Trend of social gatherings among youth is spurring the consumption of energy and sports drink in India: Actual Market Research

There seems to be a growing acceptance for the consumption of energy and sports drink in the country. Affordability and visibility are likely to support impulse purchases and increase the frequency of consumption. Furthermore, enlarged urbanization, rising disposable incomes and growing health consciousness among the Indian youth is fuelling the demand. The Indian beverage industry is mainly bifurcated into two main categories i.e. alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Alcoholic beverages consist of products like beer, cider, wine and spirit. Non-alcoholic beverages are segmentation into carbonated and non-carbonated beverage. Non-carbonated consist of bottled water, ready to drink tea and coffee, flavored milk, malted drinks, juice market and energy sports drinks. India is a country which experiences heat in almost every season and humidity is also very high in many of the states. So drinks that can save the people from such scorching heat play an important in the lives of Indian consumers. The energy and sport drink market has little share in the Indian soft drinks market, which is dominated by colas, fruit juices and flavored milk. According to recently published report of Actual Market Research "India Energy & Sports Drink Market Overview", the Indian energy and sports drink market is at a very nascent stage as compared to the global market, but has huge potential. Indian consumers confuse both energy and sports drinks as the same product, however both the products have vast difference. The market grew more than 20% in last five years and market share of leading player i.e. Redbull stood more than 51% in 2014. Energy drinks include high amount of caffeine and other stimulating chemicals which keep the body energized. On the other hand, sports drinks are drinks that athletes take after the body gets dehydrated. To make consumers aware about this difference, manufactures are promoting hard through celebrity endorsements, promotional activities and various awareness campaigns. Currently the market in India is dominated by multinationals with brands like Red Bull GmbH, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Monster Beverage, Hector Beverages, Heinz India, Bisleri, Vedantika Herbals, Dabur, Goldwin Healthcare, etc. Although Red Bull is the market leader, it is losing share to new entrants in the market. Looking at the growth, many small players are venturing into the market by launching a range of products targeting young Indian teenagers. Energy drinks dominates the overall market and are more popular than sports drink. Their primary markets are only the metros & bigger cities and supermarkets are the primary sales channel. Apart from retail sales, energy drinks are also sold in bars and pubs. The target buyers for these drinks continue to be the young and working Indian population. People today lead a life on the fast lane. Everything has to be done on time, deadlines are forever looming large. Whether it is work, college, or home, youngsters are looking to catch up with life. So it is becoming increasingly common for people to take a little something extra in place of their coke around mid-day to make them feel re-energized. These drinks taste and contain something similar to generic soft drinks, but with a decent amount of either caffeine, taurine, Vitamin B, Ginseng, L-Carnitine or even sugar to impart the much needed boost of energy to the drinker. Major companies operating in the energy & sports drink market of India are Red Bull India Pvt. Ltd., PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt. Ltd., Coca-Cola India Private Limited, Goldwin Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. and Viiking Beverages Private Limited.