Need a quick snapshot? When an object is moving too quickly, your image could be blurry. That’s perhaps the most appropriate way to describe energy and sport performance foods and beverages. Both product types represent growing, fast-moving categories and Innova Market Insights increasingly finds an overlap—a blurring of the lines—in the features and benefits of sports drinks and energy drinks.

Meanwhile, consumers now are expecting even more of these products—just like mainstream offerings—when it comes to clean labels and other attributes. They want energy and sports products to deliver honesty, transparency, convenience, a better health profile, and consideration of plant-based ingredients. Innova Market Insights is tracking the convergence of these trends in the energy and sports nutrition arena.   

Energy drinks dominate the energy category

North American consumers looking for energy support find the most options within the beverage category. Innova defines energy drinks as ready-to-drink beverages marketed with the added benefit of awake-ness or alertness. (Powders, ready-to-drink sports beverages, liquid concentrates, and gel formats with an energy benefit are categorized as sports nutrition.)

North America was the second top region for energy drinks launches during a recent one-year period, with Europe as the leading region. Approximately one-fifth of global energy drink launches are released in North America. However, price differences between North America and other regions lead to a larger and dominant North American share for energy drinks sales value.

Energy drinks highlight ingredients and benefits

North American consumers look for various features in energy drinks, led by taste/flavor as the attribute that most influences purchasing decisions. Not surprisingly, flavored energy drink launches demonstrate solid growth. The top five flavors are fruit flavors, led by orange and berry; while lemon, lemonade, and coconut are fastest growing. Innova also has spotted trends with indulgent new offerings—such as a sparkling mandarin drink with a note of creamy marshmallow flavor; drinks prepared with cold-pressed fruits such as berries and citrus; and others with spices that include the popular turmeric and ginger.

Functional ingredients support energy. Caffeine and taurine are the most widely used ingredients for promoting energy and alertness. Antioxidant ingredients such as vitamin C, turmeric extract, acerola, and camu camu are promoted for immune support. Functional botanical ingredients like guarana extracts, ginseng, milk thistle, and guayusa appeal for general health and well-being

Health claims are important to North American consumers and energy drinks deliver on consumer expectations. “Sugar-free” and “no added sugar” claims are top claims and show particularly strong growth in energy drinks, as well as sports drinks. Use of bulk and non-nutritive sweeteners is growing. We also see strong growth in vegan, vegetarian, plant-based, sodium reduction, and weight reduction claims. Interestingly, B vitamins often accompany energy claims.

Consumers enjoy energy drinks mainly in the morning and afternoon, especially mid-afternoon. This is similar to sports nutrition products, which also are most likely to be consumed for breakfast, lunch, or afternoon snack.

Energy for exercise

Consumers tell Innova Market Insights that exercise is a catalyst for using energy drinks, as well as products positioned for hydration. Energy drinks and sports drinks split the performance drink marketplace fairly evenly. Energy drinks are highly popular in the US, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 20% and exceeding the growth rate of sports drinks. They are projected to grow on pace with other regions. Interestingly, packaging differs—with energy drinks are predominantly served in cans and sports drinks mostly in bottles.

Looking around the world, the US and UK markets lead global per capita consumption of energy drinks. North America and Asia combined account for 75% of energy drinks sales but Latin America is growing faster than North America in energy drink sales volume.

Clean and natural energy ingredients

Overall, US consumers are drawn to those foods and beverage perceived as natural and that have clean labels. This applies to energy products as well. When Innova asked US consumers which claims most influenced their energy drink purchase decision, approximately one in six named claims for real and natural ingredients. When seeking energy, US consumers also are interested in products formulated using natural, or clean, caffeine from coffee beans, green coffee, green tea, or white tea.

Some energy drinks with clean ingredients also offer physical and mental health benefits. For example, Kill Cliff LLC, Atlanta, describes its product benefits as hydration, sustainable energy (from green tea), as well as focus (from nootropics).

Energy drinks often include caffeine as the primary ingredient supporting energy. While Innova continues to track the presence of caffeine in energy drinks—and about half of US consumers surveyed tell us they are interested in caffeine in energy drinks—we also see increased demand for natural and "jitter-free" options, including “clean caffeine.”

We’ve monitored a rise in energy drink launches with clean caffeine during the past three years. Clean caffeine describes caffeine extracted naturally without using harsh chemicals. It is promoted for sustaining energy without dramatic up-and-down swings. Green tea is the most common ingredient while green coffee beans and tea extracts also are additional sources. Some products combine clean caffeine sources with other compounds associated with energy, such as yerba mate. Manufacturers of clean caffeine energy drinks often promote social commitments and better-for-you choices in sweeteners in addition to natural caffeine sources.

US drives sports nutrition 

The sports nutrition category includes four subcategories: sports powders, ready-to-drink sports drinks, sports bars, and other sports nutrition formats. Nearly one-third of consumers globally, led by those in Vietnam, South Africa, Indonesia and the US, use sports nutrition products. Consumers cite sustaining or boosting energy as the most desired feature of sports nutrition products, followed by immune health, hydration, and gut health. Hydration is a top desired benefit in Japan, Mexico, and the US.

Sports powders lead the sports nutrition subcategory. North America is among the top regions with launches of sports nutrition powders. These products include and feature protein, functional and nutraceutical ingredients, botanicals, and vitamins and minerals. Caffeine and the amino acid l-tyrosine are the most prevalent and fastest-growing functional and nutraceutical ingredients in North American sports nutrition launches.

The sports powders subcategory includes sports and protein powders that need to be mixed with water, milk or juice. Consumers typically use these products before and after exercising or in place of a meal. As with sports nutrition products in general, North America is among the top regions for sports powders launches and the US leads other countries in launches of sports powders.

Popular claims include energy and alertness (an overlap with energy products) as well as gluten-free, protein, fat reduction, and brain health. Milk chocolate is the top flavor while passion fruit, lemon-lime and red raspberry are growing in popularity. Vegetable and botanical flavors and ingredients are emerging, especially in the US. Astragalus, beetroot, and green tea show the most growth among botanical ingredients.

After a pandemic-related slump, ready-to-drink sports beverages have recovered and posted solid sales growth in 2022 and 2023. Nearly half of sports nutrition drink sales are in the US, the largest market globally. North America and Asia combined account for more than two-thirds of sports drink value and nearly three-quarters of sports drink volume. Per capita consumption of sports drinks is highest in the US, followed by Japan.

Among sports drink subcategories, Innova is tracking a prolonged decline in US launches of protein-based RTD beverages and strength in ready-to-drink sports drinks. We also see innovation around products for rapid hydration that also are convenient to use, including more portable fitness water options in powders and tablets.

Sports snacks and bars are led by launches of sports bars. North America is the third top region, and sports bars are less widely used than sports powders. Growing claims include digestive and gut health, natural, and no additives or preservatives. Clean and natural features mirror those of energy drinks. Sports bar flavors lean toward chocolate and nuts, although cherry also is popular. Among claims, high in protein or source of protein are dominant, fiber claims are widespread, gluten-free is popular, and GMO-free is stable.

The growing overlap between energy and sports

As mentioned, we see overlap between sports drinks and energy drinks when it comes to product features and benefits. Nutraceutical/functional and vitamin/mineral ingredients are growing across both energy drinks and sports drinks, blurring the lines between these two subcategories.

Innova is tracking innovations by manufacturers in the energy and sports space that offer hybrid combinations of benefits for sports, fitness, and energy drink. PepsiCo, for example, recently introduced a hybrid caffeinated energy and sports drink, Fast Twitch, under its Gatorade banner. The product highlights its desirable combination of caffeine, vitamins, electrolytes, zero sugar, and absence of artificial flavors and colors. We expect additional growth in reformulations that add energy, sports performance, and other benefits to older product lines as a way to retain current consumers and attract new ones.

Lu Ann Williams is Global Insights Director at Innova Market Insights, provider of market research services including the Innova Database. With more than 25 years’ experience in the food industry, Lu Ann is a trend expert and frequent public speaker at events worldwide. She leads a team of analysts and works with global clients. Contact her at luann.williams@innovami.com.

Phosphates Dual Role

By David Feder, Prepared Foods

Phosphates are a common ingredient used in food and beverage products. Phosphates typically are used for their versatile function in formulations to do everything from preserve and stabilize colors, textures, and flavors; act as a buffer or leavening agent; and extend shelf life to support metabolization of mineral enrichments such as calcium, magnesium, and iron. Lately, however, the phosphorous compound has been receiving attention for its possible beneficial effects in health, particularly pertaining to sports and activity.

Phosphate compounds play an indispensable role in metabolism, especially as a key component of adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP).These are organic molecules that serve as the energy “currency” that drives cell processes ranging from chemical synthesis to muscle contractions and nerve impulses. In sports and performance, phosphate supplementation has been investigated as conferring possible performance enhancement, stamina, and recovery benefits to some athletes.

Two recent studies indicated that short-term phosphate supplementation (as tri-sodium phosphate) could provide ergogenic benefits for some cyclists. In one study, “Effects of Short-Term Phosphate Loading on Aerobic Capacity under Acute Hypoxia in Cyclists,” (Nutrients; January, 2022), phosphate supplementation led to an increase in aerobic performance under conditions of acute hypoxia (low oxygen) for those subjects whose physiology responded to such supplementation.

In the second study, “The Effects of Sodium Phosphate Supplementation on the Cardiorespiratory System and Gross Efficiency during Exercise under Hypoxia in Male Cyclists,” (Nutrients; October, 2021), results indicated that tri-sodium phosphate “promotes improvements in the efficiency of the myocardial and cardiorespiratory systems during exercise” and could be “beneficial for endurance exercise performance in hypoxia.” It was found to lower the heartrate and increase the heart’s stroke volume while reducing heart muscle oxygen demand and possibly improving exercise tolerance. While more studies need to be conducted, these promising results suggest a dual role for phosphates, elevating them from support player to key component in better-for-you products.