What you need to know
Sales of sports and energy drinks continue to increase in 2019 in terms of value and volume despite the introduction of the sugar levy in 2018, with consumers reporting low energy levels and fatigue helping to drive usage of these types of drinks. Moving forward there is great desire for sports and energy drinks to offer other types of functionality, including ‘brain boosting’ ingredients.
Products covered in this Report
This Report will examine the sale and consumption of carbonated and non-carbonated beverages throughout the island of Ireland in both the on-trade and off-trade.
This Report explores RTD sports and energy drinks sold through both the retail and on-trade channels. For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has used the following definitions:
Sports drinks are drinks claiming to improve sporting performance or to speed up recovery. Most of these are labelled isotonic/hypotonic and claim to rehydrate and replenish nutrients after exercise. Examples include Lucozade Sport, Powerade and Gatorade.
Sports drinks are divided into three major types:
Isotonic drinks: These have the same osmolality as that in the body, and are designed to aid rehydration, as they are said to be readily absorbed into the blood. Most sports drinks are isotonic, including Powerade and Lucozade Sport.
Hypotonic drinks: These have a lower osmolality than body fluid and are said to be absorbed faster than isotonic drinks and faster than water into the blood.
Hypertonic drinks: These have a higher osmolality than body fluids and are designed to be taken after exercise to replace electrolytes, aid recovery and provide an energy boost.
Energy drinks are drinks positioned as providing energy, supporting mental alertness and/or physical performance. These typically include active ingredients such as glucose, caffeine, taurine or B-vitamins, and may include other ingredients positioned as beneficial to health, such as ginseng and various vitamins and minerals.
The energy drinks market comprises three distinct categories:
Refreshment energy drinks provide physical energy through glucose or a range of sugars, as in Lucozade Original Energy.
Stimulant drinks are designed to stimulate both mind and body, and typically claim to improve concentration, reaction time and endurance. Stimulant drinks typically contain active ingredients such as caffeine and taurine, and are non-alcoholic. The best-known example is Red Bull.
Energy shots refer to what are usually more concentrated versions of refreshment/stimulant drinks. They typically retail in a 50ml bottle rather than in a can of between 250ml and 500ml.
Please note that data contained within the Market Size and Forecast section of this Report may not match previous Reports in some cases due to more data becoming available and differences in market segmentation methods.
