What’s Happening?
On Wednesday morning, Kyle Busch surprised many by announcing his energy drink brand, Rowdy Energy, was shutting down. However, fans did some sleuthing and found a legal notice against Rowdy Energy filed in the State of California on December 5, 2023. What happened to Rowdy Energy?
- Kyle Busch founded Rowdy Energy in 2020. The goal was to make an energy drink with healthier ingredients, and, the drink quickly found itself in many retailers across the country.
- Aqua Terra Aeris Law Group filed the 60-day Notice on behalf of Environmental Research Center Inc. The notice says that Rowdy Energy violated “California Health and Safety Code SECTION 25249.5 ET SEQ. (PROPOSITION 65)” by “Exceeding allowable levels” of certain chemicals in four different Rowdy Energy products.
- Fans quickly jumped on this notice when it was found on social media. Many speculated this could be the “real” reason why the company shut down.
What Kyle Busch Had to Say?
Kyle Busch announced that Rowdy Energy would be “Ceasing operations” through a lengthy statement on social media. In it, he mentioned some of the company’s accomplishments and thanked his customers and fans.
In the final paragraph, he announced the discontinuation of the brand saying, “Like many other new consumer brands, the headwinds have proven to be too strong, and it makes the most sense to end the journey so I can remain focused on my family and my racing career”. He finished by saying he will “Appreciate” what he learned along with mentioning his passion for “better-for-you energy drinks”.
Obviously, given his comment about “Headwinds”, something was going on behind the scenes that fans do not know about. As far as what those were, he did not say. He did mention spending more time with his family as well.
This is the second business venture Busch has shut down. He sold his Truck Series team, Kyle Busch Motorsports, to Spire Motorsports late in the 2023 NASCAR season, and he cited family in this move as well. Busch told this to Jenna Fryer of The Associated Press.
I’m at a different point in my life now than I was back in 2010.My family has grown, my Cup Series team changed this year and our son’s racing schedule has become as demanding as my own. It’s important to me to be able to spend more time with my family and my No. 8 team at Richard Childress Racing.
Kyle Busch via Jenna Fryer
The Notice
A few misconstrued this legal notice as an official lawsuit, which, it was not. According to restthecase.com, a legal notice is defined as follows.
A legal notice is a written communication that the affected party sends to the opposing party, informing them of the legal action they plan to take against them. This is done when the affected party has suffered a civil grievance and is seeking compensation or legal remedy…The purpose of the legal notice is to give the defendant notice of the aggrieved party’s intention to take legal action against them and provide them with a chance to resolve the matter amicably.
restthecase.com
What was filed in the State of California was a 60-day legal notice to Rowdy Energy about alleged violations of the California Health and Safety Code. Essentially, this was Aqua Terra Aeris Law Group and Environmental Research Center, Inc. telling Rowdy Energy that, if these violations are not fixed, there will be more legal action coming.
The 9-page notice alleges that the following Rowdy Energy drinks, Power Burn Pink Lemonade, Power Burn Watermelon, Power Burn Dragonfruit, Power Burn Pineapple Passionfruit, “Exceeded allowable levels” of Lead for all four drinks plus Mercury for the Watermelon drink. The notice also alleges that the violations have been “Ongoing” since December 5, 2020.
The notice gave Rowdy Energy 60 days to fix the issues. Well, on January 10th, 36 days after the notice was filed, Busch announced the company was shutting down.
Rowdy Energy is shutting down, and it is going down with some controversy surrounding it. Regardless, Busch seems to be thankful for the overall experience he had.