Energize Sales

Whether running marathons or simply running around in their cars, Americans want to eat more healthfully. But they also want it to be easy to do so — and it doesn’t get much easier than a nutrition bar or energy drink. While sports, energy and nutrition foods and beverages were once thought of as being primarily for the sports enthusiast, the reality is that just about everyone is consuming them nowadays.

So how could retailers meet the needs of this growing mainstream consumer segment? One means is through offering the store brand energy drinks and nutrition bars that shoppers are looking for — and also having merchandising and promotion strategies that will get them noticed.

Cut the calories

On the beverage front, energy drinks remain big business, as evidenced by data from Chicago-based market research firm Information Resources Inc. (IRI). According to IRI’s data for the 52 weeks ending Aug. 10, total energy drink sales reached $2.6 billion. But although the national brands posted some good growth, store brands showed serious dollar and unit sales declines.

Some types of energy drinks are doing better than others, though, and some of the bestsellers in the category right now are beverages that not only supply energy, but also are low in calories or completely calorie-free.

“Monster Zero Ultra, Rockstar Pure Zero and Red Bull Total Zero products seem to be leading the growth curve in energy drinks and outpacing the category growth by a significant margin,” says a source close to the industry, citing IRI data.

Besides the zero- and low-calorie drinks, Pepsi’s Mountain Dew Kickstart, a new energy drink containing juice and aimed at the morning consumer, is another type of product that retailers need to be aware of for the sports and energy category.

“This brand has grown to approximately $150 [million] in sales in its very brief lifespan, and I believe we will continue to see extensions of that line, as well as others who emulate that brand,” the source says. “The magic number seems to be $100 [million]. Once a brand or subcategory reaches that annual sales threshold, an argument could be had for including it in a store brand program.”

Whatever type of energy drinks retailers choose to go with for their store brands, they probably should be ultra-careful with health claims, given the threat of lawsuits.

“Unless you have verifiable science and are willing to defend your claims, it is best to avoid them, especially since most energy drinks have reformulated to be considered beverages rather than health supplements,” the source says.

Focus on protein

As far as nutrition goes, protein is the super-hot ingredient right now, with London-based Euromonitor International forecasting that sales of protein products within the United States will grow 62 percent to reach $7.8 billion in 2018. So for retailers selling store brand nutritional bars, protein needs to be the key benefit called out on the package.

“Protein has such wide appeal that it really makes sense to consider for most store brand programs,” says Allison Cienciala, director of business development for Port Coquitlam, British Columbia-based Nutri-Nation Functional Foods, a custom manufacturer of nutritional bars.

Nicole Lemus, director of sales at Irwindale, Calif.-based Nellson Nutraceutical, which manufactures both nutritional bars and powders, says protein is an important component of nutrition bars aimed at athletes.

“Protein plays the most significant role in sports nutrition bars, given its wide range [of] benefits including satiety, lean muscle mass, weight maintenance and muscle building,” she points out.

What aren’t hot, though, are bars with a lot of processed ingredients.

“The trend right now in energy and nutrition bars is clean nutrition labels with minimal ingredients,” Lemus says, “We are seeing back-to-the-basics types of formulations that incorporate dried fruits and nuts with natural sweetener sources, as well as gluten-free, non-GMO and lower sugar claims.”

According to Lemus, granola and yogurt bars still account for the largest percentage of today’s store brand bars, but “premium, artisan-type bars are gaining some traction,” as are ingredients such as ancient grains, superfoods and plant proteins.

“We are also seeing a trend in snack-type bars in smaller sizes. Portability is important for the on-the-go consumers; as such, smaller portions are becoming more desirable,” Lemus says.

Another trend retailers should keep an eye on is the movement toward non-GMO ingredients, as well as finished product third-party non-GMO certification, Cienciala says, although it can be a costly trend to pursue.

It “may or may not be worth it,” she says, “depending on whether it will be of substantial perceived value to a retailer’s specific customer base.”

Offer probiotics for athletes

Just as more probiotics are showing up in the supplements aisle, they are also showing up in a wide variety of foods, and they might be of particular help to sports consumers who use a lot of protein products.

“When you’re taking a ton of protein, you need a healthy gut and you need your gut to be working well,” says Mike Bush, senior vice president with Mayfield Heights, Ohio-based Ganeden Biotech Inc., manufacturer of GanedenBC30, a patented probiotic strain that can currently be found in more than 85 food, beverage and companion animal products. Besides the appeal that probiotics can have for sports consumers, Bush points out the ease factor for retailers.

“If they already have a store brand protein powder, to add a probiotic literally takes them no time,” he says.

For retailers choosing to add probiotics to protein supplements, two key claims to include on the package are safety and effectiveness.

“Consumers are looking for probiotic products, but they are also looking for probiotic products that they know, trust and understand,” Bush points out.

Promote your products

Across the board, private label manufacturers echo the sentiment that it’s simply not enough just to have store brand sports, energy and nutrition food and beverages on the shelf — strong marketing also is vital to sales success.

“It would be interesting to see more time and energy spent on promotion and branding rather than ‘here’s another one,’” Bush says.

Retailers that don’t market store brand bars at the store level and through flyers, events and more are missing a huge opportunity,” Cienciala says.

“Remember that the branded bar category is very dynamic and is comprised of some clever marketers,” she says. “A store brand bar program should aim to be just as attractive and compelling as a national brand program.”

Retailers also need to ensure that they incorporate sampling programs for their own-brand bars to entice trial, Lemus says.

“The goal is to create an in-store experience that leads to a sale, but most importantly leads to repeat purchases,” she says.

Placement of store brand sports, energy and nutrition products directly next to their national brand equivalent is one effective means of selling them, but secondary placement around the store is also a good strategy for getting them noticed by the shoppers who aren’t visiting that section of the store. Retailers could also find success in getting their store brand product noticed through creative approaches such as in-store dietician events or athletic events such as a local 5K run.

“A retailer’s community involvement can mean great opportunities to introduce store brand bars to a larger audience,” Cienciala says.

Despite the definite need for some improvement, Bush says he is seeing more of an effort in the store brand space.

“More retailers are starting to do a nice job with packaging and putting together promotional programs, and those will probably be the store brands that really pay off.”

Do consider the trend toward low- or zero-calorie energy drinks.

Don’t make nutritional claims you cannot defend.

Do make protein the star of nutritional bars.

Don’t be afraid to get creative with marketing tied to store brand sports/nutritional products.