Within the 1982 hit single “Muscle tissue,” Diana Ross sings about her penchant for sturdy males. “I don’t care if he’s younger or outdated / Simply make him stunning / I simply need some sturdy man to carry on to / I need muscle mass / All, throughout his physique,” Ross sings.
Inside the beverage business, though the sports activities and protein drink markets historically have been related to muscle constructing and high-intensity coaching, as we speak’s shoppers look to those drinks to help their energetic existence and total well-being, specialists notice.
“The rise of fitness-focused existence has fueled demand for sports activities and protein drinks that transcend hydration and muscle restoration,” says Mitch Madoff, head of retail partnerships at Keychain, New York. “Shoppers need merchandise that match their holistic wellness targets, main manufacturers to innovate with clear components, low sugar, and added advantages like electrolytes and plant-based proteins.”
Designed for health-conscious people, G FUEL Hydration + Focus is formulated for each physique and thoughts delivering speedy hydration, enhanced psychological readability, all with out sugar or caffeine, the corporate says.
Paige Leyden, affiliate director of foodservice, flavors, and components experiences at Chicago-based Mintel, echoes related sentiments.
“The elevation of health life-style client tendencies has considerably influenced the U.S. sports activities and protein drink markets,” she says. “With shoppers prioritizing energetic existence and bodily well-being, demand has shifted towards practical drinks that help these targets. This has pushed key developments, together with elevated consumption, creative product choices, broader enchantment, and gender-specific advertising and marketing.”
Sherry Frey, vp of whole wellness at NielsenIQ (NIQ), Chicago, notes that health life-style tendencies are impacting these markets exterior of conventional retailers — notably the protein drink market.
“As an example, we see each are within the High 15 meals classes offered on TikTok store (sports activities drinks No. 8 and protein drinks No. 13),” she explains. “The truth is, when simply on-line gross sales, 24% of protein drinks are offered on-line whereas solely 16% of sports activities drinks are, indicating we’re seeing shoppers influenced in retailers aside from conventional retailers. This has impacted the family penetration.”
Frey provides that NIQ Omnishopper knowledge for the 52 weeks ending Feb. 22 present that there’s 30% family penetration in protein drinks in contrast with 75% in sports activities drinks. “Protein drinks have gained 2.8 factors of family penetration within the final yr, whereas sports activities drinks dropped 1.6 factors,” she says.
So far as how the sports activities drink and protein drink markets carried out previously yr (xAOC + comfort), Frey notes that sports activities drinks have been down 0.9% in {dollars} and three.7% in models for the 52 weeks ending March 22. In the meantime, protein drinks have been up 22.5% in {dollars} and 18.6% in models.
“Whereas protein drinks are rising, it’s a a lot smaller class (about one-tenth the dimensions) of sports activities drinks,” Leyden explains.
REBBL introduced the launch of its new 32g Protein Shakes, made with Upcycled Licensed barley and rice protein, delivering a powerhouse of plant-based vitamin whereas reinforcing REBBL’s dedication to sustainability, it says.
Roger Dilworth, senior analyst at Beverage Advertising and marketing Company (BMC), Wintersville, Ohio, notes that sports activities drinks declined in quantity by 2.5% in 2024 with retail {dollars} primarily flat.
“Protein drinks, then again, grew quantity by 11.5% and retail {dollars} by 16%,” he says. “Since sports activities drinks are of for much longer classic than protein drinks, a minimum of within the RTD realm, health life-style client tendencies appear to have benefited protein drinks greater than sports activities drinks.”
Market transformations
Alongside client tendencies, specialists notice that practical/hybrid beverage tendencies are influencing the sports activities and protein drink classes.
Mintel’s Leyden explains how these beverage tendencies are reshaping the sports activities and efficiency drink markets by driving innovation and increasing enchantment.
“These tendencies have led to a blurring of conventional beverage classes, broader consumption events, and a concentrate on versatility and taste,” she says. “This evolution is fueling market progress and attracting a wider vary of shoppers searching for artistic and adaptable beverage choices.”
Keychain’s Madoff additionally notes that the blurring of class traces has enabled these markets to achieve a broader vary of shoppers.
“Useful and hybrid beverage tendencies are blurring class traces, with sports activities and protein drinks including probiotics and immunity-boosting components to achieve a wider viewers past simply athletes,” Madoff says. “Manufacturers like poppi and Olipop have popularized prebiotics, encouraging different beverage classes to comply with swimsuit and cater to as we speak’s health-conscious shoppers.”
BMC’s Dilworth, in the meantime, means that practical/hybrid tendencies are having some influence, in all probability extra on the protein drink class, as there are seemingly extra varieties launched with espresso and nutritional vitamins, and minerals.
“Sports activities drinks, since they’re usually used earlier than and through vigorous cardio exercise, seemingly have a stricter purview by way of what further components could be added safely,” Dilworth explains.
NIQ’s Frey notes that the continued blurring of traces extends throughout all beverage classes.
“As an example, non-alcoholic drinks are more and more wanting like practical drinks,” she says. “We see a concentrate on hydration throughout dietary supplements and beverage enhancers, which can also be exhibiting up more and more in drinks. Inside protein drinks, we’re seeing claims lowering fatigue, muscle well being, vitality, efficiency, mind well being and even hydration well being.”
Frey provides that NIQ is also seeing progress in natural sports activities drinks in addition to new merchandise progress in clear label claims corresponding to pure flavors, pure sweeteners and free from synthetic sweeteners.
Gatorade unveiled its latest product, Gatorade Taste Mashups, combining 4 of the model’s most cherished flavors into two new merchandise: Cool Blue Fruit Punch and Lemon Lime Orange.
Keychains Madoff says that the shift towards pure and natural merchandise is reworking the sports activities and protein drink markets, pushing manufacturers towards clean-label formulations.
“Shoppers are paying nearer consideration to components, favoring merchandise free from synthetic sweeteners, colours and preservatives,” he explains. “This demand has fueled innovation in organic-certified, plant-based protein drinks like Ripple and pure electrolyte-replenishing sports activities drinks like Nuun.”
Mintel’s Leyden echoes related sentiments, noting that demand for clear label is cultivating innovation.
“These preferences are fostering innovation and creating alternatives to cater to youth and households, whereas additionally enhancing client belief,” she says. “Thirty-eight % of shoppers search for all-natural claims in comparison with 23% of shoppers who search for natural claims when buying sports activities drinks.”
In the meantime, BMC’s Dilworth says that there appears solely to be a small influence of pure and natural on the sports activities and protein drink markets.
“[T]right here will at all times be a phase of the inhabitants that search these attributes, however it’s not a significant element of both market thus far,” he explains.
When it comes to protein drinks, and whether or not recovery-based merchandise dominate the market, or are extra centered on meal substitute, Dilworth asserts that, “it’s troublesome to measure what proportion is used for restoration and what’s used for meal substitute.”
“RTD protein drinks would seemingly are usually extra for meal substitute, whereas severe ‘muscle-heads’ would seemingly go for protein powders,” he says. “Plus, because the protein drink and meal substitute classes merge de facto, there are a lot of folks — notably seniors — that devour protein drinks interchangeably with grownup vitamin merchandise like Guarantee.”
NIQ’s Frey anticipates extra progress coming from the recovery-based merchandise, versus the meal replacements.
Keychain’s Madoff means that as folks prioritize their well being and wellness, protein drinks like Muscle Milk and Orgain have turn into common for supporting post-workout restoration — serving to shoppers replenish vitamins and help muscle restore after train.
“On the identical time, the demand for meal substitute protein drinks is rising, as busy existence make fast, on-the-go choices extra interesting,” he says. “Whereas many shoppers nonetheless favor entire meals, manufacturers like Huel, Soylent, and OWYN are catering to these on the go by providing plant-based, nutrient-dense drinks that substitute full meals, offering a handy answer for these with hectic schedules.”
Going ahead
Because the sports activities and protein drink markets proceed to innovate to satisfy client want states, specialists anticipate how future tendencies will affect these markets going ahead.
“For sports activities drinks, there may very well be a renewed curiosity in formulating with coconut water, on condition that coconut water has been rising quickly these days,” BMC’s Dilworth says. “Sports activities drinks may face sharper criticism for his or her components, so entrepreneurs might proactively look to enhance them to incorporate extra pure and natural.
“Protein drinks may start to emphasise extra area of interest attributes, corresponding to including extra collagen or calling out that the protein supply is ‘grass fed’ and the like,” he continues. “There needs to be persevering with developments in plant-based proteins, together with from sources not recognized as we speak.”
Keychain’s Madoff considers personalization and sustainability to be main tendencies shaping the way forward for the sports activities and protein drink markets.
“We’ll seemingly see extra merchandise tailor-made to particular wants, like hydration drinks for endurance athletes or protein blends for various metabolic sorts,” he says. “Sustainability may also play a giant function, with eco-friendly packaging and moral sourcing serving to manufacturers stand out.
“Influencer collaborations are one other pattern to observe,” Madoff continues. “Take MrBeast and Logan Paul’s partnership with PRIME Hydration for instance — they created a tropical-flavored drink that tapped into their big fan bases, serving to PRIME attain a fair wider viewers.”
NIQ’s Frey anticipates that the protein drink market will proceed to innovate with enhanced dietary merchandise, whereas the sports activities drink class would possibly face continued challenges within the subsequent yr.
“Throughout the shop, we proceed to see shoppers on the lookout for merchandise that meet particular well being and want states, like digestive well being, immunity, metabolism help, efficiency help, mind well being, irritation help, hydration, and even temper and stress,” she says. “Sports activities and protein drinks, and different drinks, will seemingly paved the way on assembly the wants of those client priorities.
“We anticipate that we’ll proceed to see enhanced vitamin, for instance, seeing progress in protein drinks which are a ‘good supply of fiber’ and helpful vitamins corresponding to calcium, iron, minerals, and so on.,” Frey continues. “We additionally anticipate continued evolution round formulations and sugar as we see shifts within the class round each diminished sugar in addition to added sugars.”
BMC’s Dilworth expects the game drinks market to barely decline within the subsequent yr, whereas the protein drinks market will see continued progress.
“Sports activities drinks are anticipated to say no, however at a slower price than in 2024. Retail greenback gross sales ought to develop within the 1% vary,” he says. “Protein drinks will proceed to develop quantity and retail {dollars} close to or at double-digit charges.”
Mintel’s Leyden, in the meantime, predicts that customers’ elevated curiosity in dietary advantages will drive demand for each markets within the coming yr.
“Expanded consumption events, with extra folks integrating these drinks into every day routines, will drive demand,” she says. “Taste innovation may also be a key focus, as manufacturers introduce various choices to draw and retain clients. The continuing demand for practical advantages, corresponding to dietary help, vitality boosts, and restoration options, will stay central.
“Manufacturers that align with these tendencies and prioritize client well being targets can count on to see continued success,” Leyden concludes.
