BUM Energy Drink Review (2026): CBUM's Can, Tested for Canada
By Bulldog Nutrition Editorial Team | Updated: August 2026
Quick Answer
BUM Energy is Chris Bumstead's signature energy drink from RAW Nutrition — a 355mL can with moderate natural caffeine from coffee bean, 250mg of Cognizin® citicoline for focus, 5 calories, zero sugar, and no artificial flavours or colours. It is deliberately the least aggressive energy drink in the performance category: roughly a strong cup of coffee's worth of stimulant rather than the maximum a can can carry. That makes it the right pick for all-day use and the wrong pick if you want to be launched into a training session. Available in Canada in 12-can cases.
Most energy drinks compete on how hard they hit. BUM Energy competes on the opposite axis, and that's the most interesting thing about it. Chris Bumstead — six-time Mr. Olympia Classic Physique champion — put his name on a can built around moderate stimulation and a clinically studied focus ingredient rather than a stimulant arms race.
This review covers what's in the can, whether the Cognizin is doing real work or decorating the label, how the flavour lineup ranks, and where BUM fits against the harder-hitting options. For the wider category, see our guide to the best energy drinks in Canada.
What's in a Can of BUM Energy
| Spec | Per can |
|---|---|
| Can size | 355mL (12 fl oz) |
| Caffeine source | Natural, from coffee bean — moderate dose |
| Cognizin® citicoline | 250mg |
| Calories | 5 |
| Sugar | 0g (sucralose sweetened) |
| Artificial flavours / colours | None |
| Cans per case | 12 |
| Made by | RAW Nutrition |
Note the can size: 355mL, not the 473mL that most performance energy drinks use. That's a deliberate choice and it's central to the product. BUM isn't a big can with a small dose — it's a normal-soda-sized can designed to be drunk like a soda, at a stimulant level that doesn't require planning your day around it. Check the Nutrition Facts panel on your can for the exact caffeine content, and keep your daily total inside Health Canada's caffeine guidance.
Cognizin Citicoline: The One Ingredient Worth Discussing
Almost every energy drink now claims a "focus blend." Most of them are underdosed caffeine boosters with a token amino acid. BUM's is different in one specific way: Cognizin is a branded, patented form of citicoline dosed at 250mg — a level that matches what appears in published research rather than a sprinkle for the label.
Citicoline is a precursor in the pathway that produces acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter most associated with attention and memory. The evidence base is real but narrower than the marketing implies. The most-cited trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of citicoline and memory function published in The Journal of Nutrition (study on PubMed) — conducted in healthy older adults, measuring memory outcomes over 12 weeks of daily supplementation.
Read that carefully, because it matters:
- The population was healthy older adults, not 25-year-old lifters.
- The design was daily supplementation over weeks, not one can before a meeting.
- The outcome was memory performance, not the subjective "locked in" feeling energy drink marketing sells.
So the honest position is this: Cognizin is a legitimate, well-characterised ingredient at a defensible dose, which is more than almost any competitor can claim — and the research doesn't demonstrate that one can makes you sharper this afternoon. If you drink BUM daily, you're getting a research-supported ingredient at a research-relevant dose. That's a genuinely better deal than a proprietary blend, and it isn't a nootropic miracle.
Is BUM Energy Healthier Than Other Energy Drinks?
On the specific things that separate energy drinks from one another, BUM does well:
- Zero sugar, 5 calories. The single biggest health differentiator in this category, and BUM clears it.
- No artificial flavours or colours. Uncommon in performance energy drinks, and a real formulation cost.
- Moderate caffeine. The most underrated health feature here. A can that doesn't push you toward your daily caffeine ceiling is easier to fit into a day that already contains coffee and possibly a pre-workout. It also means a smaller crash, because there's less to crash from.
- A dosed active rather than a blend. 250mg of a named, patented ingredient beats "focus matrix 1,200mg" every time.
What it doesn't change: it's still a sweetened, caffeinated beverage. It's sweetened with sucralose, which is approved and well-studied but not to everyone's taste or preference. It has no micronutrient value. "Healthier energy drink" is a comparative claim, not an absolute one — the healthiest option in this aisle is still water, and BUM doesn't treat, cure, or prevent anything.
Who should skip it entirely: anyone caffeine-sensitive, pregnant or breastfeeding, under 18, managing a heart condition, or taking medication affected by stimulants. Always read the can.
Who Makes BUM Energy?
BUM Energy is made by RAW Nutrition, the supplement company Chris Bumstead helped build and fronts — BUM is his signature line within it, and the drink is an extension of the same brand that produces the CBUM-branded pre-workouts and proteins. That's relevant beyond celebrity marketing: RAW has built its reputation on transparent labels and dosed formulas, and BUM Energy is consistent with that rather than a licensing deal slapped on someone else's can. Our full RAW Nutrition brand review covers the wider catalogue.
How BUM Approaches Flavour
BUM's flavour strategy is the clearest expression of what the product is trying to be, and it runs directly against the rest of the performance category.
Where competitors chase licensed candy collaborations and increasingly abstract flavour names, BUM leans into nostalgic soft-drink profiles — cola, cream soda, root beer, and the spiced-cola style — alongside a straightforward fruit range covering peach, citrus, cherry, orange, lemonade, and berry. Nothing in the lineup is trying to be a novelty.
Why that fits the can
This makes complete sense once you connect it to the 355mL format and the moderate stimulant load. BUM is built to be drunk the way people drink soft drinks — casually, during the day, more than once a week — rather than as an event. A soda-shop flavour profile suits that behaviour far better than a sour-candy collaboration does. Candy flavours are exciting for three cans and exhausting by the twelfth; a well-made cola is not.
It's also the reason BUM tends to convert people who say they dislike energy drinks. The characteristic "energy drink" taste — that sharp synthetic edge most of the category shares — is largely absent here, helped by the absence of artificial flavours and colours.
Choosing your first case
- If you want the safest introduction: the fruit side of the range is the broadest crowd-pleaser and the least likely to divide a household.
- If you want to understand what BUM is doing: the classic soda profiles are the better demonstration. They're the flavours the format was designed around.
- If you're replacing a daily soft drink habit: stay in the soda profiles — the substitution is far more convincing than a fruit or candy flavour would be.
- If you're stocking for a shared fridge: a fruit case travels further than a polarising spiced-cola one.
RAW rotates the lineup and runs limited releases, so the energy drinks collection page is the accurate picture of the current range.
BUM Energy vs the Harder-Hitting Cans
| BUM Energy | GHOST Energy | |
|---|---|---|
| Can size | 355mL | 473mL |
| Stimulant level | Moderate — coffee-equivalent | Higher |
| Focus ingredient | Cognizin citicoline, 250mg | Alpha-GPC + NeuroFactor |
| Flavour identity | Nostalgic soda profiles | Licensed candy and soda collaborations |
| Best for | All-day use, second can, stimulant-cautious drinkers | A single stronger can, flavour variety |
These are genuinely different products aimed at different days. BUM is the can you can drink at 3pm without wondering about your sleep. GHOST is the can you reach for when you want more.
And if you're comparing BUM Energy to a pre-workout: don't. A can of BUM is not a training stimulus. If you want pumps, endurance ingredients, and a real pre-training hit, that's a different product class — see our review of CBUM Thavage pre-workout, which is the same brand family built for exactly that job. Plenty of people run Thavage before training and BUM Energy during the workday; just count the caffeine across both.
Who Is BUM Energy Actually For?
It fits you if: you drink energy drinks most days and want one that doesn't dominate your caffeine budget; you're stimulant-cautious but bored of decaf options; you already take a pre-workout and want something separate for the workday; you want a zero-sugar can without artificial flavours or colours; or you prefer classic soda profiles to candy-collaboration flavours.
Look elsewhere if: you want maximum stimulation from a single can, you're chasing a pre-training hit, or you dislike sucralose. BUM is unapologetically the moderate option — that's the product, not a shortfall in it.
Is BUM Energy Available in Canada?
Yes — BUM Energy is sold in Canada in 355mL cans, typically by the 12-can case. Distribution in physical retail is uneven and flavour selection is usually limited to one or two options, which is why most Canadian buyers order cases online.
The category's usual caveat applies. RAW and CBUM products attract grey-market importing, and cans brought in outside authorized distribution come with unknown storage history and no Canadian labelling. Bulldog Nutrition is an authorized Canadian and US retailer of RAW Nutrition — every case is sourced directly, 100% authentic, and ships fast across Canada and the United States.
FAQ
Is BUM Energy available in Canada?
Yes. BUM Energy is sold in Canada in 355mL cans, most commonly in 12-can cases. Retail distribution is patchy and flavour choice in stores is usually limited, so most buyers order cases online. Bulldog Nutrition is an authorized Canadian and US retailer of RAW Nutrition and ships nationwide.
Are BUM Energy drinks healthier than other energy drinks?
On the measures that separate energy drinks, it compares well: zero sugar, 5 calories, no artificial flavours or colours, a moderate rather than maximal caffeine dose, and a named focus ingredient at a real dose instead of a proprietary blend. It's still a sweetened caffeinated beverage with no micronutrient value — a better choice within the category, not a health drink.
Who owns BUM Energy?
BUM Energy is made by RAW Nutrition, the supplement company Chris Bumstead — six-time Mr. Olympia Classic Physique champion — helped build and fronts. BUM is his signature line within the RAW family, alongside the CBUM-branded pre-workouts and proteins.
What is Cognizin in BUM Energy?
Cognizin is a patented, branded form of citicoline, a precursor in the pathway that produces acetylcholine — the neurotransmitter linked to attention and memory. BUM includes 250mg per can, a dose in line with published research. The strongest supporting trial studied daily supplementation in healthy older adults over 12 weeks, so treat it as a well-chosen daily ingredient rather than a same-day cognitive boost.
Is Bulldog Nutrition an authorized RAW Nutrition retailer in Canada?
Yes. Bulldog Nutrition is an authorized Canadian and US retailer of RAW Nutrition, the maker of BUM Energy — every case is sourced directly through legitimate distribution, never grey market or counterfeit, with over 10 years serving customers and fast shipping across Canada and the US.
Verdict
BUM Energy is the most sensible can in the performance energy aisle, and that's a compliment. Zero sugar, no artificial flavours or colours, a genuinely dosed focus ingredient, and a stimulant level chosen for repeatability rather than headlines. The soda-nostalgia flavour lineup is the best expression of what a 355mL can should be.
If you want maximum intensity, this isn't your drink and it isn't trying to be. If you want something you can drink most days without negotiating with your sleep, it's the strongest option we sell. Pick up a 12-can case here, and shop Bulldog Nutrition — authorized Canadian and US retailer with nationwide shipping.