At Darshan Super Market in Santacruz east, Mumbai, the steady stream of customers for PepsiCo India’s Sting energy drink is telling. In a span of half of an hour, at least 10 people, between 18 and 35 years of age, come asking for the drink. Darshan, the owner, doesn’t disappoint. His fridge is packed with the product.
“Sting costs only Rs 20 for a 250-ml PET bottle. It has this bright red colour and a nice taste. People seem to love it,” he says with a smile.
Once a niche category of beverages with brands such as Red Bull priced at Rs 125 for a 250-ml can and restricted to users in affluent pockets of the country, energy drinks, which include Sting (available in red and blue variants) and Coca-Cola India’s Charged by Thums Up, is vastly different today.
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Estimated at Rs 3,500-crore in terms of size and growing at 50-55% per annum in India, consumers — largely aged between 15 years and 35-40 years — come from all socio-economic classes and across urban and rural markets, say beverage distributors that FE spoke to, pointing to the growing popularity of the category.
Energy drinks, also called caffeinated drinks by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which is re-evaluating existing regulation for these products, is today available across grocery, supermarket and mom-and-pop stores. Sting is also available in 250-ml cans (besides 250-ml PET bottles) priced at Rs 35 a unit. While Charged by Thums Up comes in 250-ml PET bottles, priced at Rs 20 a unit.
Beverage industry sources, quoting Euromonitor data, say that Indians consumed over 570 million litre energy drinks in 2023. In 2018, consumption was about 17-19 million litre, implying that the jump in consumption has been over 30 times in six years. This year, the estimate is that Indians will consume over 600-650 million litre, led by growing brand awareness, aggressive marketing and distribution by both PepsiCo and Coca-Cola and a prolonged heatwave.
For instance, Coca-Cola brought actor Aamir Khan back after 17 years this March to feature in an ad for a new variant of Charged by Thums Up. The campaign also included actor Darsheel Safary, best known for his performance in the film Taare Zameen Par.
“With the introduction of the new strawberry variant of Charged by Thums Up, our aim is to continuously innovate and provide new experiences to consumers,” Tish Condeno, senior category director, sparkling flavours, Coca-Cola India and South-West Asia, said.
While PepsiCo’s Sting is the undisputed leader in the domestic energy drinks market, according to Euromonitor data, with a volume share of 90% in six years since launch in 2017 to 2023, Coca-Cola’s Charged by Thums Up has also stepped on the gas, driven by its need to reach a broader set of consumers, experts said.
“Realising the need to mine untapped potential in the category, particularly in rural areas, PepsiCo introduced Sting in a 250-ml PET bottle priced at Rs 20 (a unit) in 2020. Coca-Cola followed suit in 2022, launching Thums Up Charged Berry Bolt, now called Charged, leveraging the strength of its Thums Up brand,” Amulya Pandit, consultant at Euromonitor International, said in a recent note.
“Sting has cemented its position as a prominent player in the Indian energy drinks market, with a strong presence across the country. Since its launch, Sting has garnered a phenomenal response due to its product superiority and engaging consumer activation initiatives,” a PepsiCo India spokesperson said. Sting is PepsiCo India’s fastest-growing brand, according to industry executives.
Anshul Gupta, founder and CEO of Kirana Club, which has a registered base of two million retailers on its platform and has studied the energy drinks category closely, says he sees no signs of let-up as far as the market for energy drinks goes in India.
“If anything, I see energy drinks getting increasingly massified as consumers shift directly to consuming these products rather than graduating slowly from colas and other carbonated beverages to energy drinks. I see this as their first introduction to caffeine,” he says.
Sting contains 72 mg caffeine per serving in a 250 ml can, its packs state, while Coca-Cola’s Charged by Thums Up contains 61.5 mg caffeine in 250-ml packs. Sting, however, is low on sugar, containing 6.8 grams to Red Bull’s 11 grams per 100 ml of serving.
A survey by Kirana Club noted that about 70-75% of kiranas (within the platform’s registered base) which stocked soft drinks were now also keeping energy drinks in their freezers.
Energy drinks, Gupta says, are clearly becoming the new cola brands in India.
From: financialexpress
Financial News
