Caffeine pouches spread online as teens search for “discreet” hits

Flavored caffeine pouches are becoming a social-media staple and a convenient substitute for coffee and energy drinks. But experts warn that, with no federal age restriction for caffeine products, the “easy to hide” format is pulling younger people into risky

On an April evening in New York, Nearly a hundred sauna-goers packed Othership Flatiron, a wellness spa known for its mix of cedar heat and ice-cold plunges. Music thumped as attendees cycled between 32-degree cold plunges and a cedar sauna, slipping small white pouches between their gums and lips.

The pouches weren’t nicotine. They were marketed as flavored caffeine—Blue Raspberry and Fruit Punch—sold in palm-sized plastic canisters lined up on the counter. The event was hosted by Wip. a startup behind flavored “energy pouches.” And the product sits at the center of a wider push: caffeine pouches positioned as a trendier. cheaper. and more discreet alternative to coffee. energy drinks. and pre-workout powders.

That discretion may be exactly what worries clinicians and educators. Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, a professor of pediatrics at Stanford University who studies adolescent tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use, says the main draw is concealment.

“They’re appealing because they’re easy to hide,” she said. “I have concerns. I don’t want young people to become dependent on it – to overuse.”

Her concern is personal to her work. Halpern-Felsher, who gives lectures to teachers and parents about adolescent tobacco use, says she now regularly receives questions about caffeine pouches.

“Educators and even parents are worried and have seen adolescents and young adults using caffeine pouches,” she said.

No federal age restriction

Caffeine products face no federal age restriction, meaning “anyone can buy them.” In the story caffeine pouches are telling online, that access meets a format designed for fast use and easy concealment.

The pouches have begun showing up more frequently in the wellness sphere and in social settings, according to the growing presence of product references on social media. Brands, including Wip, say their products are intended only for adults.

But as young adults discuss caffeine pouches on and offline, experts who study adolescent behavior say the products are entering teenage vocabulary as well.

At bars, in offices, and at gyms, caffeine pouches have started replacing energy drinks. Companies offer pouches ranging from 50 milligrams to 225 milligrams. For context, a 12-oz cup of coffee contains about 136 milligrams of caffeine, while a Redbull contains 114 milligrams. The Food and Drug Administration recommends keeping total caffeine usage under 400 milligrams per day.

Yet recent viral videos show young people doubling up on caffeine pouches—sometimes taking 400 milligrams in one use.

Rob van Dam. a professor at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health who studies caffeine. says pouch format changes how easy it is to lose track of total intake. He notes that consumers may be more aware of caffeine when drinking multiple cups of coffee or soda. but “it’s easier to consume a high dose in pouch format.”.

He also points to the way pouches deliver caffeine.

“And while drinks take longer to absorb, a pouch, administered between the gum and the cheek, is absorbed rapidly into the bloodstream,” he said.

“Now, because you have all these different sources, it becomes very confusing how much caffeine you’re using in total,” van Dam said. “It’s very easy to get into a pattern where you use excessive amounts of caffeine.”

Slang spreads—and so does the shopping habit

Influencers have played a major role in normalizing caffeine pouches. On social media, people promote the products with slang terms popular with teens and young adults, including “upper decky” and “lip pillow.” Some even call the items “caffeine zyns,” likening them to nicotine pouches.

The online chatter suggests that both young adults and teens are trying the pouches.

“You don’t have to be 21… ” one user wrote over a video linking to Rebel energy pouches. lamenting that he waited until 21 to try Zyns. writing that he “literally could’ve just got these off the TikTok shop at any age.” In another clip. “These literally got me through high school. ” a 19-year-old said while promoting a LyvWel caffeine pouch.

Sophia Renard, an 18-year-old fitness influencer and a freshman at the University of Miami, says promotional content often leaves young people unaware of what they’re taking.

“A lot of young people watching promotional content really don’t know what they’re putting into their body,” Renard said.

Renard says caffeine pouches help her track her intake. She has also made TikTok Shop affiliate posts promoting Wip. Still, she cautions that younger users are tempted to imitate.

She described conversations with her younger brother, who is in high school.

“It’s like, ‘Oh, I saw this influencer do this, so I’m doing it,’” Renard said. “They look at those things and they’re like, ‘Oh, this is so cool.’”

The industry argues the comparison to nicotine is misleading

The debate over caffeine pouches echoes a longer battle over nicotine pouches. Critics point to overlap between the nicotine and caffeine pouch industry.

Wip CEO Richard Mumby previously worked as chief marketing officer at Juul, the e-cigarette maker that later agreed to pay $462 million over allegations that it marketed its products to underage vapers.

Wip has distanced itself from comparisons to nicotine pouches, emphasizing that its product is not intended to be used for nicotine cessation.

Nora Minno, director of nutrition, regulatory and product communications at Wip, said the slang terminology for caffeine and nicotine pouches may overlap, but that the products do not.

“People often default to the most familiar reference point to describe something new. similar to how ‘Kleenex’ became shorthand for tissues. ” Minno said. “In this case. some consumers may use common nicotine pouch terminology to describe the form factor as a point of reference. specifically referring to the brand name ‘Zyn’ for pouches generally.”.

How the category grew

The modern caffeine pouch category traces back to 2009, when Grinds launched coffee-filled oral pouches marketed as a tobacco alternative for baseball players. Halpern-Felsher said these pouches began gaining major traction within the last five years.

Their surge coincided with a boom in nicotine pouch products led by Zyn. In January 2025, Zyn became the first and only authorized nicotine pouch product in the United States after the Food and Drug Administration authorized its marketing.

Longtime tobacco alternative companies like Smokey Mountain Chew added pouches to their lineups. Additional brand launches in 2024 and 2025 helped push pouches into the wellness space. By 2026, dozens of pouch products were on the market.

Some users say pouches help rein in caffeine habits

Not everyone sees pouches as an escalation. Danielle Byrd, a 23-year-old fitness influencer, says caffeine pouches appeal to athletes looking for an alternative to energy drinks and pre-workout powders, as heavy caffeine use has become more normalized in fitness.

In college, Byrd says she developed a routine of drinking two Monster energy drinks before class and using pre-workout powder late at night, sometimes consuming more than 1,000 milligrams of caffeine a day—about the equivalent of 10 cups of coffee.

Byrd says pouches help her keep her intake closer to 600 milligrams a day. She also said her sister, who works a 9-5 job and doesn’t work out, uses the pouches for focus at work.

“With previous pre-workouts, it gave me the jitters, it made me crash immediately after my workout,” Byrd said. “These were more of a consistent energy, and then it died off slowly.”

Young people, and the risk of addiction

Even advocates of moderation face a central question: what happens when caffeine intake becomes habitual for younger people.

Experts say there is little data on how many young people have used caffeine pouches, but they are increasingly concerned about caffeine addiction among young people.

An Epic Research study found the rate of emergency room visits for caffeine-related problems more than doubled for children ages 11 to 14 between 2017 and 2023.

In 2022. a 21-year-old student went into cardiac arrest and died after consuming one of Panera Bread’s highly caffeinated Charged Lemonade drinks. The family of a 17-year-old cheerleader who died from cardiomyopathy alleged in a wrongful death lawsuit that her heart condition was brought on by drinking Alani Nu caffeinated drinks.

David Gomez, a school resource officer for the Boise County Sheriff’s Office in Idaho, says his concern has surfaced in everyday school conversations. He said students have asked him whether it is legal to bring caffeine pouches to school.

“That’s concerning, he notes, but he’s still most worried about energy drinks,” according to the account.

Gomez described what he sees in classrooms: “I see sixth graders coming in with … giant energy drinks, and a lot of them are drinking one energy drink in the morning and one in the afternoon just to get them through their school day.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages caffeine for kids under 12 and suggests a limit of 100 milligrams per day for teenagers.

As caffeine has become more ubiquitous through energy drinks and pre-workout powders, experts worry pouches could intensify the trend—partly because the concentrated format can make it easy to exceed recommended limits.

Van Dam says misuse of caffeine can increase heart rate and blood pressure and contribute to poor sleep quality. He adds that the pattern of usage matters.

He says there is nothing wrong with teenagers drinking a cup of coffee or tea, but he discourages use of pouches because their concentrated format can lead to overshooting intake recommendations.

For young people who are using the product, he said, the key is to track labels and think about total caffeine use across different formats.

“It could be safe,” he added. “But it takes a lot of thinking to really realize exactly how much you’re taking and what the impact on your health could be.”

The stakes are not abstract. A product built for convenience and stealth is colliding with a market where caffeine is already widespread and where adolescents are learning what to do through videos and comments.

When format makes tracking harder, the line between a “reasonable” boost and an excessive daily dose can get blurred—especially when social-media promotion normalizes stacking.

Where the situation stands now

Caffeine pouches are still marketed as adult products. but their growing visibility in wellness settings and on TikTok Shop has pushed them into adolescent conversation. With no federal age restriction on caffeine products. the question shifts from what companies intend to how young users actually encounter them.

For clinicians and school officials. the urgency comes from the same tension visible in the April sauna—rapid delivery. discreet use. and a brand-new slang ecosystem that can make caffeine feel low-stakes. For regulators and public health experts, that discretion is exactly why guidance may be needed beyond marketing promises.

caffeine pouches Wip Richard Mumby Nora Minno TikTok Shop adolescent health FDA caffeine limits energy pouches adolescent tobacco alcohol marijuana use Rob van Dam Bonnie Halpern-Felsher