Energy Drinks – Market Research
BBH – ‘Zeus’
Definition
Energy drinks are made for the purpose of stimulating energy and giving people a mental and physical
boost through periods where there is an increase in motion. Energy drinks are high in caffiene and
taurine, these are the ingredients that fuel the body with energy.
Secondary Research – Energy Drinks Market
•
Market has been recession proof; customers see them as value for money. Values of sales of
sports/energy drinks are forecast to grow from 941 million in 2008 to £1,035 in 2009. If this
is broken down further, to just energy drinks; Market is forecast to grow from 716 million in
2008 to 788 million in 2009, as you can see energy drinks makes up a large proportion of the
market. 1
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Product has real resonance amongst men aged between 15 – 34. Mental energy can be
targeted towards office workers, teachers and business men alike. BBH found that out of 489
people 34% thought that energy drinks were overpriced & 28% said that they help them get
through a busy day. Energy drinks with a taste and flavour are more preferred by male
consumers.2
Stats showing markets recession proof:3
•
2006
2008
% change 2006-08
Tea (herbal/Standard)
85
82
-3
Instant coffee
74
73
-1
Fizzy soft drinks
75
73
-2
Bottled mineral water
56
51
-5
Energy/Sports drinks
30
32
+2
Flavoured water
25
21
-4
These findings show that to proceed with energy drinks is a smart and feasible decision, based
on current market trends.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFlMN1daUTJqY1hMQXhJWWlHQllJRFE6MA
http://researchwikis.com/Energy_Drinks_Market
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http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=394414
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2
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•
BBH’s findings lead to the conclusion that Energy drinks were more profitable and more
sellable than sports drinks. The energy drink market, when combined with the sports, holds a
¾’s sway in total income, that being 716 to 225million, out of 941 million (2008). The energy
drinks target market is aimed at men aged 15-34, with over 65% of all energy drink sales
coming from this demographic. An interesting finding was male’s generally prefer energy
drinks with strong taste and flavour, surprisingly there are currently no brands offering a
range of flavours in their energy drinks.4
Primary Qualitative Research
Interviews
•
Through carrying out qualitative research in the form of interviews, it has been concluded that
PowerAde, Lucozade and Red Bull are the most popular choice of energy drink and are the
main competition in the market. The following quotes are taken from the interviews to show
favoured brands:
“Red Bull or Monster, because they are the best brands.”
“Red Bull or PowerAde because it’s the largest brand.”
“I would probably drink a cheaper brand such as Kick.”
•
The interviews also showed that people associate energy drinks with words such as: Boost,
Fizzy, Energy, Awake, Active and Healthy.
•
People consider a reasonable price for an energy drink to be around the £1 to £1.20 region.
However, any higher than this is regarded as too expensive.
•
When looking to buy energy drinks, common factors affecting the decision include price and
flavours available.
“£1 would be a decent price for an energy drink”
•
It has been discovered through the interview process that people drink energy drinks for
reasons such as: tiredness, before exercise and when driving.
“When I am tired or to help me concentrate at work.”
“To help me concentrate in meetings”
“When I am driving long distances for a long time I use them to help me stay alert.”
“I would consider drinking them before exercise”
(Evidence of the interview process is in the appendices)
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http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=220162
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Quantitative Research

This survey suggests that the most likely people to be drinking energy drinks on a regular
basis are 16-20 year olds who are single.
How Often do you Drink Energy Drinks?
1+ A Month
6
Once A Month
6
1+ A Fortnight
6
Once A Fortnight
8
1+ A Week
24
Once a Day
18
0
•
5
10
15
20
25
30
93% of people that participated either put strongly agree or agree to the idea that 99p is a fair
price to pay for an energy drink. The few who disagreed tended to be younger people who did
not have much disposable income; this is a possible trend in the results of the questionnaire.
Is 99p a fair price for an energy drink?
40
Number of people
35
30
27
36
25
20
15
10
5
5
0
Strongly Agree
•
Agree
Disagree
0
Strongly Disagree
The sales of energy drinks for this target market are mainly split between supermarkets and
corner shops, this means these two places would be best to try and introduce a new product to
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penetrate the market; as it is where most of the target audience will be shopping for the
product.
Where do you buy most of your energy Drinks?
30
28
25
20
19
14
15
10
6
5
2
1
0
Supermarket
•
Corner Shop
Wholesalers
Internet
Pub/Club
Vending
Machines
Orange proved to be the favourite flavour for energy drinks by a margin of 9%, followed by
apple and cherry at 13%. However, orange flavoured energy drinks are very common in the
market at the moment, meaning other quite popular flavours like cherry and mango may offer
a USP for a product to sell with, as there is obviously a want for these flavours that is not
being satisfied.
Favourite Flavours of Energy Drinks
Lemon
4%
10%
Apple
11%
Orange
3%
3%
13%
4%
Strawberry
Cherry
1%
Raspberry
8%
22%
Mint
Cranberry
13%
Kiwi
8%
Watermelon
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Results show that a high number of people drink energy drinks before sport; however the
majority of people will drink them for other reasons showing that there is a large market for
energy drinks to be targeted at non sporty people.
•
A good number of people have also said they drink energy drinks for the taste rather than for
energetic benefits.
Amount of people
•
30
What situations are you most likely to drink
energy drinks?
25
27
20
15
19
19
10
11
5
9
12
9
0
Situation
The findings from this graph show that there is a strong majority of people that would prefer a
healthy energy drink, with 26% of people strongly agreeing and 44% agreeing. This question
was asked to gain an understanding of the target market and if a competitive U.S.P could be
based on health.
Would a 'healthy' brand of energy drink
interest you?
44%
30
25
Amount of people
•
20
26%
21%
15
10
9%
5
0
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
5
Strongly Disagree

Results indicate that 79% of people would be willing to try a new brand of energy drinks;
52% of people said they would be influenced by either a decent price range or a variety of
flavours available. The purpose of this question is to figure out if there is a gap in the market
for a new energy drink.
Would you be willing to experiment and try
new brands of energy drinks on the market?
Yes
14 people
No
54 people
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As a potential energy drink name targeted at the discourse of males aged 16 to 34 the name
‘Zeus’ would be virtuous.
Do you think 'Zeus' is a good name for an
energy drink?
Amount of people
35
30
31
25
20
15
18
10
5
12
1
1
1
2
0
5
3
4
Rating system
6
5
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Conclusion
This report shows how the product of energy drinks could be sold to the market. The
secondary research suggests that the current market for energy drinks is growing which
therefore means there is more room for competition to come in due to an increase in market
share. The current products in the energy drinks market have generally targeted their product
at males aged between 16 to 34 and this implies that a new energy drink would need to target
the same audience as this is the ideal discourse for this particular merchandise.
Within the primary research there are many outcomes, from the interviews taken out it gives
of the idea that products such as ‘Red Bull’ are too expensive with an RRP (Recommended
Retail Price) of £1.35 as the majority of the participants of our interview said £1 to £1.20 is a
reasonable price for this type of product. The interviews also allow promoters and advertisers
to see what key words the target audience relate to the product energy drinks. The interview
stage is a process of discovery to uncover qualitative open findings.
Using the findings of the interviews it can allow researchers to base a questionnaire or another
form of primary research on the results. Using the graphed results from the questionnaire it is
clear to see correlations between the answers in the queries. For example, a more health
conscious energy drink would be a beneficial U.S.P (unique selling point) due to the fact that
a high amount of people that drink energy drinks consume the product before sports. Also,
there seems to be a distinct lack of ‘flavoured enrergy drink’ within the market therefore
another good U.S.P for this particular product would be a variety of different flavoured
energy drinks.
The end results of the research taken out convey that there is a certain target market for
energy drinks; these consumers buy energy drinks for numerous reasons and from several
places. Although there is good resonance between the 15-34 market there does seem to be a
genuine lack of penetration within the energy drinks market, with particular lifestyles
emerging that could be targeted. The research done provides insight towards how energy
drinks should be promoted and sold.
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