Energy drinks are some of the most popular drinks across the country with sales reaching $14 billion in 2021 alone. The same year, sales gew an additional 12.6%! This number has increased significantly over the years, with sales only reaching about $11 billion just a few years ago. There are many factors that are causing this increase in sales, most notably the growing popularity of esports teams with energy drinks sponsors, but overall consumers are realizing that energy drinks are a great tasting way to gain that boost of energy to get through the day!
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A Decrease In Energy Drink Popularity
During the pandemic, we actually saw a decrease in energy drink popularity. People were taking less trips to convenience stores which is where many people were purchasing their energy drinks or shots. These energy shots were often purchased impulsively, and so with less people going into convenience stores, there were less opportunities to purchase them. Similarly with energy drinks, the closing of gyms led to a decrease in purchases. Many gym-goers rely on energy drinks and pre-workout beverages to give them the boost they need to get through their workouts. When gyms reopened and life started returning to normal, the sales increased yet again.
Another increase in sales has come out of the popularity of esports. Some of the largest esports teams are sponsored by big name energy drinks, and gamers market them to their viewers during tournaments and personal streaming sessions. Gamers enjoy the drinks due to the energy boost they get that allows them to focus more on their games as well as the increase to reaction time and attention that allows them to excel in their gaming endeavors. With many of these gamers having a large following of young people, energy drinks companies are able to market to a very large audience with little effort.
In fact, young people make up the largest group of energy drink consumers in the country. Many young people like the energy benefits of the energy drinks and often believe them to be a healthier alternative to other sweet beverages such as soda. While some young people felt that energy drinks were healthier, there are still opponents to energy drinks that feel they are too sweet and too artificial. Seeing this, energy drinks companies have begun using more natural ingredients to enhance sweetness and energy increasing abilities in their drinks.
With the market already so large, and now changes being made to bring in even more consumers, it is expected that sales of energy drinks will only continue to rise in the coming years. Learn more about energy drinks and sales in the infographic below:
Infographic source: Pre-Workout
