United Kingdom Energy Drink Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023-2028)

The United Kingdom's energy drink market is projected to register a CAGR of 4.5% over the next five years.

Increased urbanization, rising disposable income, and growing consumer health consciousness contribute to the rising demand for non-carbonated drinks across the United Kingdom's market. Adolescents widely consume energy drinks due to their claims of improving performance, endurance, and alertness. At the same time, long and erratic working hours and the increasing occurrence of social gatherings drive consumers toward energy drinks.

Moreover, rising health-conscious consumers, growing consumer awareness regarding active lifestyles, and rising rates of lifestyle diseases have inspired health-oriented consumers to prefer healthy and sugar-free drinks. Energy drinks with lower sugar content and natural ingredients are set to boom and continue attracting the attention of a more significant number of health and wellness-concentric consumers. The energy drinks market is also projected to grow due to the increased promotional and advertisement strategies. As consumers who perform sports and physical activities daily, manufacturers focus on introducing sports-related energy drinks in the market. Additionally, the companies have been collaborating with sports clubs and tournaments and strengthening their presence on social media platforms, like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, among others, to garner consumer attention, promote their portfolio of offerings, and increase the visibility of their brand. For instance, in February 2021, the United Kingdom and Ireland's longest-standing esports tournament, the ESL Premiership, partnered with Beyond NRG, an emerging energy drink brand manufactured in the South East of the United Kingdom, with a focus on providing tangible benefits to competitive play.

UK Energy Drinks Market Trends

The Drinks Segment Dominates the Energy Drink Market

Consumers are changing their preferences with changing lifestyles. The significant energy components are caffeine, taurine, guarana, and the drink includes various other elements. The involvement of consumers in multiple sports and physical activities is one of the significant factors driving the energy drink market. Energy drinks are often consumed in drink format from cans and pet bottles for their ease of mobility and convenience to store. Additionally, these energy drinks are preferred as a mode of hydration to the consumer, consumed frequently. Many of the consumers have participated in several sports activities, such as running, fitness clubs, mountain tracks, and other physical activities, which results in lowering of energy in an individual's body, thereby, the consumers are opting for more energy drinks as the presence of caffeine in the drink helps to block adenosine which results in reducing of sleep, and the other ingredients provide energy that results as the consumer feels energetic. According to Sport England, in 2021, running will be the most popular form of taking part in sports activity, with approximately six million people in England running regularly. Fitness is the second most common sport, with 5.5 million regular participants in the same year. These factors tend to propel the drink format of energy drinks in the region.

Growing Influence of Endorsements and Social Media Marketing

With the growing importance of social media in a shopper’s purchase journey, the companies are evolving and stepping up their advertising, marketing, and endorsement game across different channels of distribution, including supermarkets/hypermarkets, specialty stores, and online retail stores, among others, using television, radio, social media, magazines, and other print media as a medium for garnering consumer attention. Furthermore, these companies have been collaborating with sports clubs and tournaments and strengthening their presence on social media platforms, like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, among others, to garner consumer attention, promote their portfolio of offerings, and increase the visibility of their brand. With celebrities vouching for or promoting their products, brands can increase awareness, trust, and familiarity, which are important variables in the purchase decision-making process. Consumers feel more sympathetic toward a brand if its products are promoted by a celebrity they admire or relate to. It is just a straightforward psychological effect whereby the consumers subconsciously feel that by buying a product marketed by a celebrity admired; they will be able to replicate the celebrity's desired attributes or attract people who share their interests. This phenomenon is applicable even in the case of energy drinks. Thus, celebrity endorsements and social media marketing campaigns are seen as viable options for brands to increase awareness, build credibility, and promote products in the market studied, thus, driving the market growth in United Kingdom.

UK Energy Drinks Market Competitor Analysis

The United Kingdom's energy drinks market is highly competitive, with a significant share held by a few players, like The Coca-Cola Company, Red Bull GmbH, PepsiCo, Inc., Suntory Holdings Limited, and Monster Energy Company.​ Energy drinks claim a significant market segment, especially among the young population in the country. The use of natural ingredients in energy drinks and the increase in new varieties and types of energy drinks are primary drivers for the growth of this market. In addition, energy drinks are increasingly being used as mixers for alcoholic beverages.​ The key players in the industry are focusing on product development and product innovation to meet the changing preferences of consumers. Some top players use product innovation as their key strategy to hold the dominant position in this market. For instance, in June 2022, Energy One targeted health-conscious millennials with the launch in the United Kingdom. The drink contains four essential B vitamins (B3, B5, B6 & B12). It comes in two variants - Original and Lite.

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