ANKENY, Iowa -- Casey's General Stores Inc. has attracted some media attention following a report by KCTV in Kansas City, Mo., indicating that the convenience store chain had enacted a restriction on the sale of energy drinks to minors. Not so, reported BevNET.com.
According to Brian Johnson, Casey's vice president of finance, the company has implemented a policy for the past eight to 10 years that prevents minors, unless accompanied by an adult, from buying energy shots or pills, which can be found in the dietary supplement section. But energy drinks at Casey's are still fair game to all ages, said the report.
"We feel perfectly comfortable selling energy drinks to anyone that may want to enjoy them, no different than a chocolate milk or a soda pop," Johnson told the beverage news source.
He said that the store's policy on energy shots and pills, which isn't mandated by law, aims to prevent minors from taking five to six energy shots in a short period of time.
"As a responsible retailer and the communities we serve, it just feels like the right thing to do," Johnson said.
Comparing them to coffee, he said that Casey's doesn't consider energy drinks to have the same risk as energy shots or pills because of their size, and that he doesn't know if the stomach can hold five to six energy drinks in a short period of time.
Johnson also said that Casey's management hasn't considered restricting energy drinks to minors. "We believe some of those lawsuits and stories on those are kind of misguided," he told BevNET.
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