Table of Contents
Overview
-
- What you need to know
- Products covered in this Report
Executive Summary
-
- The market
- Growth through mainstream channels slows down
-
- Figure 1: Value sales in the UK sports nutrition food and drink market^, 2016/17-2018/19
- Sports nutrition faces competition from active lifestyle nutrition
- Exercise participation overall is stable, but frequency edges up
- War on sugar continues
- Ageing population poses challenge
- Companies and brands
- Acquisition activity remains high
- Grenade records impressive growth thanks to channel expansion
- Brand overhaul for MaxiNutrition and SCI-MX to widen consumer appeal
-
- Figure 2: Value sales in the UK sports nutrition food and drink market*, 2018/19*
- Snacking formats are a focus in sports nutrition NPD
- Plant-based innovation surges
- Gut health innovation gains momentum
- The consumer
- Young men remain core users but uptake among women on the rise
-
- Figure 3: Usage of sports nutrition products, by age, April 2019
- Over half of users use sports nutrition products at least twice a week
-
- Figure 4: Frequency of usage of sports nutrition products, by gender, April 2019
- Convenience channel plays important role for sports nutrition
-
- Figure 5: Where sports nutrition products are purchased, April 2019
- Personalised sports nutrition is a largely untapped opportunity
- Scope for collaborations between sports nutrition and mainstream brands
-
- Figure 6: Behaviours relating to sports nutrition products, by usage of sports nutrition products, April 2019
- Scope to switch the focus away from sweet flavours
- Opportunities for a “pro-ageing” proposition to tap the grey pound
-
- Figure 7: Agreement with statements on sports nutrition products, by usage of sports nutrition products, April 2019
- Protein’s feelgood factor should be key theme in brand communication
-
- Figure 8: Perceived benefits of eating high-protein food, by usage of high-protein products, April 2019
- What we think
Issues and Insights
-
- The market’s move from niche to mainstream brings along huge growth potential
- The facts
- The implications
- Personalised solutions have the potential to foster long-term usage and loyalty
- The facts
- The implications
- Huge opportunity for sports nutrition brands to support healthy ageing among today’s seniors
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
-
- Growth through mainstream channels slows down
- Sports nutrition faces mounting competition from high-protein brands
- Exercise participation overall is stable, but frequency edges up
- Ageing population poses challenge
- High-protein diets remain popular
- War on sugar continues
- Plant-based nutrition is gaining momentum
Market Size
-
- Growth of sports nutrition products through mainstream channels slows down
-
- Figure 9: Value sales in the UK sports nutrition food and drink market^, 2016/17-2018/19
- NPD in snacking formats and retailers’ shelf space overhaul have facilitated growth
- The market has muscled its way out of its niche into mass market
- Dominance of online and specialist retailers continues
- Growing popularity of lifestyle high-protein products and ageing population pose challenge to traditional sports nutrition category
Market Drivers
-
- Exercise participation overall is stable, but frequency edges up
-
- Figure 10: Frequency of exercise, March 2018 and April 2019
-
- Figure 11: Frequency of exercise, by age, April 2019
- Sports participation is static, but health and fitness club membership is rising
- More than a third are not getting enough exercise
- Sports nutrition brands can do more to encourage more physical activity
- The way Brits exercise is changing
- HIIT is growing in popularity
- Women muscle in on weights and strength training
- Sports nutrition is moving mainstream
- Plant-based nutrition is gaining momentum
- War on sugar continues
- Creating strong demand for lower-sugar options in sports nutrition
- High-protein diets remain popular
- Mounting competition for sports nutrition products from high-protein food and drink
- Ageing population could be turned into lucrative opportunity
- Age stereotypes are starting to shift
- Low levels of usage of sports nutrition products among older consumers
- More than a quarter think there should be more sports nutrition products for over-50s
- Improved disposable incomes could boost sports nutrition consumption
-
- Figure 12: Annual change in CPI and average weekly earnings, January 2013-April 2019
- Future of food and drink legislation post-Brexit remains uncertain
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
-
- Acquisition activity remains high
- Grenade records impressive growth thanks to channel expansion
- Brand overhaul for MaxiNutrition and SCI-MX to widen consumer appeal
- Snacking formats are a focus in sports nutrition NPD
- Plant-based innovation surges
- Gut health innovation gains momentum
Market Share
-
- Competitive landscape
- Science in Sport reports another successful year and acquires PhD
- Myprotein reports healthy growth after THG acquisition
- Mixed performance for other players
- Mars buys majority stake in personalised sports nutrition business Foodspring
- Market share through supermarkets
- Grenade records impressive growth thanks to channel expansion
- Dunn’s River suffers substantial sales decline
- Brand overhaul for MaxiMuscle and MaxiNutrition in a bid to get sales back on track
- SCI-MX relaunches PRO 2GO range to widen consumer appeal
- Own-label grows strongly but still only holds a minority share of the market
-
- Figure 13: Value sales in the UK sports nutrition food and drink market^, 2016/17-2018/19
Launch Activity and Innovation – Sports Nutrition
-
- More innovation that moves sports nutrition mainstream
- Sports nutrition brands take a bite of the everyday snacking market
-
- Figure 14: Sports nutrition launches in snacking formats, 2018/19
- NPD in indulgent flavours and encroachment into treat categories keep going strong
-
- Figure 15: SCI-MX Nutrition’s new Pro 2GO Gooey Protein Bars, 2019
-
- Figure 16: New sports nutrition launches with highly indulgent flavours, 2018/19
- Plant-based innovation surges
-
- Figure 17: New plant protein launches, 2018/19
- Figure 18: New PhD Smart Bar Plant range, 2019
- A move towards cleaner labels
- MaxiMuscle reformulates longstanding lines to remove nasties
- Challenger brands set the pace in all-natural NPD
-
- Figure 19: All-natural sports nutrition launches, 2018/19
- A more holistic lifestyle and general wellbeing approach to women’s products
-
- Figure 20: Free Soul sports nutrition for women, 2017
- Figure 21: Supernova Living sports nutrition for women, 2018
-
- Figure 22: MissFits sports nutrition range for women, 2018
- Gut health innovation mostly driven by challenger brands
- Pre- and probiotics make their way to protein foods
- Lifestyle nutrition brands Pulsin and Perkier look to gut health
-
- Figure 23: Pulsin Supershake Immunity Blend, 2019
- Joe Wicks partners with Myprotein
-
- Figure 24: Myprotein’s The Body Coach new sports nutrition range, 2019
- A handful of brands are exploring the recovery-sleep link
-
- Figure 25: New sports nutrition products communicating around sleep, 2018/19
Launch Activity and Innovation – High-Protein Products
-
- Methodology
- No end to the rise in high-protein claims
-
- Figure 26: Share of UK food and drink launches featuring a high-protein claim, 2014-19**
- Snacks is an increasingly popular category for high-protein innovation
-
- Figure 27: Share of high-protein food launches, by product category, 2017
- High-protein, on-the-go savoury snack innovation gains momentum
-
- Figure 28: New Fridge Raiders Combos range, 2018/19
-
- Figure 29: New meat snack launches with innovative flavours, 2018/19
- Mainstream brands enter the high-protein snack bar arena…
- …with more chocolate brands also joining the fray
-
- Figure 30: Latest high-protein launches by established confectionery brands, 2018/10
- Halo Top blazes trail for more high-protein ice cream innovation
- Protein makes its way to ice cream with Halo Top
- Unilever and Asda follow, with Wheyhey refreshing its brand identity
-
- Figure 31: Examples of recent high-protein ice cream launches in the UK, 2018/19
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
-
- Young men remain core users but uptake among women on the rise
- Usage of high-protein products also edges up
- Convenience channel plays important role for sports nutrition
- Personalised sports nutrition is a largely untapped opportunity
- Scope for collaborations between sports nutrition and mainstream brands
- More clarity needed on industry regulation, and players should be more vocal about their quality controls
- Scope to switch the focus away from sweet flavours
- Opportunities for a “pro-ageing” proposition to tap the grey pound
- Protein’s feelgood factor should be key theme in brand communication
Usage of Sports Nutrition and High-protein Products
-
- Usage of sports nutrition products continues to rise
-
- Figure 32: Usage of sports nutrition products, by gender, April 2019
- Usage is heavily geared towards young males and those exercising frequently
- Low levels of usage among the older generation
-
- Figure 33: Usage of sports nutrition products, by age, April 2019
- Over half of users use sports nutrition products at least twice a week
-
- Figure 34: Frequency of usage of sports nutrition products, by gender, April 2019
- Usage of high-protein products also edges up
-
- Figure 35: Usage of high-protein products, by gender, April 2019
Where Sports Nutrition Products are Purchased
-
- Supermarkets have a strong lead in purchasing of sports nutrition products
-
- Figure 36: Where sports nutrition products are purchased, April 2019
- A quarter of buyers purchase these products from convenience stores
- Specialist stores mostly attract heavy users
- A quarter of under-35 buyers purchase from online-only sports nutrition retailers
- Gyms can score with a customised offering
Behaviours Relating to Sports Nutrition
-
- Scope for collaborations between sports nutrition and mainstream brands
- Recent marketing tie-ups range from BOL Foods to the Coconut Collab
-
- Figure 37: Behaviours relating to sports nutrition products, April 2019
-
- Figure 38: Behaviours relating to sports nutrition products, by usage of sports nutrition products, April 2019
- Strong interest in personalised sports nutrition
- Personalised products are rare
- More clarity needed on industry regulation
- Brands and retailers should be vocal about their quality controls
Attitudes towards Sports Nutrition Products
-
- Plant-based proteins enjoy health halo among majority of users
- Opportunities in gut health and driving awareness of amino acids
- Scope to tap into interest in product provenance
-
- Figure 39: Attitudes towards sports nutrition products, April 2019
-
- Figure 40: Agreement with statements on sports nutrition products, by usage of sports nutrition products, April 2019
- Scope to switch the focus away from sweet flavours
- Opportunities for a “pro-ageing” proposition
- Few over-55s use sports nutrition
- “Pro-ageing” approach is key to reaching seniors
Perceived Benefits of Eating High-protein Food
-
- A diverse mix of benefits linked to eating high-protein food
-
- Figure 41: Perceived benefits of eating high-protein food, April 2019
-
- Figure 42: Perceived benefits of eating high-protein food, by usage of high-protein products, April 2019
- Protein’s feelgood factor should be key theme in brand communication
- Scope to tap into the growing demand for ‘mood foods’
- Gut health warrants attention
- Satiety is the leading benefit for women
- Bone health message could boost protein’s appeal among older people
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
-
- Abbreviation
- Consumer research methodology
Back to top