Stimulate your Sports & Energy sales with Rockstar

How is the overall energy market performing?

Stimulants energy is now the biggest category in convenience, worth £698 million¹. Not only that, it also represents a strong trade-up opportunity for the category with stimulants having 30% higher average price per litre than the average soft drinks².

Stimulants was the biggest winner in the convenience channel in 2022, increasing market share to 34.5% following growth of over £104 million and extending its position as the number one category in this sector³. Overall, stimulants grew +15% to £1.26 billion, making it the second largest segment behind cola⁴, which grew by +6.3% to £2.39 billion⁵.

The stimulants category could continue its impressive run of growth by broadening its appeal, as it is currently consumed in the main by young male shoppers⁶. These are valuable consumers, spending considerably more in the take-home category compared with the average shopper⁷ however there is room for growth by appealing to more consumers, as stimulant drinks only have 9.1% penetration⁸.

What are the latest trends in energy?

Flavours

Our research shows that core variants and flavours continue to be the most popular among shoppers and lead the way in sports and energy sales⁹. Stocking a range of core stimulants flavours and new variants has been key to the success of the category. Range expansion has been vital in keeping pace with increased demand and retailers should consider stocking a selection of products and flavours to help attract new shoppers into the category.

The Rockstar Energy range allows retailers to do just that with a variety of great-tasting flavours.  Merchandising it with other stimulant brands within the energy drinks category, arranged by flavour, will help to maximise sales. If there is room for multiple lines from Rockstar then we recommend retailers lead with the core range of Original and flavours:

• XDurance Blueberry, Pomegranate & Acai
• Punched Tropical Guava
• Juiced Tropical, Orange & Passion Fruit
• Juiced El Mango
• Rockstar Original
• Juiced Tropical Punch
• Rockstar Original No Sugar

These represent the must-stocks for retailers and are all available in the popular big can format (500ml).

Health

As health continues to rise in importance amongst consumers, retailers need to be mindful of the sugar content in stimulant drinks. Stocking low or no sugar options will help retailers to maximise their sales by addressing this concern, while also enabling them to comply with HFSS legislations that have come into effect.

In March 2022, we announced a reduction in the sugar content across Rockstar’s core range of energy drinks, making the six bestsellers high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) legislation compliant. Through the new recipes, the brand is making itself even more reliable and steadfast for retailers who will be able to continue growing energy drink sales through high-impact merchandising and promotions, reflecting the brand’s wider ambition to grow the stimulants segment and extend its appeal to health-conscious shoppers. Through reformulation and the introduction of compliant lines across our portfolio, retailers can trust our brands to help grow their sales, complemented by high-impact merchandising and promotions.

Our innovation pipeline centres around low and no-sugar products which meet HFSS regulations limiting promotions and offer consumers better-for-you options as part of our Healthier People, Healthier Planet strategy.

Any recent or planned NPD/activity?

Rockstar Energy is expanding its range with the launch of two refreshing, zero-sugar flavours, Rockstar Refresh Strawberry & Lime and Watermelon & Kiwi.

Rockstar Refresh Strawberry & Lime and Watermelon & Kiwi provide delicious refreshing flavours with a crisp finish, high vitamin C* content, zero-sugar and only 21 calories per can. These new flavours tap into the demand for lower sugar options which help drive sales for retailers.

Strawberry & Lime will be hitting Tesco shelves from the beginning of March 2023 (RRP: £1.35) and will roll out wider in April. Watermelon & Kiwi will also be available across all channels from April 2023 in a price-marked-pack (PMP) format (RRP: £1.29). With 66.9% of sales in the convenience channel now going through as PMP¹⁰ Rockstar Watermelon & Kiwi PMP is set to drive impulse purchases and bring new shoppers into the category.

What key advice do you have for retailers?

Easy to navigate – Use signage at the fixture and keep it easy to navigate so customers can find the products they’re looking for. Do this by leading with stimulants first due to the size of the category and the future growth potential. Merchandise all stimulants together and lead with major brands, listing core ranges and flavours remains key to deliver growth.

Hot on ‘hot spot’ – Soft drinks are a high impulse driven category with 42.5% of soft drinks shoppers buying on impulse¹¹. It is therefore key to stand out to drive additional purchases. Displaying products results in visibility and drives unplanned purchases which leads to additional sales. 41% of convenience store shoppers claim to have bought something because they saw it highlighted on a gondola end¹².

Connect complementary categories – Where appropriate, link with other categories such as crisps, snacks and nuts, and offer drink and snack promotions at key times of the day.

Make moments memorable – Events and brand activations are key to provide excitement and a point of difference in-store. Leverage key events, using points of sale, supplier and brand assets. Consider digital pre-shop communication where such systems are established by geo-targeting shoppers with customer app push notifications.

1. IRI – Total Convenience – Total Stimulants Britvic Defined – Value Sales – 52WE 23.10.22
2. IRI – Total Convenience – Total Stimulants Britvic Defined – Value Sales – 52WE 23.10.22
3. IRI – Total Convenience – Total Stimulants Britvic Defined – Value Sales – 52WE 23/10/22 vs YA
4. NielsenIQ RMS, Total Coverage, Stimulants sector, Britvic Defined Soft Drinks Segments, Value Sales, 52 w.e 22.10.22
5. NielsenIQ RMS, Total Coverage, Stimulants sector, Britvic Defined Soft Drinks Segments, Value Sales, 52 w.e 22.10.22
6. Kantar Worldpanel, Usage Panel, Take Home/Carried-out, Britvic-defined Stimulants sector, 52 w.e. 07.08.22, users are 72% male vs 38.2% for total soft drinks, over indexing with 25 – 44 year olds.
7. Kantar Worldpanel, Take Home Panel, All Stores, Britvic-defined Stimulants sector shopper v. Britvic-defined Total Soft Drinks shopper, average amount spend per buyer in total soft drinks, 52wk data to 30.10.2022
8. Kantar Worldpanel, OOH Purchase Panel, Convenience, Stimulants sector, Britvic Defined, Penetration %, 52wks, Data to w.e. 30.10.22
9. Kantar Worldpanel, OOH Purchase Panel, Convenience, Stimulants sector, Britvic Defined, Penetration %, 52wks, Data to w.e. 30.10.22
10. IRI – Total Convenience – Total Stimulants Immediate Consumption PMP – Britvic Defined – Value Sales of PMP as a % of Total Stimulants IC Value Sales – 52WE 23/10/22 vs 52WE 24/10/21
11. Lumina Intelligence – % of shoppers who bought Take Home Soft Drinks on Impulse – 15/11/21 to 13/11/22
12. IGD April – June 2022 (weighted base 775)