CALLING sports and energy the biggest category in soft drinks within c-stores, Red Bull has predicted five years of continued growth for energy drinks.
Category development manager for off-trade, Rich Fisher said that following in-depth market analysis completed this year, Red Bull had identified up to £605m extra sales opportunities over the next three to five years.
He said: “Over the last three years sports and energy has been a driving factor in the growth of soft drinks, delivering over 40% of category expansion and becoming the biggest category in soft drinks in all off-premise channels except major multiples, despite the continued decline in classic sports drinks.”
To help achieve sales growth, Red Bull plans to promote the use of positive energy by linking times of energy need, such as studying, driving and working, to energy drinks.
The firm says product innovation remains important but argues the biggest strength of the category lies in brand excitement.
Fisher said: “In an increasingly crowded market, brands need to find innovative ways to reach their end user such as Red Bull’s Global Air Race Championships.”
• The big can energy drink market is growing at 9% and carbonated energy drinks are now worth £103m, says AG Barr.
And it forecasts that lower-sugar energy drinks will be worth £200m in the next five years.
Head of marketing Adrian Troy said: “Sugar is an important component of energy delivery for the majority of consumers, but we do see a small but growing number of consumers who are looking for a lower-calorie or even sugar-free option.”
He said AG Barr’s Rockstar Pure Zero was launched to meet that demand and added that Rockstar created a new category earlier this year with the launch of Rockstar Energy Waters.
He said: “Rockstar Energy Waters is bringing new consumers into the energy category and the refreshing, lighter nature of the products is opening up new consumption occasions such as lunchtime.”
The newest product from the energy drink brand is Rockstar Freeze which Troy says was well received in consumer testing.
