Important factors affecting our ability to compete successfully include the taste and flavor of our products, trade and consumer promotions, rapid and effective development of new, unique cutting edge products, attractive and different packaging, branded product advertising and pricing. Our products compete with all liquid refreshments and with products of much larger and substantially better financed competitors, including the products of numerous nationally and internationally known producers such as TCCC, PepsiCo, Gmbh, the DPS Group, Kraft Foods Inc., and Nestle Beverage Company. We also compete with companies that are smaller or primarily national or local in operations such as Tree Top and Ocean Spray. Our products also compete with private label brands such as those carried by grocery store chains, convenience store chains, and club stores. Our Java Monster™ product line competes directly with Starbucks Frappuccino, Starbucks Double Shot, Starbucks Double Shot Energy Plus Coffee and other Starbucks coffee drinks, Roasted, Caribou Coffee, Cinnabon coffee drinks, Godiva dairy based drinks and Coffee.

There can be no assurance that we will not encounter difficulties in maintaining our current revenues or market share or position due to competition in the beverage industry. If our revenues decline, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We derive a substantial portion of revenues from our energy drinks and competitive pressure in the “” category could adversely affect our operating results.

A substantial portion of our sales are derived from our energy drinks, including in particular our ® brand energy drinks. Our DSD segment, which comprises primarily energy drinks, represented 91.9% of net sales for the year ended December 31, 2009. Any decrease in the sales of our Monster Energy® brand energy drinks could significantly adversely affect our future revenues and net income. Historically, we have experienced substantial competition from new entrants in the energy drink category. Our energy drinks compete directly with Red Bull, Rockstar, Full Throttle, No Fear, Amp, Adrenaline Rush, NOS, Venom, Redline, 180, Red Devil, , Vitaminenergy, Starbucks Double Shot, Starbucks Double Shot Energy Plus Coffee, Rockstar Roasted, Full Throttle Coffee, 5-Hour Energy Shot, , Red Bull Energy Shot, Redline Energy Shot, NOS Energy Shot, Rockstar Energy Shot, Full Throttle Quick Shot, Amp Energy Shot and many other brands. A number of companies who market and distribute iced teas and juice cocktails in different packages, such as 16- and 20-ounce glass and plastic bottles, including Sobe, Snapple, Arizona, Fuse, and Water, have added supplements to their products with a view to marketing their products as “functional” or energy beverages or as having “functional” benefits. In addition, certain large companies such as TCCC and PepsiCo, market and/or distribute products in that market segment such as Pepsi Max, , Mountain Dew MDX and . Competitive pressures in the energy drink category could impact our revenues or we could experience price erosion or lower market share, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results.

We rely on bottlers and other contract packers to manufacture our products. If we are unable to maintain good relationships with our bottlers and contract packers and/or their ability to manufacture our products becomes constrained or unavailable to us, our business could suffer.

We do not directly manufacture our products, but instead outsource such manufacturing to bottlers and other contract packers. In the event of a disruption or delay, we may be unable to procure alternative packing facilities at commercially reasonable rates and/or within a reasonably short time period. In addition, there are limited alternative packing facilities in the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Europe with adequate capacity and/or suitable equipment for many of our products, including Hansen’s® brand energy drinks in 8.3-ounce cans, our PET tea line, Hansen’s® Sparkling beverages in 10.5-ounce sleek cans, aseptic juice products, juices in 64-ounce PET plastic bottles, Monster Energy®, Nitrous™ Monster Energy®, X- Presso Monster™-Hammer, Lost® Energy™ and Rumba®, Samba, Tango energy drinks in 6.75-ounce and/or 8.3-ounce and/or 12-ounce and/or 15.5-ounce and/or 16-ounce and/or 24-ounce and/or 32-ounce and/or 500ml aluminum cans and/or 550ml BRE aluminum cans and/or 500ml glass bottles and/or 12-ounce, 15-ounce and 24- ounce aluminum cap cans, our Java Monster™ product line in 15-ounce aluminum cans, Monster Hitman Energy Shooter™’s, our Peace Tea™ product line in 23-ounce aluminum cans and other products. A disruption or delay in production of any of such products could significantly affect our revenues from such products as alternative co-

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