From its humble beginnings as Hansen's, Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) has grown to be one of the dominant, if not the most dominant, player in the energy drink category within the beverage industry. Last August Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) announced that they had purchased a 16.7 % equity stake in the company and formed a strategic partnership to distribute Monster Beverages internationally using Coca-Cola's extensive distribution network overseas. Our take away from that announcement was that Coca-Cola firmly believes in the long-term viability of the energy drink market. Read more