Sports Drink Market Sees Changes

Sports Drink Market Sees Changes

ATLANTA--Coca-Cola North America (NYSE:KO), maker of Powerade (www.powerade.com)sports drinks, will introduce two new formulas in July. One will be fortifiedwith vitamins B3, B6 and B12 to aid in energy, the other will also include Bvitamins and will be made with half as many calories as the original Powerade.The company stated that the formulas were created to optimize a person's energyand hydration.

Coke's rival, Pepsico Inc. (NYSE:PEP), is on the brink of closing its dealwith Quaker Oats Co. (the manufacturer of sports-drink leader Gatorade) and isreportedly in talks to sell its All Sport (www.pepsico.com)drink to the Monarch Co. to avoid anti-trust issues. According to The RockyMountain News, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is evaluating whetherPepsico's acquisition of the Gatorade brand would adversely affect independentsoft-drink bottlers who currently distribute the drink for Quaker Oats.

According to Beverage Digest, Gatorade has a 78-percent market share. Thenumber-two sports drink is Powerade (15 percent) followed by All Sport (4.4percent).