Sports and energy drinks in the U.S. are projected to grow 2% in total volume from 2008 to 2013, much slower than their long history of double-digit growth. With “tiredness” falling to 10th place among the health concerns Americans are “extremely/very concerned about” and the tight economy causing consumers to seek out economical value-added goods, formulators will be forced to concentrate on more cost effective, multi-faceted products.
According to Sloan Trends TrendSense model, with the exception of protein and to a smaller extent caffeine, energy is not a market driven by specific ingredients, rather it functions on a general end benefit promise.
Moreover, while many of these ingredients may have enjoyed significant medical research and supportive findings specifically tied to energy decades ago, there is currently only a limited amount of research activity—unlikely to generate significant new marketable medical findings.
With more than 45,000 new medical studies per year tying protein to energy, it’s not surprising that protein represents a highly appealing mass-market “sleeper” ingredient for energizing products. Having crossed over the Medical Threshold, which signals the beginning of a long-term trend, only protein, caffeine and B vitamins appear to be sustainable energizing market ingredients at this time.
While poised for success in the specialty markets and among very health conscious shoppers, the remaining ingredients are trendy and are not currently being supported with a substantial level of ongoing research results. Mintel reports that 26% look for ginseng in a functional beverage; 25% caffeine. Only 9% seek L-carnitine, 9% whey and 3% taurine.