Sports Drinks Category Trends
Amazon has been adhering to GSCOP for some time now, and its grocery business in the UK exceeds £1bn annually. Beverages have been a significant driver of the overall category, including prominent subcategories such as BWS, tea, and sports drinks.
While there remains a mass market focus, products with clear purposes are gaining prominence.
The largest revenue-driving products are from Lucozade Sport, often priced below £1 per bottle, making them appealing to the mass market. There are a number of Lucozade products that are driving considerable share, but there appears to be a trend even within this brand alone, where the use of calling out purposes such as “isotonic drink,” “electrolytes,” and “Vitamin B” are all emerging, which may give the impression that the brand may be trying to adapt to a more health-conscious consumer. Time will tell how this will develop and whether more premium products can knock Lucozade off its perch.
Consumers want to be healthier.
Multiple categories have seen impacts to performance through their products that exceed the threshold through the HFSS legislation in 2022. Consumers have also become more conscious, looking for low-calorie or sugar-free products. Through our category data, we can see that this is an important message that brands want to convey, as it accounts for over a third of the revenue generated.
The category is seeing growth.
There appears to be demand growth across a number of products, with consumers searching for both products and brands. For example, search volume for "Lucozade Sport" appears to have increased by 25% YoY, and high-volume terms that align with the category, such as "electrolyte tablets," are seeing increases of around 50% YoY.
Sports and Nutrition are particularly interesting areas of growth, especially on Amazon. It’s worth brands considering consumer expectations and how that’s likely to change over time to ensure they are selling products that meet consumer demand and focusing on educating the consumer on how the product works, particularly if they are introducing a premium product.
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