Self-education in health and wellness continues to increase, especially through readily available online resources and content. This allows consumers more ownership in taking charge of how they address their personal nutritional needs.

This growing health knowledge base—along with a desire for greater product convenience and optionality—have driven change when it comes to delivery formats for sports nutrition and other categories. A greater focus has emerged on how people can get nutrition into their bodies more easily, whether it’s for human performance or general health and well-being.

The energy category, in particular, seems to be where consumers are gaining a greater understanding regarding sports nutrition energy. It’s not just about getting a quick jolt from traditional ingredients like caffeine or other stimulants. Today’s consumers are seeking products to help them achieve more sustained energy levels through broader nutritional means. Consumers are exploring many avenues, such as ketones, electrolytes, complex carbs, grains and vegetables. Adaptogens are another growing interest in supplements and nutrition that can provide a more holistic boost to enhance a combination of energy, mood and focus.

Over the past year, manufacturers and sports nutrition brands have primarily focused on the challenges and hurdles stirred by the pandemic—posing some constraints on the industry’s ability to innovate and evolve during product development. Alternatively, delivery format innovation has played out more substantially in the form of strategy shifts and category diversification into existing delivery formats that can best help brands meet the demands of today’s evolving marketplace.

Ready-to-drink (RTD) upsurge

One of the most notable delivery formats seeing a rapid shift in the sports nutrition energy marketplace is RTDs. Due to the convenience and accessibility that comes with these products, more supplement brands are taking advantage of RTD as a pivot point to gain additional market share and reach more potential customers looking for an easy on-the-go way to get their energy boost.

Many sports nutrition companies typically associated with health and wellness, supplements and powder products—like GHOST or Performix, for example—are now focusing on a range of RTDs, positioning them to compete in the same space as brands like Monster Energy, Red Bull and Bang Energy.

This article appears in full in the “Energy ingredients with market buzz” digital magazine. Click the link to read it.

Tito Sanchez has been involved in the health and fitness industry for over 15 years. With a bachelor’s degree in sports & exercise science, he is always looking to enhance human performance through science, research and supplementation. Sanchez is a sales specialist at Lief Labs, an innovator in product ideation and formulation for the dietary supplement market. The contract manufacturer houses a state-of-the-art, full-service cGMP (current good manufacturing practice) facility, which offers custom solutions for a multitude of supplement categories.