Energy and sports drinks look set to be the sales phenomenon of the decade ­ but only if retailers grasp the opportunity and give them more space. Last year sales rocketed 40% to £700m, driven by the huge success of functional energy drinks which almost doubled in 2000 after trebling in 1999. [Zenith International]. Red Bull spearheaded this growth with a 94% spurt that turned it into the UK's third biggest soft drink brand by value after Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Lucozade variants Energy and Sport, the other big brands, also made substantial gains, Lucozade Sport's 23% rise contributing significantly to the sports sector's 50% growth over the last two years. But despite the market's performance, 17% of retailers still don't stock any energy drinks, with 46% missing out on Red Bull and 21% on Lucozade Energy [Zenith International's recent energy drinks report]. Zenith chairman Richard Hall reckons the market could grow to £1,000m by 2002 if retailers responded to the opportunities. Red Bull is gearing its trade activities to increasing retail distribution and shelf space allocation this year. Trade marketing manager Ian Rabbidge says: "We're making a big effort to help retailers maximise sales through merchandising. Red Bull should be visible and chilled with dual siting because it's a take home as well as an impulse purchase. Based on sales, 30% of energy drink space should go to Red Bull." Red Bull is also spending £15m on advertising and marketing this year. GlaxoSmithKline is doing the same, with a TV campaign for Lucozade Energy this month and next, during which the brand will be temporarily rebranded Larazade to tie in with a promotion with the new Lara Croft/Tomb Raider film. A new grapefruit flavour has just been added to Lucozade Sport which has a number of promotions running this summer. Red Devil, which uses Vinnie Jones as brand ambassador, is capitalising on its 185% growth in 2000 [Zenith] with a number of major wins this year. It has gained listings in Texaco forecourts and Woolworths and is being rolled out in Sainsbury on a store by store basis. A new Power Cola variant is to be launched shortly. More than 20 new brands were launched last year, as virtually all the major drinks companies climbed on the bandwagon. Virgin dt and Frucor's V have done the best [ACNielsen]. Britvic has put its considerable muscle into promoting Carbon, its adult stimulant drink, exclusively in trendy bars and clubs, an approach Coca-Cola Enterprises has followed with Burn. CCE is taking a similar niche marketing approach to its Powerade sports drink, now being promoted in sports venues, prior to a wider September launch. {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}

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