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Energy in foods and beverages… the trend continues to grow!
Any of us working in any way in the F&B sector know how unstoppable the energy trend has been over last few years!
Until recently most analysts have recognized that the trend in energy has been mainly around the benefit platform of Energy Boost and that has been manifest in the rapid growth of energy drinks and energy shots around the globe.
However, there is an emerging trend in last couple of years around foods and beverages that promise slow release of energy. Belvita’s runaway success has proved both the consumer need for and acceptance of this benefit from foods.
The slow release energy trend has in my opinion passed from the niche on to a more established trend at least in the UK. Shoppers here are looking for and receptive towards foods that promise sustained energy from more natural ingredients. They may still need their “caffeine shot” but are actively on lookout for foods and drinks beyond breakfast that will sustain their energy/stamina throughout the day.
This was brought home to me when I saw the latest addition to the Waitrose Love Life range of juice based drinks. So Waitrose has added on a new drink offering Energy Release to expand its portfolio in “natural” energy drinks.
It certainly looks like this trend is here to stay and we will see many more manifestations of this trend in different delivery formats on the shelves in near future!
Clearly the dominant “energy” trend is now manifest in two ways: the Energy Boost or Energy Stimulation trend and this one I guess will continue to be underpinned by beverages and drinks and caffeine will continue to be the “active” driver of this one. While the “energy release” or “sustained energy” trend will be manifested in many more ways beyond beverages – in foods, snacks, et al and will leverage lots of ingredients be they “natural food” ingredients like grains, fruits or micronutrients like B vitamins.
