Magazine: Sports drinks: companies are developing more natural products

According to Eszter Birven, marketing director of GRAMEX DRINKS – the distributor of Vitalade sports drinks – a large proportion of sports drink sales is realised in fitness centres and gyms, but the products are also present on the shelves of sporting goods stores, hypermarkets and the shops of retail chains. Gábor Ivády, commercial excellence leader of Powerade distributor Coca-Cola HBC Magyarország Kft. added: volume sales of sports drinks increased the most in hyper- and supermarkets, and in small independent shops. Máté Szász, sales director of Scitec Hungary revealed that consumption needs are changing, as in the past vivid colours and strong taste were popular, but today controlled natural ingredients and additive-free products are gaining ground.

Eszter Birven
marketing director
GRAMEX DRINKS

Gábor Ivády
commercial excellence leader of Powerade distributor

Coca-Cola HBC Magyarország

What about innovation? New flavours, products bigger than 0.5 litre and sugar-free sports drinks are the main directions. Mr Ivády’s experience is that mixed fruits is still the most popular flavour, but it is starting to lose its popularity. 0.5-litre products continue to dominate but sales of 0.7-litre sports drinks are growing. Ms Birven reckons that consumers want sports drinks to follow the latest marker trends in terms of both product taste and size. Demand is growing for sports drinks made with stevia and for 1-litre or bigger products. Mr Szász believes that the future of sports drinks is many flavours, more practical packaging solutions and environmentally friendly packaging. His view is that it is a good idea to indicate on the product’s packaging what kind of sport the sports drink is recommended for.

Máté Szász
sales director
Scitec Hungary

SCITEC NUTRITION is one of the leading premium brands in the sports nutrition and supplements market, because the company manufactures these products using the best ingredients and strictly controlled production technology. These products taste good, dissolve quickly and are easy to use. The company’s latest message to consumers is ‘Push forward’, which appeared in their communication in April. In its communication Coca-Cola Magyarország focuses on the positive health effects of the Powerade isotonic sports drink. Powerade sports drinks can contribute to a long-lasting good performance while doing sports. The company popularises the brand by sponsoring sporting events. In 2017 GRAMEX DRINKS came out with the 1-litre, sweetener version of the Vitalade product range, called Vitalade XL. The product is available in trendy cactus fig and forest fruit flavours. They plan to add new products to this range. The company’s slogan is ‘There is more in you!’. //