MCLEAN, VA - Energy drinks saw a 13.5% unit sales growth in 2010 and received a "significant boost" from energy shot sales at convenience stores, according to SymphonyIRI Group data, beating out other CPG categories in grocery, drug, mass merchandise and convenience stores (excluding Walmart), reports USA Today.
Citing a reort released earlier this month by IRI, CPG growth is being influenced by a number of factors, such as home-based eating and drinking.
"Energy drinks have been one of the shining stars of the beverage universe over the last decade, with heady, double-digit growth," Gary Hemphill of Beverage Marketing told the newspaper.
Maureen Storey of the American Beverage Association compared energy drinks to coffee, noting that a 16-ounce cup of Starbucks?? Pike Place coffee has roughly the same amount of caffeine as a 16-ounce can of Monster Energy.
Here is a glimpse at one of our industry??s bright spots: Syndicated Nielsen data shows that the convenience store channel??s packaged beverage growth is being driven by energy drinks, as well as ready-to-drink iced tea. In fact, energy drinks have surpassed bottled water as the second-leading beverage (in sales) in the category behind carbonated soft drinks.
To be the first to hear how c-store categories such as foodservice, tobacco, packaged beverages and more are performing, as well as category trends and exclusive industry benchmarks and data, attend the NACS State of the Industry Summit next month in Chicago. See you there!