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Sugar-free innovation is driving growth in energy drinks as suppliers try to sidestep the looming soft drinks levy, The Grocer can reveal.

A flurry of NPD ahead of next April’s tax was the main driver of a 3% (£37.4m) rise in value sales to £1.3bn for the energy category - with £31.7m coming from Lucozade Zero [IRI 52 w/e 25 February 2017].

Launched in May 2016 as part of Lucozade Ribena Suntory’s commitment to healthier drinks, Zero’s success was “driven by the nation’s changing health agenda, as 92% of consumers are looking to reduce sugar intake”, said Mark Sterratt, LSR’s head of market, strategy & planning. The recently added Original variant would “drive continued momentum”, he added.

Monster Energy Ultra was also “proving particularly popular”, said Simon Harrison, operational marketing director at Coca-Cola European Partners. The zero-calorie drink, launched in October 2015, had achieved £23m in value sales in the past year as innovation in the energy sector had focused on low and no-sugar variants, he added.

 

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