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The best drinks marketing strategies for 2024

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The marketing strategies used in the drinks industry have started answering authenticity, sustainability and wellness trends. But which techniques are truly leading the way? db finds out.

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Energy drinks can be a helpful tool for endurance athletes. Back to basics, Energy drinks are specifically formulated p owder-based mix, made by mixing powder with water. They are designed to provide a solution to two of the key challenges an athlete faces, typically contain carbohydrates, electrolytes, and other ingredients that are designed to boost energy and alertness during exercise.

Powder-based energy drinks work by providing the body with the nutrients it needs to fuel exercise. Carbohydrates act as the body's primary energy source during exercise, while electrolytes like sodium, potassium and magnesium are important for maintaining proper hydration and muscle function.

Energy drinks provide a sustained release of energy and keep you hydrated at the same time. Some also contain caffeine if you want to improve your focus. we will touch on this later in the article.

How to use energy drinks?

To mix a powder-based energy drink, simply add one sachet \ serving to water and mix \ shake until dissolved. Some energy drink mixes such as Maurten Drink Mix 160 and Drink Mix 360 need to be mixed with exactly 500 ml of water. Other brands also come in multi-serving pouches and you can adjust the amount of water and powder you use depending on your individual needs.

Some people like to combine their energy drink with other fuel sources like energy gels and energy chews, using a variety of fuel is the best way to avoid flavour fatigue. Using an energy drink as your base fuel is a great strategy for longer events over 3 hours, where you would look to take on 20-40 g of carbohydrate per hour from your base fuel and top up with alternative energy sources.

Combining energy drinks with energy gels and other more solid forms of fuel also limits the amount of liquid you take in and can help avoid feeling bloated or full.

When to use energy drinks?

Powder-based energy drinks can be used to improve performance and alertness during endurance workouts and races. If you're only exercising for up to an hour, then water or a electrolyte hydration tablet drink is sufficient. You will still of course be losing glycogen and if you go for just water also electrolytes, however because you're not continuing to exercise at a sustained effort for a longer period you don't need to refuel during your activity.

Instead, refuelling with a recovery drink or by eating a meal will be enough to aid your recovery.

For exercise over an hour in length, you will want to be fuelling from the start to ensure a balanced carbohydrate load during activity.

Pre-loading, taking an energy drink before you start ensures you're properly hydrated from the beginning and gives your body time to metabolize the carbohydrates you're taking in to be used later, before you start to crash. Ideally finish drinking the mix 1 hours before your activity.

Timing:

You ideally want to consume 4 0-80 grams of carbs per hour, this can be in the form of your energy drink, energy gels, energy bars or energy chews, so how often you are taking your energy drink depends on the carbohydrate content and the rest of your fuelling strategy.

For an example using Tailwind Endurance Fuel: 1 single serving mixed with 500ml of water contains 50g of carbohydrate. Where OTE Super Carbs mixed with 500ml of water contains 80 g of carb ohydrate . So 500 ml every hour would give you the required carbohydrate intake, or you could drink half 250 ml of the energy drink, giving you 25g / 40g of carbohydrate, and then combine with a energy gel with a carbohydrate content of 20-30g. This way you can limit your liquid intake to avoid bloating or in colder weather but still get your ideal hourly carbohydrate intake.

Is caffeine important?

Typically, no. Caffeine won't enhance your physical performance and can often have more of a dehydrating effect and for some people causes stomach upset, especially if you don't have caffeine in your normal diet.

Caffeine is a mental stimulant which can improve your focus and alertness but ultimately doesn't provide any more physical energy, so it isn't always necessary to have a caffeinated energy drink.

However, there are also benefits of caffeine and we deep dive into this topic in our article the How Caffeine Improves Sports Performance.

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Energy Drinks: How & When You Should Use Them

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Energy drinks can be a helpful tool for endurance athletes. Back to basics, Energy drinks are specifically formulated powder-based mix, made by mixing powder with water. They are designed to provide a solution to two of the key challenges an athlete faces, typically contain carbohydrates, electrolytes, and other ingredients that are designed to boost energy and alertness during exercise.

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Children who regularly drink energy drinks are at high risk of developing cardiovascular complications, new evidence suggests.

Latest research conducted at Newcastle University and Teesside University has found that drinking cheap energy drinks is also associated with depression, anxiety and suicidal feelings.

In addition, the highly caffeinated drinks can also increase a child's risk of experiencing ADHD symptoms, severe stress and poor sleep quality.

Experts are now campaigning for energy drinks to be banned for children as they can cause serious damage.

Cans of Prime, Monster and Red Bull contain 150mg of caffeine - 60mg more than a 250ml cup of coffee.

Children who drink energy drinks are more likely to gain weight due to the cans containing up to 21 teaspoons of sugar.

During the study, a team of researchers examined 57 studies to assess how energy drinks impact children and young people.

They found that energy drinks are more commonly drank by boys than girls. The results also show that people frequently consuming energy drinks are more likely to have a high BMI, high blood pressure and heart rhythm problems.

Additionally, children who drink energy drinks are more at risk of developing an eating disorder or depression.

Young people are also more likely to smoke, vape and drink alcohol if they have a high intake of energy drinks, the study has reported.

Regular urination, tooth decay and asthma are also associated with energy drinks, the researchers have revealed.

First author Dr Shelina Visram said: "We are deeply concerned about the findings that energy drinks can lead to psychological distress and issues with mental health.

"These are important public health concerns that need to be addressed. There has been policy inaction on this area despite Government concern and public consultations."

Fellow author Professor Amelia Lake said: "It is time that we have action on the fastest growing sector of the soft drink market.

"We have raised concerns about the health impacts of these drinks for the best part of a decade after finding that they were being sold to children as young as 10-years-old for as little as 25p. That is cheaper than bottled water."

She added: "The evidence is clear that energy drinks are harmful to the mental and physical health of children and young people as well as their behaviour and education. We need to take action now to protect them from these risks."

Prior studies have reported that roughly 30% of kids in the UK consume energy drinks every week, which is the highest rate in Europe.

Latvia and Lithuania are amongst the nations in Europe that have already enforced regulations on energy drinks by restricting sales to children.

Rules currently enforced in the UK include that energy drinks containing more than 150mg of caffeine must be labelled as high in caffeine.

A child suffered a 'cardiac episode' last year and ended up having their stomach pumped after they drank Prime Energy - a popular energy drink launched by the YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI.

William Roberts, Chief Executive of the Royal Society for Public Health, said: "Energy drinks can be harmful to children and young people's physical and mental health, both in the short and long-term.

"That's why we need the UK Government to step up and deliver on its 2019 commitment to ban sales of energy drinks to under-16s."

He added: "In doing so it would not only be following the evidence, but also following the example of countries that have already restricted sales to children, a move supported by the majority of the public."

Barbara Crowther, Children's Food Campaign Manager at Sustain, said: "It's not right that companies are profiting from energy drinks when evidence shows they're harming children and young people's health.

"These concerning findings should prompt our Government to act. But they've been disappointingly silent on the issue for the past five years."

She added: "Over that time, energy drinks companies have increasingly targeted young people with even higher caffeine content drinks, putting more of them at risk.

"We need our government to step up and follow through with their planned restriction of sales of these drinks to under 16s."

Gavin Partington, Director General at the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA), said: "The BSDA's voluntary Code of Practice on energy drinks, which was introduced by and for BSDA members in 2010, contains a number of stringent points on responsible marketing, meaning members do not market or promote energy drinks to under-16s, nor do they sample products with this age group.

"In addition, our members' energy drinks carry on advisory note stating 'not recommended for children.' BSDA members remain committed to supporting the responsible sale of energy drinks."

The study was published in the journal Public Health.

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Energy drinks associated with childhood depression and heart problems

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Children who regularly drink energy drinks are at high risk of developing...

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Benefits of Sugar-Free Energy Supplements - NH Blog

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For a sugar-free energy boost there is the ultimate power-up in Nude Health’s all natural sugar-free energy supplement.