Draw Them In
Americans’ continued interest in healthful and nutritious eating habits is helping to fuel interest in sports, nutritional and protein drinks, reports global market research firm Mintel in its January “Nutritional and Performance Drinks — US” report. And while sports drinks dominate the category with the largest share of sales, their overall growth is the lowest of the three segments. Protein drinks saw the greatest amount of recent growth, with a 51.2 percent increase in sales between 2011 and 2013.
“Everything trend-wise seems to be centered on health and wellness,” says Steve Fay, executive vice president of sales with Roscoe, Ill.-based Berner Food & Beverage Inc. “Functional protein drinks are populating the shelves of grocers in ever-increasing numbers.”
Trends with traction
When it comes to existing trends in nutritional, protein and sports beverages, taste improvements are a large concern. Mintel reports that 55 percent of sports drink users, 50 percent of nutritional drink users and 45 percent of protein drink users list “taste” as a reason to consume the respective beverages. These findings suggest that improved taste and expanded flavor offerings could be used to entice more consumers to enter the category.
Berner is working with new and improved alternative sweeteners such as stevia to improve the taste of these beverages. The newer sweeteners do not turn bitter when processed — a great improvement, Fay said.
Health and wellness also is a major trend in the segment. With increasing competition from other categories, Mintel recommends that new products continue to adapt to consumer demands for health by developing products that are lower in sugar and calories.
One example of a lower-sugar, lower-calorie item is Berner’s “Ultimate Latte,” Fay says.
His company also created some new protein drinks that use coffee extracts to create “good for you” functional lattes. The protein drink is fat-free and gluten-free and contains fewer than 85 calories per serving and less than 6 grams of sugar, Fay added.
Trends on the horizon
As for emerging trends in the category, new sources of protein are of high interest. Mintel points out that young men drive sales in all three beverage segments. But companies need to do more to appeal to additional consumer groups, including older adults and young females.
“We have seen projects with hemp protein, pea protein, soy protein and dairy protein,” Fay says. “Another trend is exemplified by Campbell’s offering of a protein shake with vegetable juice concentrates. Basically [they’re] trying to hit the sweet spot of ‘good for you’ and ‘tastes good’ also.”