![]() “They’re paying a lot of attention to the ingredient labels,” he adds. Scharff states this new, more diverse church of consumers is seeking products that derive their energy from more natural sources and don’t come packed with sugar and artificial flavours. “But in every category, people are looking for healthier options across the board, and waking up to what's in a lot of the things that we've been eating and drinking… you’re seeing a huge group of new consumers come into the category who are not going to self-identify as energy drinkers.” “A lot of people would have recoiled just at the words ‘energy drink’”. “There was this perception of what energy drinks used to be in the not-so-distant past,” he says. Its range of beverages contains ‘natural’ caffeine from organic green coffee beans, as well as Peruvian maca and B-Vitamins.ĬEO Daniel Scharff believes the very way in which consumers view energy drinks is shifting on the back of wider health and wellness trends. Machu Picchu Energy, a California-based start-up, is one brand to have launched in the last couple of years. To do so, they’re focusing on offering an array of functional benefits – not just caffeine – as well as adopting properties such as zero sugar and low(er) calories that are demanded by more health-conscious consumers. ![]() However, while blue-collar workers and adolescents still make up a hefty chunk of mainstream energy consumption, a slew of new brands are increasingly targeting a wider cohort of consumer. “In the US there’s your daily workers, trade people, plumbers and contractors who will go to convenience stores and will get a sandwich and buy energy drinks.” On the subject of why convenience has made energy such a large part of its offer, McCoy has a simple answer: “Because it sells,” he says. “People buy it and they drink it straight away it’s totally incremental to what people would be buying anyway in other places.” “Energy is the largest channel in convenience, and convenience is hugely incremental for beverages,” he says. Nick McCoy, managing director with Whipstitch Capital – the US’ largest independent investment bank focused on the ‘better-for-you’ sector – believes part of the reason CSD giants are prepared to invest behind the category is because of its size in the convenience channel. These aren’t the kinds of sums of money that get thrown around to win over a few anti-social kids in their bedrooms. In December, Keurig Dr Pepper parted with $863m in return for 30% of C4 maker Nutrabolt. Last August saw PepsiCo splurge $550m to acquire an 8.5% stake in Celsius Holdings. Testament to its widespread appeal has been the mindbogglingly large figures multinational beverage companies have been prepared to invest in grabbing a stake in the energy drinks pie. Globally, the category is now worth an eyewatering $87.2bn, and is forecast to grow by a CAGR of 7.05% between 20, according to GlobalData. ![]() But it isn’t just teenagers drinking energy drinks.
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