According to Just-Drinks.com, the energy drinks sector in the United States has returned to pre-recessionary sales levels and is considering a bright future, according to recent research.
A report released this month by Packaged Facts, entitled ‘Functional and Natural Ready-to-Drink Beverages in the US,’ claims that the category bounced back in the U.S. last year. Energy Drinks/shots, sports drinks, RTD teas, and fruit/vegetable smoothies all delivered year-on-year gains of at least five percent, with energy drinks/shots experiencing the highest growth at ten percent.
The improved performances follow flat sales in 2008 and 2009 in the country, due to the stagnant economy and reduced consumer spending.
“Energy drinks have been the focus of much industry discussion in recent years,” said Don Montuori, publisher of Packaged Facts. “That’s partly because of the controversy surrounding energy drink formulations as a result of the bad boy image…cultivated by Red Bull, and then by me-too energy drink marketers in its wake, in an effort to capture the attention of a youthful target market that is moving into prime consumption years. Mostly, however, the attention to the energy drink segment is because of the sales growth energy drinks and energy shots continue to deliver.”
The report estimates that aggregate retail sales of the three functional and natural categories exceeded $23 billion in 2010, up from $19 billion in 2006, for a CAGR of almost six percent.
