Who Makes Celsius Drinks?
Celsius energy drinks are made by Celsius Holdings, Inc. of Boca Raton, Florida. PepsiCo has been the exclusive US distributor since August 2022.
Quick Answer
Celsius is made by Celsius Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CELH), an American energy drink company headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. It has been publicly traded since 2008.
PepsiCo became the exclusive US distributor in August 2022 in a deal that included an $550 million preferred equity investment. Celsius cans are now stocked in Pepsi's US bottler network alongside Rockstar and Mountain Dew energy drinks.
The Company
Celsius Holdings reported 2024 revenue of about $1.36 billion, up from $75 million in 2019. That five year growth rate is one of the fastest in the beverage industry ever. Employee count is roughly 700.
The company is led by CEO John Fieldly, a former CFO who took the top job in 2018. Founder Steve Haley remains involved as a shareholder.
How Celsius Started
Celsius launched in 2004 as a "healthy energy" drink positioned around a formula the founders claimed boosted metabolism. Early years were rough. The company nearly went bankrupt in 2015 before Fieldly took over and repositioned the brand toward fitness consumers, gym channels and Amazon.
The Amazon-first strategy in 2018 to 2020 built Celsius into a top selling energy drink on the platform. Retail expansion followed. The 2022 PepsiCo deal supercharged national distribution.
Where Celsius Is Made
Celsius does not own manufacturing. The company contracts with third party co-packers across the United States and Europe. Since the PepsiCo deal, many US cans are produced at PepsiCo bottling plants alongside Mountain Dew and Rockstar.
Ball Corporation supplies aluminum cans. Caffeine, taurine, guarana, ginger and green tea extracts are sourced from bulk ingredient suppliers globally. Flavor systems are blended at Celsius' Boca Raton headquarters.
What Is Inside A Celsius
A 12 ounce Celsius Original contains 200 milligrams of caffeine (from green tea extract and guarana), a proprietary blend called MetaPlus (taurine, guarana seed extract, ginger, glucuronolactone, green tea extract), no sugar, no aspartame and 7 B vitamins.
The brand relies on the MetaPlus blend for its metabolism claim. A 2010 clinical study funded by Celsius reported a 12 percent increase in metabolic rate for three hours after consumption. Independent replication has been limited.
How Celsius Compares To Rivals
Celsius is now the number three US energy drink brand by dollar sales, behind Monster and Red Bull and ahead of Bang, Rockstar and Reign. Its differentiator is the "fitness" positioning: no sugar, no artificial preservatives, natural caffeine and B vitamins.
Alani Nu (owned by Congo Brands and majority acquired by Monster Beverage in 2024 for $1.65 billion) is Celsius' closest lifestyle-positioned competitor. Ghost Energy (also acquired by Keurig Dr Pepper in 2024) is another direct rival.
How To Trace Any Product Back To Its Manufacturer
- Read the fine print on the label. US and EU packaging law requires either the manufacturer name or a "distributed by" address. That is your starting point.
- Search the company's SEC filings. Public parent companies list subsidiaries and manufacturing sites in their 10-K annual reports.
- Check the FDA or USDA establishment number. For food, drugs and cosmetics, the plant of origin can often be looked up in public regulatory databases.
- Follow the money. Press releases about acquisitions and joint ventures are the fastest way to spot who really controls a brand today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Celsius owned by PepsiCo? No. Celsius Holdings is an independent public company. PepsiCo owns a preferred equity stake and is the exclusive US distributor.
Where are Celsius cans made? At third party co-packers in the US and Europe, including PepsiCo bottling plants since the 2022 distribution deal.
Does Celsius really boost metabolism? Celsius funded a 2010 study reporting a short term metabolic increase. Independent evidence is limited, and the effect is likely modest.
How much caffeine is in a Celsius? 200 milligrams per 12 ounce can, roughly the same as two small cups of coffee.
What This Means For The Shopper
When you understand who actually makes Celsius, a few practical shopping habits fall into place. First, corporate ownership tells you where product safety recalls and reformulations come from. Second, it tells you which store brand alternatives are chemically or functionally equivalent, because generic makers usually target the same reference product. Third, it explains pricing behavior: brands owned by big consumer conglomerates rarely drop below a floor price for long, because that floor protects a very large marketing and distribution investment.
Corporate ownership also shifts over time. The same brand you grew up with may be on its third or fourth parent company. That is why any answer to "who makes Celsius" should be dated. The current parent listed on the label today is the one legally responsible for the product, regardless of the packaging design or advertising campaign you remember from years ago.
If you want to double check, the fastest confirmation is the label itself. Look for the "Distributed by" or "Manufactured by" line in the fine print. The company name and city on that line is the current legal manufacturer or distributor of Celsius for your market, and that is the entity you would contact for a product complaint, safety concern or ingredient question.
What To Watch Going Forward
Consumer packaged goods ownership keeps consolidating. In the last five years alone, several major consumer health and beverage brands have moved between parent companies through spin-offs, sales and joint ventures. Expect more of the same over the next five years, especially as private equity and family holding companies continue to reshape mid-cap consumer brands.
If you buy Celsius regularly and care about who profits from your purchase, it is worth checking the label every year or two. Ownership changes are usually announced in trade press but rarely make consumer headlines, so most shoppers miss them until the packaging gets a subtle redesign to reflect the new parent company.
Bottom Line
Celsius is an American public company based in Florida, distributed nationally by PepsiCo since 2022. The formula is a caffeine plus B vitamin blend without sugar, and the brand has been one of the fastest growing beverage stories of the past decade.