The history and current state of the energy drink catagory in the United States.

1. HELLO BANG, WELCOME COKE ENERGY, AND FAREWELL TO RUSS WEINER
ENERGY DRINKS

2. “AN ENERGY DRINK IS A TYPE OF DRINK CONTAINING STIMULANT COMPOUNDS, USUALLY CAFFEINE,
WHICH IS MARKETED AS PROVIDING MENTAL AND PHYSICAL STIMULATION - MARKETED AS ENERGY BUT
DISTINCT FROM FOOD ENERGY. THEY ARE A SUBSET TO THE ENERGY PRODUCTS CATEGORY, WHICH
INCLUDES BARS AND GELS, AND DISTINCT FROM SPORTS DRINKS, SPORTS PERFORMANCE.
ACCORDING TO THE MAYO CLINIC, IT IS SAFE FOR THE TYPICAL HEALTHY ADULT TO CONSUME A TOTAL
OF 400 MG OF CAFFEINE A DAY. ENERGY DRINKS HAVE THE EFFECTS OF CAFFEINE AND SUGAR, BUT
THERE IS LITTLE OR NO EVIDENCE THAT THE WIDE VARIETY OF OTHER INGREDIENTS HAVE ANY EFFECT.
MOST EFFECTS OF ENERGY DRINKS ON COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE, SUCH AS INCREASED ATTENTION AND
REACTION SPEED, ARE PRIMARILY DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF CAFFEINE. ADVERTISING FOR ENERGY
DRINKS OFTEN FEATURE INCREASED MUSCLE STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE, BUT THERE IS NO SCIENTIFIC
CONSENSUS TO SUPPORT THESE CLAIMS.” WIKIPEDIA
WHAT ARE ENERGY DRINKS?

3. PEPSI, WAS ORIGINALLY MARKETED AS AN ENERGY BOOSTER. COCA-COLA’S NAME WAS DERIVED FROM ITS TWO
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS, BOTH KNOWN STIMULANTS: COCA LEAVES AND KOLA NUTS - A SOURCE OF CAFFEINE.
FRESH COCA LEAVES WERE REPLACED BY “SPENT” ONES IN 1904 BECAUSE OF CONCERNS OVER THE USE OF
COCAINE IN FOOD PRODUCTS; THE FEDERAL LAWSUIT “UNITED STATES VS FORTY BARRELS AND TWENTY KEGS
OF COCA-COLA” PRESSURED COCA-COLA COMPANY INTO REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF CAFFEINE IN ITS
FORMULA BY 1916. THESE DEVELOPMENTS BROUGHT AN END TO THE FIRST WAVE OF ENERGY DRINKS.
IN THE UK, LUCOZADE ENERGY WAS INTRODUCED IN 1929 AS A HOSPITAL DRINK FOR "AIDING THE RECOVERY”.
IN JAPAN, THE ENERGY DRINK DATES AT LEAST AS FAR BACK AS THE EARLY 1960S, WITH THE LAUNCH OF THE
LIPOVITAN BRAND. HOWEVER, IN JAPAN, MOST OF THE PRODUCTS OF THIS KIND BEAR LITTLE RESEMBLANCE TO
SOFT DRINKS, AND ARE SOLD INSTEAD IN SMALL GLASS MEDICINE BOTTLES, OR CANS STYLED TO RESEMBLE
SUCH CONTAINERS. THESE EIYŌ DORINKU, "NUTRITIONAL DRINKS”, ARE MARKETED PRIMARILY TO WHITE
COLLAR WORKERS. BACCHUS, A SOUTH KOREAN DRINK, CLOSELY MODELED AFTER LIPOVITAN, ALSO APPEARED
IN THE EARLY 1960S AND TARGETS A SIMILAR DEMOGRAPHIC.
A SUBSET OF THE EARLY SOFT DRINK INDUSTRY

4. IN 1985, JOLT COLA WAS INTRODUCED IN THE UNITED STATES. ITS MARKETING STRATEGY
CENTERED ON THE DRINK'S CAFFEINE CONTENT, BILLING IT AS A MEANS TO ENHANCE
WAKEFULNESS. THE DRINK'S INITIAL SLOGAN READ: "ALL THE SUGAR AND TWICE THE
CAFFEINE.” IN 1995, PEPSICO LAUNCHED JOSTA, THE FIRST ENERGY DRINK INTRODUCED
BY A MAJOR US DRINK COMPANY, PEPSI DISCONTINUED THE PRODUCT IN 1999. PEPSI
WOULD LATER RETURN TO THE ENERGY DRINK MARKET WITH THE AMP BRAND.
IN EUROPE, ENERGY DRINKS WERE PIONEERED BY THE LISA COMPANY AND A PRODUCT
NAMED "POWER HORSE", BEFORE DIETRICH MATESCHITZ, AN AUSTRIAN ENTREPRENEUR,
INTRODUCED RED BULL. MATESCHITZ DEVELOPED RED BULL BASED ON THE THAI DRINK
KRATING DAENG - RED BULL IN THAI, ITSELF BASED ON LIPOVITAN. SOLD IN SMALL BROWN
BOTTLES WITH PAPER LABELS.
RED BULL BECAME THE DOMINANT BRAND IN THE US AFTER ITS INTRODUCTION IN 1997.
STRATEGY CENTERED ON THE DRINK'S CAFFEINE CONTENT

5. RED BULL ENJOYS A LIGHTHOUSE IDENTITY IN A CATEGORY IT CREATED
WHEN ADRENALINE JUNKIES MET RED BULL, THEY DIDN’T SEE A
BEVERAGE COMPANY, THEY SAW A KINDRED SPIRIT. WHO BETTER TO
CARRY THE MESSAGE OF THE EXTREME SPORTS JUNKIE THAN THE SPORT’S
NUMBER ONE AMBASSADOR AND KEEPER OF THE FLAME?
IN THE CROWDED 90’S-ERA SOFT DRINK CATEGORY DOMINATED BY COKE
AND PEPSI, TINY RED BULL SHOWED UP IN THE U.S. WITH A
RELENTLESSLY AGGRESSIVE GRASSROOTS FOCUS ON AN UNDERSERVED
NICHE OF ADRENALINE JUNKIES. BEFORE RED BULL HAD EVEN REGISTERED
ON THE COLA GIANTS’ RADAR, THE COMPANY MANAGED TO
SINGLEHANDEDLY CREATE THE ENERGY DRINK SEGMENT THAT IT WOULD
SOON DOMINATE. IN THE PROCESS, THE BRAND WON THE HEARTS AND
MINDS OF EXTREME SPORTS ENTHUSIASTS AND BECAME THEIR CHAMPION.

6. RED BULL HAS A LOT OF COMPANY IN THE CATEGORY IT
CREATED, BUT THE THREAT HASN’T COME DIRECTLY FROM
CATEGORY LEADERS COKE OR PEPSI UNTIL RECENTLY.
RED BULL DEMONSTRATED THAT A SEGMENT OF
UNDERSERVED CONSUMERS WAS WILLING TO PAY 300%
MORE FOR 33% LESS PRODUCT. THAT’S RIGHT, AT JUST EIGHT
OUNCES, RED BULL COSTS THREE TIMES WHAT YOU’LL PAY FOR
A 12-OUNCE CAN OF COKE.
TAKING A PAGE OUT OF RED BULL’S PLAYBOOK, MONSTER
ADOPTED THE ROCKSTAR 16OZ CAN AND SUPERCROSS FANS
AS THEIR VERY OWN. MONSTER CREATED A FAN EXPERIENCE
FROM THE GROUND UP USING ITS STATUS AS THE SERIES TITLE
SPONSOR TO TAKE THE SPORT TO NEW HEIGHTS.
RED BULL CREATED MONSTER CHALLENGERS

7. While Red Bull focused on extreme sports, Monster dug deeper
still, and trained its attention on the original extreme sport;
motorsports, and motorcycle racing in particular.
Here again, it was Monster’s relentless focus on an under-
appreciated niche consumer segment that won fans and launched
the brand to unexpected heights. Like Red Bull, the company didn’t
rely on the usual advertising channels to achieve any of its success.
Instead, Monster turned all of its early marketing energy to the
goal of courting Supercross fans, a motorcycle racing series held in
stadiums around the country and culminating in a championship.
MONSTER DUG DEEPER STILL …

8. BY BEHAVING LIKE FANS MONSTER CONNECTED DEEPLY WITH SUPERCROSS FANS – THIS ALSO
PROVIDED INSIGHT INTO THE CONSUMERS THE BRAND WAS TRYING TO ATTRACT. RATHER THAN
FOCUSING ON SELLING PRODUCT, THE COMPANY SOUGHT TO BOOST THE ENTERTAINMENT VALUE OF
SUPERCROSS EVENTS AND HELP GROW THE SPORT. MONSTER ACCOMPLISHED BOTH OF THOSE GOALS
AND USED THE EXPERIENCE TO EXPAND INTO MORE PRESTIGIOUS RACING FORMATS.
IN 2017, MONSTER BECAME A TITLE SPONSOR FOR
NASCAR IN THE MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES.
OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS, AND PRETTY MUCH UNDER THE RADAR, MONSTER GREW SALES NORTH OF
$3 BILLION. IN THE PROCESS, IT BECAME THE BEST PERFORMING STOCK IN THE U.S. FOR 15
CONSECUTIVE YEARS, WITH SHARE GROWTH OF 60,000%.
MONSTER CONNECTS DEEPLY WITH FANS

9. BANG HITS WITH A ONE TWO PUNCH
BANG ENERGY CAME OUT OF LEFT FIELD TO DISPLACE ROCK STAR WITH ITS METEORIC RISE TO #3
IN THE ENERGY DRINK SEGMENT. ROCK STAR HAD HELD THE POSITION FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS.
IN 2012, BANG'S PARENT COMPANY, VITAL PHARMACEUTICALS INTRODUCED BANG, MARKETED
AS A LOW SUGAR HEALTHY ALTERNATIVE TO OTHER ENERGY DRINKS.
BANG’S MISSION STATEMENT IS “TO MAKE HIGH-QUALITY NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS BACKED
BY SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH”. IN 2019, THE COMPANY OPENED A $52 MILLION DOLLAR
MANUFACTURING AND DISTRIBUTION FACILITY IN PHOENIX ARIZONA, WHICH WILL OPERATE
ALONGSIDE THEIR DISTRIBUTION FACILITY
• IN APRIL 2020 PEPSICO ENTERED A EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT WITH VPX TO
DISTRIBUTE BANG IN THE UNITED STATES.

10. PREVIOUSLY, THE COCA-COLA CO. SPENT $2.15 BILLION FOR A 17% STAKE IN ENERGY DRINK MAKER
MONSTER BEVERAGE CORP, RECENTLY LAUNCHING THEIR OWN COCA-COLA ENERGY
IN 2020 PEPSICO BOUGHT ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINKS FOR $3.85 BILLION, RUSS WEINER, CEO
AND FOUNDER OF ROCKSTAR CASHES IN A FORTUNE AND CHECKS OUT OF ENERGY FOR GOOD. ON TOP
OF THIS RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT, BANG ENERGY, WILL NOW BE EXCLUSIVELY DISTRIBUTED BY
PEPSICO. THIS GIVES PEPSI 3RD AND 4TH IN THE ENERGY CATEGORY WITH BANG OFFERING THE FIRST
REAL CHALLENGE TO THE ENERGY DRINK GIANTS IN ALMOST TWO DECADES.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD

11. TOTAL U.S. ENERGY DRINKS LAST 52 WEEKS ENDING 07/11/20 - NIELSEN
TOTAL U.S. ENERGY DRINKS LAST 13 WEEKS ENDING 07/11/20 - NIELSEN

12. HIGH-OCTANE SPORTS TYPICALLY GO HAND IN HAND WITH CAFFEINATED DUDES DOWNING ENERGY
DRINKS TO ENHANCE THEIR PERFORMANCE. IT MIGHT NOT BE THIS WAY FOR LONG, THOUGH.
AS THE ENERGY DRINK MARKET CONTINUES TO GROW - U.S. SALES INCREASED TO $14.2 BILLION
IN 2019 FROM $10.1 BILLION IN 2014 (EUROMONITOR) BEVERAGE GIANTS COCA-COLA AND
PEPSICO ARE MAKING MOVES INTO THE CATEGORY. IN ADDITION TO THEIR MARKETING MUSCLE,
THESE MOVES COULD TRANSFORM THE ENERGY DRINKS SECTOR FROM ONE THAT TARGETS YOUNG
MEN DOING INTENSE SPORTS INTO SOMETHING MORE BROADLY MARKETED TO ALL.
SOME BELIEVE THAT ONLY MARKETING TO ONE CONSUMER GROUP WAS THE STRENGTH BEHIND
RED BULL AND MONSTER’S SUCCESS, OTHERS BELIEVE IT ALSO RESTRICTED GROWTH WITH OTHER
TYPES OF CONSUMERS AND THEREIN LIES OPPORTUNITY.
EXPANDING BEYOND MEN DOING EXTREME SPORT

13. Q & A
i. Distribution Model
ii. E-commerce vs up and down the street
iii. Cadence by channel and Geography
iv. Economics
v. Promotional Plan
vi. Geo Targeting
vii. Target consumers
viii. Sponsorship
ix. Test and Learn