12 Oct 2012 Red Bull targets taste with three new flavours
In the US, Red Bull is about to announce plans for cranberry, lime and blueberry-flavoured Red Bull, to be sold in red, silver and blue cans, and launched in March. The line will be called Red Bull Editions.
The move comes at a time of growing competition in the energy drink category, which researcher Mintel projects will grow 86% to nearly $12 billion within five years. Energy drink sales have rocketed as the target has expanded well beyond students cramming for tests or mixing with alcohol at parties to a much wider market including office workers and truck drivers.
Red Bull’s action might appear to be a signal that it’s playing catch-up with rivals Monster, Rock Star and even Starbucks Refreshers, that have lots of flavour options.
But Red Bull says it’s simply responding to consumer demand.
“Taste is a barrier for the category, and taste is a barrier for Red Bull,” says Amy Taylor, vice president of marketing. “After 12 years in the US, we can now introduce flavours without confusion. It’s about expanding the consumer base.”
In test marketing, the new flavours resulted in 60% incremental sales growth, Taylor says. Although she declined to be specific, Taylor hinted that this may be just the beginning of flavour expansion at Red Bull. “We have the intention to grow this category and this brand.”
Even then, Red Bull is late to the flavour party, brand consultant Robert Passikoff says. “This is the kind of thing they should have gotten out in front of,” he says. “In this category, what delights people today becomes expected tomorrow.”
Experimentation has not always gone perfectly at Red Bull. Last year, it dropped an unsuccessful cola line after several years on the market.
Monster Energy Drink got out in front of flavour options years ago. Monster’s domestic market share in volume, at 34.8%, is bigger than Red Bull’s, which is at 29.5%, trade publication Beverage Digest says.
But in 2012 dollar volume, Red Bull leads with a 42 share vs. 35 for Monster, Nielsen says.
“Red Bull’s done awfully well and it’s hard to second-guess their success,” Beverage Digest editor John Sicher says, “but consumers do like choice.”
There’s no end in sight for growth in the category. Last year, the category saw 16% volume growth, Sicher says. For the year, Red Bull’s sales are up 17% compared with 2011, Taylor says.
Source: USAToday
* Quoted in a brilliant Bloomberg article on the Red Bull phenomenon (May 2011), its elusive founder, Dietrich Mateschitz, said he didn’t care about taste, not now and not when launching the product. “It’s not just another flavoured sugar water differentiated by colour or taste or flavour,” he says. “It’s an efficiency product. I’m talking about improving endurance, concentration, reaction time, speed, vigilance, and emotional status. Taste is of no importance whatsoever.”