Customized report – Sports and energy drinks in the United States and Canada
February 2018
Energy drinks are usually carbonated/fizzy beverages that claim to awaken or provide alertness, while sports drinks are usually non-carbonated and are claimed to rehydrate/replenish, as well as restore minerals, sugar, and other nutrients usually lost during exercise. Some sports drinks are also claimed to improve performance and increase endurance and are often described as isotonic (having the same salt content as blood). Both subcategories include all formats such as ready-to-drink, dilutable powder, and liquid concentrate/gel.
This document presents data tables on historic and forecast retail sales of sports and energy drinks in Canada and the United States (U.S.), as well as retail prices. These are followed by a product launch analysis of new sports and energy drinks launched in both countries between January 2016 and February 2018. Examples of new products containing honey are included at the end.
Retail sales and prices
| Type | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | CAGR* 2013-17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fortified/functional energy drinks | 349.9 | 368.6 | 390.6 | 407.5 | 429.9 | 5.3% |
| Regular energy drinks | 206.7 | 213.1 | 232.2 | 236.7 | 245.6 | 4.4% |
| Reduced sugar energy drinks | 143.1 | 155.5 | 158.4 | 170.8 | 184.3 | 6.5% |
| Fortified/functional sports drinks | 348.5 | 355.6 | 362.4 | 368.5 | 374.0 | 1.8% |
| Regular sports drinks | 239.3 | 243.5 | 247.4 | 250.4 | 252.9 | 1.4% |
| Reduced sugar sports drinks | 109.3 | 112.2 | 115.0 | 118.1 | 121.1 | 2.6% |
| Total sports and energy drinks | 698.4 | 724.2 | 753.0 | 776.0 | 803.9 | 3.6% |
Source: Euromonitor International, 2018 *CAGR: Compound annual growth rate |
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| Type | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | CAGR* 2018-22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fortified/functional energy drinks | 461.3 | 494.6 | 529.3 | 565.7 | 603.6 | 7.0% |
| Regular energy drinks | 259.2 | 273.1 | 287.2 | 301.4 | 315.8 | 5.1% |
| Reduced sugar energy drinks | 202.1 | 221.4 | 242.1 | 264.3 | 287.9 | 9.2% |
| Fortified/functional sports drinks | 383.3 | 393.1 | 403.1 | 413.2 | 423.2 | 2.5% |
| Regular sports drinks | 257.6 | 262.7 | 267.6 | 272.6 | 277.7 | 1.9% |
| Reduced sugar sports drinks | 125.7 | 130.5 | 135.5 | 140.6 | 145.6 | 3.7% |
| Total sports and energy drinks | 844.6 | 887.7 | 932.4 | 978.9 | 1,026.9 | 5.0% |
Source: Euromonitor International, 2018 *CAGR: Compound annual growth rate |
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| Type | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | CAGR* 2013-17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fortified/functional energy drinks | 9,607.1 | 10,060.6 | 11,158.3 | 11,483.0 | 11,751.2 | 5.2% |
| Regular energy drinks | 7,493.1 | 7,869.3 | 8,785.6 | 8,909.7 | 8,953.5 | 4.6% |
| Reduced sugar energy drinks | 2,113.9 | 2,191.2 |
2,372.7 |
2,573.4 | 2,797.6 | 7.3% |
| Fortified/functional sports drinks | 6,670.3 | 6,881.4 | 7,425.2 | 7,799.0 | 7,888.7 | 4.3% |
| Regular sports drinks | 5,750.2 | 6,097.4 | 6,655.3 | 7,046.9 | 7,136.7 | 5.5% |
| Reduced sugar sports drinks | 920.1 | 784.0 | 770.0 | 752.1 | 752.0 | −4.9% |
| Total sports and energy drinks | 16,277.3 | 16,941.9 | 18,583.6 | 19,282.0 | 19,639.8 | 4.8% |
Source: Euromonitor International, 2018 *CAGR: Compound annual growth rate |
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| Type | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | CAGR* 2018-22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fortified/functional energy drinks | 12,181.4 | 12,710.5 | 13,211.7 | 13,807.8 | 14,437.8 | 4.3% |
| Regular energy drinks | 9,094.5 | 9,246.0 | 9,337.0 | 9,516.2 | 9,709.7 | 1.6% |
| Reduced sugar energy drinks | 3,086.9 | 3,464.4 | 3,874.7 | 4,291.6 | 4,728.1 | 11.2% |
| Fortified/functional sports drinks | 7,995.1 | 8,252.2 | 8,558.4 | 8,863.7 | 9,184.9 | 3.5% |
| Regular sports drinks | 7,229.6 | 7,465.5 | 7,746.7 | 8,028.3 | 8,332.0 | 3.6% |
| Reduced sugar sports drinks | 765.5 | 786.7 | 811.8 | 835.4 | 853.0 | 2.7% |
| Total sports and energy drinks | 20,176.5 | 20,962.6 | 21,770.1 | 22,671.5 | 23,622.7 | 4.0% |
Source: Euromonitor International, 2018 *CAGR: Compound annual growth rate |
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The following table presents the current retail price for sports and energy drinks in both markets.
| Type | Canada | Unites States |
|---|---|---|
| Fortified/functional energy drinks | 6.2 | 5.2 |
| Regular energy drinks | 5.9 | 5.2 |
| Reduced sugar energy drinks | 6.6 | 5.1 |
| Fortified/functional sports drinks | 2.4 | 1.4 |
| Regular sports drinks | 2.4 | 1.4 |
| Reduced sugar sports drinks | 2.4 | 1.4 |
| Source: Euromonitor International, 2018 | ||
Product launch analysis
According to Mintel, between January 2016 and February 2018, a total of 362 products within the category of Sports and Energy Drinks were launched in the U.S. (281) and Canada (81). Energy drinks (236) made up 65% of total product launches while the rest belonged to the sports drinks sub-category (126).
All of the products in Canada were branded, whereas twenty-two products in the U.S. were from a private label. Only one product was designed to be stored chilled in Canada (vs. eighty shelf stable products) versus 12 in the U.S. Other key characteristics are presented in the table of the following page and show variations between countries and categories.
| Attribute | By country | By category | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Canada | Energy drinks | Sports drinks | |
| Top claims | ||||
| Other (functional) | 139 | 15 | 82 | 72 |
| Ethical-Environmentally friendly package | 114 | 24 | 100 | 38 |
| Kosher | 101 | 15 | 61 | 55 |
| Social media | 71 | 28 | 70 | 29 |
| Low/No/Reduced allergen | 82 | 15 | 55 | 42 |
| Gluten free | 82 | 14 | 54 | 42 |
| Low/No/Reduced sugar | 75 | 20 | 80 | 15 |
| No Additives/Preservatives | 75 | 18 | 55 | 38 |
| Low/No/Reduced calorie | 70 | 7 | 56 | 21 |
| GMO free | 48 | 11 | 38 | 21 |
| Organic | 46 | 11 | 44 | 13 |
| Top packagings | ||||
| Can | 119 | 57 | 174 | 2 |
| Bottle | 117 | 19 | 51 | 85 |
| Flexible stand-up pouch | 13 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
| Flexible sachet | 11 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| Jar | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Top flavours | ||||
| Unflavoured/Plain | 21 | 21 | 38 | 4 |
| Berry | 25 | 7 | 19 | 13 |
| Orange | 26 | 4 | 12 | 18 |
| Mango | 24 | 5 | 19 | 10 |
| Fruit | 23 | 3 | 6 | 20 |
| Grape | 21 | 4 | 12 | 13 |
| Punch | 19 | 5 | 7 | 17 |
| Strawberry | 21 | 2 | 12 | 11 |
| Lime | 17 | 5 | 9 | 13 |
| Lemon | 17 | 5 | 4 | 18 |
| Top stores | ||||
| Supermarket | 98 | 48 | 102 | 44 |
| Mass merchandise/Hypermarket | 48 | 13 | 39 | 22 |
| Natural/Health food store | 35 | 2 | 22 | 15 |
| Convenience store | 10 | 7 | 14 | 3 |
| Drug store/Pharmacy | 9 | 8 | 13 | 4 |
| Club store | 15 | 0 | 2 | 13 |
| Internet/Mail order | 15 | 0 | 6 | 9 |
| Specialist retailer | 13 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Top companies | ||||
| Gatorade | 31 | 0 | 0 | 31 |
| Monster Energy | 15 | 13 | 28 | 0 |
| PepsiCo | 13 | 6 | 14 | 5 |
| Campbell Soup | 19 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| Rockstar | 7 | 9 | 16 | 0 |
| Red Bull | 4 | 7 | 11 | 0 |
| Vital Pharmaceuticals | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Living Essentials | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| Xyience | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| GURU Beverages | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| MusclePharm Corp. | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Kraft Heinz Foods | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Coca-Cola | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| BA Sports Nutrition | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Top format | ||||
| Carbonated (fizzy / sparkling / bubbly) | 47 | 7 | 50 | 4 |
| Smooth (silky / velvety / creamy / buttery) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Gelled (gel / jelly / jellied) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Runny (liquid / sloppy / watery) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Light (delicate / puffy) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Melt (melt-in-the-mouth) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Source: Mintel, 2018 | ||||
| Attribute | By country | By category | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Canada | Energy drinks | Sports drinks | |
| Top ingredient claims | ||||
| Natural | 260 | 54 | 201 | 113 |
| Sugar based | 115 | 37 | 86 | 66 |
| Artificial | 61 | 21 | 54 | 28 |
| Green | 60 | 8 | 65 | 3 |
| Vegetable based | 55 | 7 | 49 | 13 |
| Organic | 51 | 11 | 47 | 15 |
| Coconut derived | 26 | 4 | 12 | 18 |
| Pure | 24 | 4 | 19 | 9 |
| Fair-trade | 16 | 2 | 15 | 3 |
| High | 16 | 1 | 14 | 3 |
| Proprietary | 7 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
| Soy derived | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| To preserve freshness | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Furocoumarin free | 0 | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| Top ingredient preparations | ||||
| Extract | 140 | 46 | 162 | 24 |
| Carbonated | 70 | 40 | 108 | 2 |
| Concentrate | 66 | 21 | 70 | 17 |
| Filtered | 62 | 5 | 43 | 24 |
| Root | 39 | 23 | 61 | 1 |
| Purified | 36 | 7 | 32 | 11 |
| Sweet | 25 | 3 | 27 | 1 |
| Made from concentrate | 27 | 0 | 21 | 6 |
| Blended | 24 | 3 | 16 | 11 |
| Modified | 19 | 4 | 1 | 22 |
| Puree | 14 | 4 | 15 | 3 |
| Sparkling | 11 | 6 | 17 | 0 |
| Anhydrous | 16 | 0 | 10 | 6 |
| Brewed | 12 | 2 | 14 | 0 |
| Fresh | 12 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| Top types of sugar/sweetener contained in product | ||||
| White sugar | 80 | 32 | 54 | 58 |
| Glucose (food) | 54 | 19 | 34 | 39 |
| Cane Sugar | 46 | 4 | 36 | 14 |
| High fructose corn syrup | 15 | 1 | 13 | 3 |
| Glucose fructose syrup | 1 | 14 | 13 | 2 |
| Fructose (food) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Liquid sugar | 5 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| Agave syrup | 7 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Isomaltulose | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Honey | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Maple syrup | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Crystalline fructose | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Caramelised sugar syrup | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Glucose syrup | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Brown rice syrup | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Ribose (food) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Caramelized sugar | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Cane juice | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Manuka honey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Honey powder (food) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Orange blossom honey | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Source: Mintel, 2018 | ||||
Example of products
A search of energy and sports drinks that use honey as a sweetener and were launched between January 2016 and February 2018 in the U.S. and Canada returned the following results.
Herbal Tonic Energy Drink
| Record ID | 4963045 |
|---|---|
| Company | 7-Eleven |
| Brand | 7 Select |
| Sub-category | Energy drinks |
| Country | United States |
| Date published | July 2017 |
| Product source | Shopper |
| Price in local currency | $0.99 |
7 Select Herbal Tonic Energy Drink is said to be a naturally invigorating mix of premium green tea leaves, pure filtered water, fruit juices, vitamins and herbs which create the perfect pick up for anytime of the day. The kosher product is also said to be made with energising ingredients such as ginseng and guarana, is an excellent source of antioxidant vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E, and contains 10% juice. It is free from gluten, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavours or colours, is made with real sugar, and retails in a 23.9-fluid ounce (fl. oz.) bottle.
Sparkling Energy Drink
| Company | Bees Brothers |
|---|---|
| Brand | BeeBad |
| Sub-category | Energy drinks |
| Country | United States |
| Country of manufacture | Italy |
| Date published | July 2017 |
| Price in local currency | $2.50 |
BeeBad Sparkling Energy Drink is powered by honey and made with royal jelly and propolis extracts. It is free from gluten and taurine, and retails in an 8.4-ounce (oz.) recyclable pack. This product was on display at the Fancy Foods Tradeshow 2017 in New York City, New York.
Fire Shot
| Company | Temple Turmeric |
|---|---|
| Brand | Temple Turmeric Pure Prana |
| Sub-category | Energy drinks |
| Country | United States |
| Date published | March 2017 |
| Price in local currency | $4.99 |
Temple Turmeric Pure Prana Fire Shot comprises raw apple cider vinegar, ginger, vanilla, cinnamon, ghost pepper, lemon, orange oil, raw honey, sea salt and 7600 milligrams (mg) whole root Oana turmeric which is said to be of the highest quality, origin verified and never heated. The kosher and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic certified product is cold pressure verified, is free from GMO and contains 17% juice, and retails in a 3-fl. oz. bottle.
Herbal Tonic Energy Drink
| Company | Arizona Beverages |
|---|---|
| Brand | Arizona Rx |
| Sub-category | Energy drinks |
| Country | United States |
| Date published | December 2016 |
| Price in local currency | $0.99 |
Arizona Rx Herbal Tonic Energy Drink has been repackaged, and now retails in a newly designed 23-fl.oz. pack. It is described as an invigorating blend of green tea, tropical and citrus fruits, panax ginseng, eleuthero root, guarana, schisandra and vitamins A, C and E. The product is kosher certified, contains antioxidants and no preservatives, artificial colors or flavors.
Resources
- Euromonitor International, 2018
- Mintel, 2017
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