Caffeine pouches: The controversial new energy alternative teens are using like Zyn

Teen-friendly promotion of the product is spreading on social media. Adding to the concerns is a caffeine pouch startup from a former Juul marketing executive.

David Gomez, a school resource officer for the Boise County Sheriff’s Office in Idaho, started noticing caffeine pouches last spring. Students were using the pillow-shaped pouches, which can contain more than 200 milligrams of caffeine, alongside nicotine pouches like Zyn.

They’ll use them either as a disguise for nicotine pouch usage — caffeine and nicotine pouches often look virtually identical — or a complement to it, Gomez said.

“They’ll use the Zyn pouches that they put in their lip, and then they’ll take a caffeine pouch,” he added. “They don’t care what it is they’re putting in their lip.”

The use of caffeine pouches among teens is still relatively rare. But some experts and educators have concerns that that could soon change. Teen-friendly marketing of these products is spreading on social media. And Richard Mumby, the marketing executive who helped launch the e-cigarette Juul, which was widely blamed for sparking a teen vaping epidemic, is back with a caffeine pouch startup called Wip.

Wip joins a growing market drafting off the popularity of nicotine pouches and trying to sell Americans on a new alternative to caffeinated beverages.