As the energy drink market expanded years ago, sports nutrition and supplement company Xyience, Las Vegas, saw the emerging category as the next step for its products. That evolution led to the development of Xyience Xenergy drinks. “Xenergy is ‘zen energy;’ that’s what it means,” says Michael Levy, chief financial officer and chief operations officer with Xyience. “It has a concept of healthy energy for people with an active lifestyle.”
Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), New York, and energy solutions provider GE, Fairfield, Conn., have formed a strategic alliance to develop innovative manufacturing solutions that are designed to drive energy efficiency and water savings in existing and “greenfield” AB InBev facilities across China.
After launching acai-infused energy drinks 28Black and 28White in Germany in 2008, Calidris 28 AG has launched the products in the United States. 28Black and 28White are lightly carbonated, all-natural and do not include taurine, artificial flavors or preservatives.
Xyience Xenergy drink launched its second limited-edition collector can, Xenergy Premium CranRazz, which features Jon “Bones” Jones, current Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight titleholder.
Created by a former U.S. Navy SEAL, Kill Cliff Endurance & Recovery drinks were designed to reduce inflammation, thus increasing performance and speeding up recovery time, the company says.
Last month, market research firm Nielsen outlined its new platform of 12 criteria for new product success during an “Innovation Revelation” webinar. In addition to outlining the dozen steps, Vicki Gardner, senior vice president of product innovation North America for the New York-based company, noted that traditionally successful product launches often offer benefits previously unavailable in the marketplace.
Although energy drinks were not immune from the effects of the economy, the category has shown its ability to grow in sales. Energy drink sales increased 14 percent to more than $5.9 billion in sales for the 52 weeks ending June 12 in supermarkets, drug stores, gas and convenience stores and mass merchandise outlets, excluding Walmart, according to SymphonyIRI Group, Chicago. The energy shots category also posted strong numbers with a 31.6 percent increase generating $1 billion in sales during the same time period.
Sales of energy drinks have taken on the energy of its products compared to a year ago. The energy drinks category increased 15.7 percent for $6.9 billion in sales, according to SymphonyIRI Group, Chicago, for the 52 weeks ending May 15 in U.S. supermarkets, drug stores, gas and convenience stores and mass merchandise outlets, excluding Wal-Mart.