Hungary’s runaway export success Hell Energy Kft. is launching a new drink entirely based on a recipe created by artificial intelligence, daily Magyar Nemzet reports.
A company statement said AI has processed the vast amount of information available on the web to come up with the recipe. In addition to the real caffeine and optimized sugar content, the recipe also contains vitamins and amino acids, all while still complying with food industry regulations.
The recipe is stored on a secret computer with high-security features and a backup copy is kept in a Swiss vault.
“The new product is already attracting a lot of interest on the market, and the feedback from consumers is positive,” said Réka Szondy, the company’s communications consultant. She also reported that Hell Energy exported close to 60 percent of its products last year.
Established in 2006 by Ernő Barabás, an ethnic Hungarian who left Romania, the company became Hungary’s market leader in energy drinks within three years and is now also the most popular energy drink in Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia.
According to the consolidated income statement published on the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) website, Hell Energy Hungary Ltd. had net sales of almost HUF 150 billion (€400 million) in 2022, of which domestic sales amounted to HUF 62 billion and export sales to HUF 88 billion.
Of the export revenues, some HUF 68 billion came from within the EU and HUF 20 billion from outside the EU in 2022. In 2021, the company’s net sales amounted to just over HUF 100 billion, with domestic sales amounting to HUF 44 billion and export sales to HUF 56 billion.
In 2020, Barabás was listed among Forbes’ 100 wealthiest Hungarians, but he sued and got a court order for Forbes to remove his name; he has not appeared in any subsequent annual lists.
