There will be energy!

Sales of energy drinks show continuous growth. Energy drinks have become an essential item in the assortment offered by any club, bar or restaurant visited by young people. Annual sales of energy drinks in the US have reached USD 3.5 billion and over 500 new brands were launched in the world last year. Innovation has also accelerated recently. According to Éda Pogány from Coca-Cola Magyarország, Burn has been the first brand to bring a mixed fruit flavour in red colour to the Hungarian market. In the opinion of Attila Kolcza from Pannon Értékesítő Kft., the distributor of Cocaine, there are two big segments in the market: tutti-frutti flavour and other flavours, with the latter expected to produce substantial growth in the future. According to Zoltán Becze from Candy Globe Kft., the distributor of Hell, the popularity of energy drinks depends on their flavour. János Gréczi, managing director of Gramex 2000 Kft., the manufacturer of V-Power does not agree entirely with this opinion. He does not expect to see major changes in flavour, but thinks that design and the feeling linked to the image of products will determine success. Branded energy drinks focus on design, with pictures, logos and colours exerting a strong influence on consumers in their shopping decisions. At the same time, energy drinks still remain impulse products for which POP tools are extremely important. There is disagreement among experts regarding total consumption, with estimates varying between 21 and 40 million litres per year. This uncertainty is probably due to the uncertainty regarding the definition of energy drinks, because a great variety of functional drinks have appeared in the market recently which are quite close to energy drinks in terms of contents and effect. However, there is agreement regarding the percentage of the total market represented by the HoReCa sector: 12-15 percent.