a year after launch marks a significant early milestone for the brand and highlights a broader shift in consumer preferences towards cleaner-label, functional energy drinks with transparent ingredient profiles.
