Alternative Beverages As A Competitive Global Market

• Determine under what conditions each of the “energy drinks” might be useful to the consumer.

Based on data obtained from limited English sources dated 2005 to 2010, energy drinks have become more popular among teenagers and young adults (Rath, 2012). SixWise.com’s (2008) article “What is really in a hot dog?” provided evidence that just because the product is purchased by the public does not automatically mean it is beneficial long term (Wyrick). This new craze of energy drinks has the world consuming them at a staggering rate. The debates concerning the effects among energy drink consumption in all age groups are real and impacts most of us in some shape or form. Some people will argue there are benefits found in some of the ingredients that enhance the psychological and physiological mental and cognitive performances such as

Gatorade is a flagship brand of PepsiCo and has a commanding 75% market share of the sports nutrition beverage marketplace globally, being sold into 80 different countries according to the latest PepsiCo annual report published in late 2011. Gatorade's success in branding and product marketing has actually expanded the global market for sports nutrition beverages during the late 1990s and into the 21rst century. Recently however the company has faced many channels including product line extensions of the last decade which failed to deliver strong results (Pollack, 1997) and a more critical analysis of their ingredients as many of their beverages are sold in public schools (Tallon, 2009). Despite these challenges however, Gatorade continues to experience strong market share and growth. The intent of this analysis is to evaluate and provide recommendations for each of the four areas of the marketing mix including product, price, promotion and place or distribution.

This document is part of the requirements of the Foundations of marketing course, the University of Newcastle. It is the first part of the marketing plan for Red Bull, the leader of energy drinks market.

Energy drinks consumers are generally bellow 35 years of age. The industry targets teenagers, young adults and athletes. Workers are also included in the market segment for this product. As regards to customers description, recent studies has pointed out that 65% of energy markets are male (Energy Drinks Market, n.d).Consumers are usually single with an average income (Central Information Organization, 2009, p.8). Nowadays, energy drinks are very popular among teenager students. As confirmed by Bahrain Central Information Organization webpage (CIO), students’ rate is 174.98 per 1000 population. This is a large percent taking into account the very small population of Bahrain. Furthermore, people

This report was written to assess the company Red Bull and their energy drink Red Bull Energy Drink, in a manner in which the market/industry, environment, competitors, customers, and the brand were all analysed by using secondary research. A SWOT analysis was also conducted. Through this research and analysing, it was found that Red Bull is the dominating leader in the energy drink market and sells the most units of its product worldwide. However the company does have close competitors in Monster Energy Drink and Rock star Energy Drink. Although Red Bull has massive internal strengths in being leader in the market share and sponsorship of events, it also has weaknesses in lack of innovation and diversity. Their

Consumer Behavior Monster Energy Target Market Because the energy drink is still part of a new and developing industry, the energy drink target market is different than in some of the other beverage industries. Monster energy drinks have become a very popular, “hip” part of society, but the market at which they are aimed is not as wide and expansive, or diverse, as some might think. Early in energy drink history, when they were first being sold in the United States, athletes were the primary consumers. This shows that even initially energy drinks were directed at a select crowd, a group of people with specific interests. Although the consumer base for energy drinks has now expanded beyond that of simply athletes, the target market is

There are (3) reasons why I have chosen energy drinks as my NAB. First off, there is a growing market for energy drinks. Red Bull and Monster Beverage Corporation, together, form over 80% of domestic energy drinks volumes by estimates. Dollar sales for energy drinks grew almost 6% to $6.67 Billion in measured channels in 2013, which propelled sales growth for convenience stores (Team, 2014). A growing thirst for caffeinated “energy” drinks, which include the likes of Red Bull, Monster, and Rock star, has spurred a heart-thumping surge in sales. Globally, the energy drink industry has gone from a $3.8-billion business in 1999, to a $27.5-billion

If one has to analyze the profitability scheme of Red Bull Energy Drink, perhaps it can be safely said that it is in a very uncompromising situation. First and foremost, the stiff competition have paved the way for the emergence of many small time players (Helm 2005). With every bottled drink that aims to steal the limelight nowadays, Red Bull should capitalize more on its creativity and ingenuity—this is of course, in relation to advertising and marketing. The company should never disregard that Coca Cola and Pepsi are still top competitors (Helm 2005). More so, even if the two share equally different components as with Red Bull, still, it is evident that the two continue to partake into the market share. Meanwhile, the notion that energy drinks offers no variety in taste is an important marketing aspect that the company should take into full consideration (Laing 2005). In 2001, Pepsi had already released AMP Energy Drink (“Amp Energy Drink” n.d). It is the company’s maidens venture into the energy drink arena. Evidently, AMP’s raison d’ etre is to capitalize on Mountain Dew’s established image. The concept would be to introduce something new, yet very familiar (“Amp Energy Drink” n.d).

| Weaknesses: * Pays extra payment for new flavor. * More expensive to produce than other sports drinks. * Deciding the segment to target. * How to position the product in the mind of its potential consumers

Gatorade has emerged as the global leader in sports nutrition beverages by continually managing their brand to signify high energy, athletic excellence combine with one of the most efficient new product development and introduced processes in the beverage industry. As a result of being able to consistently synchronize these many components of their business so well, Gatorade today holds a 75% market share in the sports nutrition market globally today. Gatorade is owned by PepsiCo, which has made it possible for the company to sell in 80 countries today. Gatorade relies heavily on the PepsiCo distribution and retail network globally. Gatorades' revolutionary approach to managing branding for beverages has served to increase the total market size for this product category globally (Huang, Sarigöllü, 2012). Despite the continued widespread adoption of Gatorade as a healthy energy drink, the company has encountered resistance to its brand and the ingredients used for creating the many variations of Gatorade energy drinks (Tallon, 2009). Despite these setbacks the Gatorade brand continues to experience exceptional growth and stability over time.

The target consumer market that should be chosen for a new energy beverage brand is males between the ages of 15 and 26. Marketing to this age group falls between the 12 to 34 year olds that estimate to make up 70 percent of the energy drink market (Kerin & Peterson, 2010). This would allow them to still market to the heavy users but would be able to narrow it down to a specific age group within the market. Marketing to this group would allow you to focus on groups such as high school & college students, athletes, and young adults entering the work force or newly parents. The students that would be using the energy products can use it for staying up to study or to help wake up and be alert in class. Athletes could use this product for refocusing after a workout or practice so they would crash. Young adults could use this energy drink for staying up in there social life late at night or to make sure they are awake in the morning for that new job to impress the boss. A different market would be the parents of a newborn. Markets like this could be beneficial because parents want to stay up to feed their new born and make sure everything is okay during the day especially after a sleepless night or two. Marketing to specific target markets helps companies clarify what the product is used for and how it can be beneficial instead of having it say we

Portland Drake Beverages (PDB) had acquired Crescent Pure, a non-alcoholic, all natural energy enhancing and hydrating functional beverage. Having organic ingredients as the bases of Crescent Pure beverages made the perfect acquisition for extending the PDB organic brand to more markets. These multiple attributes made the drink an attractive product for the consumer, but the necessity to position it, sparked a debate. Some people wanted to market it as an energy drink, while others wanted to market it as a hydrating drink. The VP of marketing, Sarah Ryan, thought that although Crescent Pure fit both of these categories, there was an alternative option. The third option would be to position the new beverages as healthy drinks, this would be a broader market positioning strategy, one that a transcendent product like Crescent Pure, could fulfill. The concern was to simultaneously position the drink in the most lucrative market, while also ensuring that the drinks attributes aligned with the market consumers’ needs.

In Brazil, there is not as much of a market for energy drinks as there is in places like the United States. Still, introducing 5-hour energy shots to Brazil could cause the desire for energy drinks to grow in that country. That would open up an entirely new market for energy drinks that could make millions or even billions of dollars for companies that manufacture energy drinks throughout the world. In order to clearly understand how marketing will take place in Brazil and the issues that must be addressed, there are four specific areas that will be considered here. These will be the social-cultural environment of Brazil, the economic environment, the political environment, and the technological environment. Since all of those areas play a role in how an energy drink could be marketed and how much success it might have, they all must be discussed before any decisions are made.

Energy drinks have outperformed the growth in carbonates in the last few years, and present a substantial opportunity for beverage manufacturers to extract further growth from their sales. There are many driving forces of change and critical success factors in the energy drink industry. Companies such as Coke Cola and Pepsi contend with criticism from health officials due to the excessive caffeine in most high-energy drinks. However, before the 2000’s consumers were accustomed to carbonated soft drinks as the traditional beverage. The shift to an energy drink, sports drink, and vitamin enhanced waters increased sales while becoming an alternative beverage choice for a fast-paced mobile society. Therefore, this industry endures many