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Monster Energy has decided that what women really need in 2026 is… their own special energy drink. Yes, really. The beverage giant is rolling out FLRT, a pastel-coloured, women-focused, zero-sugar line that leans heavily into flirtatious branding, glossy lifestyle slogans and flavours that sound more like rom-com chapter titles than canned caffeine.
It’s Monster’s attempt to carve out space in the booming wellness-adjacent, female-targeted functional beverage market, but the premise itself has already sparked confusion, and a whole lot of “why is this even a thing?”
The drink launches with four flavours — Strawberry Fling, Guava Lava, Berry Tempting and Sunset Squeeze — all boasting a zero-sugar formula, no artificial colours and a rather hefty 200mg of caffeine per can. On its website, FLRT positions itself as “your new crush in a can,” and the internet is already rolling its eyes.
One X user wrote, “female focused… named FLRT… berry tempting, strawberry fling and sunset squeeze… oh we’ll never be free.”
Another couldn’t understand why the company thought Monster didn’t appeal to women.
The naming conventions, combined with the pastel-heavy visual identity also raised eyebrows.
Others questioned the premise altogether.
But the strongest criticism highlighted a larger systemic issue in branding and “female-first” marketing. As one user put it:
The brand isn’t just pushing aesthetics, it’s also promoting a suite of functional benefits — the drink will apparently provide collagen support, immunity support and skin and hair support. According to Monster, FLRT was born out of the idea that energy should be “as vibrant, fearless, and fun as the women who drink it,” built using “better-for-you ingredients”.
Long associated with extreme sports and aggressively masculine branding, Monster’s FLRT signals its attempt to court a demographic that it believes wants fun with function. However, as X users pointed out, the execution is not in the best taste. So whether FLRT will resonate with women or become another cautionary tale in “shrink it and pink it” marketing, remains to be seen.