Sports drinks:Prospects unlimited

THESE days, stamp a product with words like healthy, nutritious, low calorie, and it's sure to get a second look, and if it's true to form, it stays for good. Anything that has to do with promoting excellent health will always have a plump share of the food and beverage market, and the sports drinks segment consisting of isotonic, hypotonic and hypertonic varieties, is one that continues to enjoy vigorous sales. The $42-billion-dollar industry is expected to be one of the most lucrative in sports nutritionas well as the beverage industry in the years ahead.

In the United States, sales were up to $3.9 billion from mid-May 2010 to the same period in 2011, according to GlobalData. The sector is still led by PepsiCo's Gatorade, which accounted for $827 million in 2010, and Coca Cola's Powerade, which posted $685 million of sales in the same year. These beverage firms are so well-established in this niche that even reports that tend to undervalue sports drinks—the most recent from the British Medical Journal in July—cannot displace them from their first and second rankings. Amidst debate they maintain their stand and point to their affiliations with sports and medical organisations to attest to product integrity.

On the other hand, pharmaceutical companies have their products supported not only by scientific research but by hundreds of clinical trials which supposedly help them gain leverage in an industry dominated by drinks manufacturers. Next to Gatorade and Powerade, brands like Lucozade (UK) from GlaxoSmithKline and Pedialyte from Abbot have their fair share of the market.

UK's star performers
In the United Kingdom, sports and energy drinks are the fastest-growing segments in the soft drinks market. According to reports by the British Soft Drink Association, sports drinks grew by 13.1% in volume or an equivalent of 160 million litres. This represents a total value of ￡260 million ($407 million); energy drinks trailed at 12.8%. Hefty sales were driven in part by the World Cup, says the BSDA.

In 2011, the release of more affordable products, including private label helped augment sales.Sports drinks increased by 4.5% in volume, an equivalent of 165 million litres with a total value of ￡270 million ($423 million). Glaxo's Lucozade is the UK's top-selling sports drinks. In 2009, it was amongst the best brands, earning $627 million in global sales. Having been around for 80 years, the product has survived this long by simply adapting to the market. Recently, Glaxo released a version called Lucozade Revive, which is marketed as a light, energising and low-calorie drink with B vitamins.

Teeming with opportunities
The industry is wide open for big and small enterprises ready to venture into sports beverages and related products.The dairy co-operative First Milk, for example, has begun looking outside the dairy business for profitability. The company, which has cornered 15% of the UK milk market, acquired CNP products, a sports nutrition company. The acquisition is designed to help First Milk attract lifestyle consumers with CNPproducts that are endorsed by professional and serious athletes including the British cycling team and the Manchester and Arsenal football clubs.

The growing health-conscious market—and that includes the lifestyle consumer—is the biggest potential market around the world not only for sports beverages but for other nutrition products. Stepping outside the boundaries of its niche, the sports drinks segment has made strides to further its appeal on the average consumer who is not into athletics or body-building, but simply desires a healthy lifestyle. A range of light sports beverages are designed for individuals who partake in some physical activZoom Kobe Venomenon V 5