According to recent market analysis, our crazy lives are actually stimulating the sale of energy drinks. On average, we’re trying to cram more into one day, and replacing hours of sleep with the sweet nectar of liquid energy.
These drinks are made to pack a punch, and the average american spends a decent portion of their day with a cocktail of caffeine, taurine, herbal extracts, methylxanthines, amino acids, and vitamin B coursing through their veins.
Our reliance on energy drinks is even boosting the overall market for this beverage segment, with the energy drinks market in the US expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.42% from 2015-2019.
Energy Drink Manufacturers are Getting Creative in the Face of Health Concerns
Now the bad news: The ingredients in energy drinks tend to be associated with some serious health concerns. About 80% of Americans consume caffeine every day, but the high proportion of caffeine in energy drinks can cause insomnia, high blood pressure, and anxiety.
Taurine, another lovely ingredient in energy drinks, is an amino acid that is naturally present in the human body.It helps regulate heartbeat, muscle contractions, and energy levels. Not bad, right? Wrong. The excessive intake of taurine can lead to heart palpitations.
And consumers are becoming more aware of these ingredients and their potential health implications, which is forcing vendors to introduce healthier alternatives.
Consumers are now on the lookout for “healthier” energy drinks that still pack a punch of energy—which is no easy task.
Additionally, low- and no-calorie energy drinks are gaining steam, which has precipitated a rise in popularity of ingredients like green coffee bean extract, organic guarana, ginseng, ginko biloba, green tea and natural sweeteners like stevia. Vendors are also slapping the organic label on every product they can find, to try and reel in any stragglers.
So to sum up: Consumers want energy drinks with healthy ingredients and no calories that still work just as well (and taste great!) but are also 100% organic and all-natural and vendors have no choice but to struggle to keep up.
What’s the Best Solutions for Consumers Looking for Healthy Energy Drinks?
Probably to not drink them at all. The vast majority of these drinks contain lots of calories from sugar, and even the low-calorie ones are chock-a-block full on uncontrolled substances, which can be potentially harmful if consumed in large quantities.
On top of that, the big energy boost caused by these drinks also comes with a big crash, which can create a dependence cycle, throw your blood sugar out of whack and cause a host of other issues.
But health concerns surrounding energy drinks aren’t really slowing sales that much. If anything, they are just serving as motivation for vendors to release new products. Major expansions in products lines are helping vendors reach a whole new batch of customers, which will be key to sustaining market growth through the forecast period.
