AG Barr is looking to broaden the appeal of its Rockstar brand with the launch of First Start – a low-cal energy drink range made specifically for starting the day
While not a new occasion for caffeine, mornings were largely untapped by the energy category, said Barr. First Start’s combination of real fruit juice and natural caffeine “meets shopper needs for this occasion” the supplier added.
Available now, the new lineup’s two variants, Mixed Berries and Orange Clementine (rsp: £1.19/500ml), contain no added sugar and are sweetened mainly by sucralose and acesulfame K. They provide no more than six kcals per 100ml, while caffeine content is 32mg per 100ml – the same as Rockstar’s core drinks and roughly equivalent to a 250ml cup of coffee.
Rockstar has typically focused on an audience of male gamers and extreme sports enthusiasts. However, Barr had now “identified a significant growth opportunity for energy drinks as part of the morning routine” said the supplier’s marketing director Adrian Troy.
“There is also an opportunity to broaden the usage in the market beyond the young adult male base, to bring in both older consumers and female shoppers,” he added.
First Start’s launch comes with the everyday energy market in decline, take-home value sales having fallen 9.8% in the mults last year to £123.5m [Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 25 February 2018] amid controversy over the drinks’ effects on health. But while full-sugar lines plunged 13.1%, diet variants enjoyed an 8.3% uplift as brands tapped new markets with healthier NPD.
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