Sports-related food and drinks are no longer niche products that only target professional athletes and bodybuilders. While they remain the core users, recreational and lifestyle users are driving market growth. Recreational users of sports nutrition products are fitness enthusiasts, weekend sportspeople and gym-goers, while lifestyle users just seek a refreshing beverage, a quick meal replacement or healthy snack. As stated in the report, a good proxy measure for the number of recreational users of sports nutrition products is the number of gym membersmembership of health clubs has been rising across the U.S. from 11% in 2000 to 13.4% in 2005, and is forecast to rise to 15.5% in 2010.
The sports food and beverages market has benefited by an increasingly blurred line in the perception separating energy drinks from sports drinks. Furthermore, as people become more aware of the dangers from consuming too much caffeine, sports drinks and bars are becoming an increasingly attractive alternative to energy drinks.
According to the report, sports nutrition products are set to become still more mainstream over the next five years. Consumption of these products will continue to expand as the trend toward healthier lifestyles increases and people increasingly rely on sports nutrition products to complement their physical exercise and sporting activities.