Energy Drinkers: A Consumer Profile

thrill seekers • social butterflies •caffaholics.

The Story of the Energy Drink Drinker

SATNTINA DE CRUZ • ANDREW KINN • PRESTON MCCLELLAN • JULIANNE SMITH • SHAUNA SMITH

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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History........................................................................................................................................................................................2 Research Rationale....................................................................................................................................................................3 Research Methodology..............................................................................................................................................................4 What are Energy Drinks?............................................................................................................................................................5 How Popular are Energy Drinks?...............................................................................................................................................6 Energy Drinker Demographics...................................................................................................................................................7 How We See Energy Drinkers....................................................................................................................................................8 What We Learned from Talking to Energy Drinkers...............................................................................................................9-13 What We Learned from Talking to Energy Drink Retailers........................................................................................................14 Consistent Themes...................................................................................................................................................................15 A Day in the Life of the Energy Drinker....................................................................................................................................16 Segments of Energy Drinks......................................................................................................................................................17 Conclusion................................................................................................................................................................................18 Consumer Insights...................................................................................................................................................................19 References/Works Cited...........................................................................................................................................................20

HIS TORY The first real drink made just for energy was in Japan in the 1960’s by Taisho Pharmaceuticals as a drink called Lipvitan-D. This drink contained a mix of essential vitamins such as B1, B2 as well as B6.

It also included in its ingredients niacin and taurine which are metabolic agents proven to boost energy and concentration. Its popularity in Asia grew mostly as part of a fad that had more to do with late party hours and clubbing. It then made its way to Thailand and then to Austria where Dietrich Mateschitz added caffeine and sugar and turned the drink into a brand known as Red Bull. With more people working more hours than ever, even they need more energy to do it.

Even though other energy drinks later hit the market, Red Bull still remains the most well known and top name, with annual sales around the two billion dollar mark globally. Coca Cola and Pepsi have started their own energy drinks as a way to better compete with this new fad in caffeine filled drinks. Jolt Cola has tried to fight it’s losing battle by re naming itself a energy drink and coming in a can shaped like a battery. Monster Energy was introduced as some competition for Red Bull, and is Rockstar coming in third behind the other two energy giants.

Energy drinks are one of the fastest growing retail drink markets in the world. In 2001 energy drinks recorded sales of $8 million annually. Only 5 years later energy beverage sales grew to exceed $3 billion dollars annually.

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R E S E A RC H R AT I O N A L E

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“Energy drinks have rapidly become very popular, especially among adolescents and young adults” (O’Mathúna, 2012, p. 1). It was estimated that the sale of energy drinks in 2002, had increased at ≥$ 5 billion with industry leader Red Bull commanding more than 50 percent of all revenues (Clauson, Shields, Mcqueen, & Persad (2008). In the United States, the sales of energy drinks increased from $2.3 billion in 2005 to $6 billion in 2010. Sales increased to 48 percent (Wolk et al. 2012 & Klineman, 2010) with more than half of the market being young adolescents and adults under the age of 35 (Heckman, Sherry, Gonzalez De Mejia, 2010).

Furthermore according Media Mark Intelligence’s (MRI) fall 2011 report showed that out of the people who drank energy drinks in the last six months, most are adults 18-34 years old. Of that demographic, 23.9 percent are college students, 16.6 percent are sales and management workers, and 9 percent are construction workers. According to our research, men ages 18-34 are 114% more likely to drink energy drinks than women.

We found that people consume energy drinks for various reasons. According to Giles et al. (2012) in their study of 48 undergraduate students, energy drinks were consumed to prevent tiredness, increase energy and maintain alerts for driving and studying. These findings were supported by other studies that drinking energy drinks were a way to gain energy in order to hang out with friends, stay awake for driving and other activities, exercising, and studying. (2011, Buxton and Hagan 2012, & Sillivent, Blevins, & Peak, 2012).

Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore and examine the affects and usage of energy drinks by college students at Ohio University. Our research will examine the usage of energy drinks in everyday life as well as the purchase habits of consumers in our target market.

RESEARC H METHODOLOGY

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SUBJECT AND LOCATION Our research participants were male’s age 18-34 years old. Participants would be college single or engaged of college students, construction and sales and management workers in Athens. The total participants were X and the team conducted interviews either in Alden Library, Baker Center, restaurants near Court Street and other locations in Athens.

METHOD AND PROCEDURE We used a qualitative approach, mainly personal interviews and observations, in order to learn about energy drinkers.

According to Creswell (2009) and Jugenheimer, Bradley, Kelley, and Hudson (2010) personal interviews are a way of collecting data, where researchers approach respondents individually or in a group of persons, to explore their beliefs, values, opinions and attitudes and hidden knowledge on the related topic. Therefore, the team guarantees that personal interview is an optimal way for collecting data on personal’s perspectives and experiences of energy drink’s respondents. To complement our studies, the team will conduct observation for two days to have a clear picture on respondents’ behaviors when purchasing and drinking energy drinks.

To select participants, the team asked simple questions, such as “how old are you and “are you a consumer of energy drinks?” If he or she answered YES and is willing to be interviewed, we proceeded with questions. Interview will be conducted in any location mentioned above, where is convenient for respondents. It will take about thirty to forty five minutes.

After conducting interviews, the team analyzed each response to explore what common themes emerged during the interviews. To further our analysis, we will employ some points of “data analysis’s framework in qualitative research steps figure 9.1” (Creswell, 2009, p. 185). This framework serves as a guideline. Even though this framework is presented in a linear process, in practice, it can be flexible. We have to “prepare and organize the data” based on each occupation. These include all interviews protocol and observations.

W H AT A R E E N E RGY D R I N KS ?

Malinauskas, Aeby, Overton, CarpenterAeby, Barber-Heidal (2007) stated that energy drinks (ED) refers to soft drinks, which are believed to reduce or prevent fatigue, enhance physical performance, enhance disposition and improve cognitive performance. While McLellan and Lieberman state that EDs classified as “dietary supplements and it enhances physical activity and performance” (2012, p.

1). The ED’s active ingredients are whopping quantities of sugar (up to a quarter of a cup per can) and caffeine and other substances, such as taurine, glucuronolactone, B vitamins, inositol, riboflavin, pyridoxine, nicotinamide, B vitamins, and various stimulating herbal derivatives (guarana, ginseng and ginkgo biloba) may be present (Aranda & Morlock, 2006 & Buxton and Hagan, 2012).

From definitions above and knowing the ingredients of energy drinks, energy drinks are types of complimentary drinks that help maintaining people’s physical cognition to complete their jobs. Also, these drinks contain vital ingredients that help to control people’s physical performance after regular hours.

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HOW POPUL AR ARE ENERGY DRINKS?

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when college students and recent grads were asked if they had used an energy drink while attending college over 80% said yes.1 “A 2008 study of undergraduates at a large public university found that 39 percent of students had consumed at least one energy drink in the past month, with considerably higher rates for males and white students. The study, funded with a National Institute on Drug Abuse grant, noted that energy drink marketing tactics are “similar to those used to sell tobacco and alcohol to youths.”

Fifteen years ago, energy drinks barely existed. Now it’s a booming industry that continues to grow. In the past year, energy drink sales in the United States totaled more than $8 billion, up more than 15 percent from a year ago, according to SymphonyIRI Group, a Chicago-based market research firm.” - Jenna Johnson, Washington Post1 For marketing and advertising, this is important because energy drinks are gaining a larger share of the overall beverage market each year. With increased consumer spending on energy drinks, there will be a need for more marketing and advertising.

If you were developing something for energy drinkers, you should be looking at the young demographic. Most 18-34 year olds have at least tried an energy drink, so new campaigns would need to be tailored to that demographic.

The graph above shows the market share for energy drinks in 2012. This data is important because it is clear that Monster and Red Bull have a large share of the market. Therefore, consumers have far more brand recognition with these two products than any others. This is important to keep in mind for marketers and advertisers because new brands entering the market need to have a unique brand archetype that distinguishes it from the already existed powerhouse brands.

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ENERGY DRINKER DEMOGRAPHICS

As we studied college energy drinkers, we noticed the typical ones are…

• White (62%) • Male (62%)

• Unemployed (47.7%)

This means that and advertising executive should look to use promotions in college towns at establishments that white, college aged males frequent, such as bars, gas stations, and grocery stores, to drive sales as this will provide more “bang for their buck”.

HOW WE SEE ENERGY DRINKERS After conducting interviews and secondary research on college-aged energy drinkers, we see them as people who…

• Love their caffeine. They drink it in large quantities and frequently (at least once a day) • Seek to add thrills to their life on a regular basis. They attend amusement parks and casinos more often than the average person due to the thrills they provide.

• Are very social. They drink energy drinks not only for the energy boost, but also as an alcoholic mixer when spending time with friends. They also tend to spend a lot of time on social media sites such as Facebook.

We can see from these views of energy drinkers that advertising for energy drinks targeted at amusement parks, sports stadiums, and bars should have a high rate of success due to the social and oftentimes thrilling nature of these places.

“Sometimes I use energy drinks and caffeine pills together.” –Alex Miller

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W H AT W E L E A R N E D F RO M TALKIN G TO ENERGY DRINKERS

W H Y

D O

Y O U

D R I N K

E N E R G Y

9 D R I N K S ?

Zach S. (medical student): I drink energy drinks when I have already had to much coffee, which causes potent diuresis leading to dehydration. They are preferred to soft drinks because of the higher caffeine content. The health effects are still somewhat debatable, namely with the main active ingredient, taurine. To my knowledge no long term data has been collected on its adverse health benefits, which reduces the external validity of any conducted experiment.

Zack H. (college junior): For the boost when I’m tired.

Max Y. (recent college graduate): Because someone gave me one for free.

James N. (college senior): To party harder Cesar A. (law student): To pull all nighters Anonymous 28-year old Ohio University Student: To stay awake and gain energy.

William B (MBA student) : If I’m feeling tired and need a “boost.”

Jake K. (MSA student): Sense of alertness and increased energy when tired, quick pick-me-up.

Mike W. (MBA student): For the caffeine and general extra energy they provide Alex M.: This energy drinker consumes energy drinks in order to stay focused and get an energy boost In general, most of the people that we interviewed viewed energy drinks as something they drink/take out of necessity rather than taste.

The motivation behind the energy drink is for the after effect and feeling of energy. Therefore, it is crucial for energy drink companies to focus just as much on the actual effects of the energy drink rather than making it the best tasting. Also, most people had a concrete reason for trying energy drinks for the first time. These reasons included the need to stay awake for studying, to have a better party experience, or to make it through the work day.

W H AT W E L E A R N E D F RO M TALKIN G TO ENERGY DRINKERS

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HOW OFTEN DO YOU DRINK ENERGY DRINKS? Zach S. (medical student): In general, I drink energy drinks one or two times a week when I am cramming for a test or struggled sleeping the night before.

Zack H. (college junior): Not often at all. Maybe one or two a month.

Max Y. (recent college graduate): Maybe 5 times a year James N. (college senior): Couple times in a given month Cesar A. (law student): Not often.

Anonymous 28-year old Ohio University Student: Three times average/week. I also drink them during the week nights when I have more school work to do as well as weekends when hang out with friends.

William B (MBA student): Once or twice per week.

Jake K. (MSA student): Usually have one every other week or so Mike W. (MBA student): As the need arises. Probably 2-3 a week Our interviews with energy drinkers about their purchase motivations are consistent with our interviews with people about their general motivation for buying the energy drinks. Energy drinks are viewed as something that is used out of a need for more energy or alertness.

The frequency of use based on our limited sample size shows that the media person in our target market drinks energy drinks 1-3 times per week.

W H AT W E L E A R N E D F RO M TALKIN G TO ENERGY DRINKERS

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W H Y D O Y O U D R I N K E N E R G Y D R I N K S I N S T E A D O F C O F F E E O R S O D A ?

Zach S. (medical student): As I said, I only drink sugar free because I prefer the taste and want to save the calories for food. Coffee has a lot of hidden calories that I would like to avoid.

Zack H. (college junior): I think coffee is gross and not enough caffeine in soda.

Max Y. (recent college graduate): BI don’t. Coffee is far superior in terms of added energy.

James N. (college senior): Sometimes I don’t want coffee breath, and it feels “refreshing”.

Cesar A. (law student): Starbucks closes at 10; and I can get energy drinks at any time. Sodas won’t cut it for me.

Anonymous 28-year old Ohio University Student: It contains more caffeine, and I think it has good flavors William B (MBA student) : I drink coffee as well, but sometimes these work better and faster than coffee does Jake K. (MSA student): I enjoy soda, but it doesn’t quite give me the spike of energy I may be looking for at a particular time. I do enjoy coffee as well, but typically prefer coffee in the morning (energy drink during the day/evening).

Mike W. (MBA student): Call it immunity if you wish, but I do not feel the caffeine effects from soda. Only real benefit over coffee is the

speed of deliver (don’t have to brew a red bull) and the fact that you can drink it cold. Sometimes one does not want to sip on a hot beverage.

Alex M.: I drink all of them! Whatever is available/close/least amount of effort.

Our interviews ran the gamut of the energy drink user with this question. We had one person that said he prefers coffee to energy drinks. We had another person answer that he prefers energy drink to coffee. A common reason that people chose energy drinks instead of coffee centered on not having coffee breath and the ease of availability. Energy drink companies should take this into consideration in making flavors and method of delivery.

W H AT W E L E A R N E D F RO M TALKIN G TO ENERGY DRINKERS

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ARE YOU AWARE OF THE ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS? Zach S. (medical student): Energy drinks make me feel more awake and alert when I drink them. It makes my heart race only if I have

several at a time. Sometimes they make me stay up longer. These effects are generally acceptable. The health effects are still somewhat debatable, namely with the main active ingredient, taurine. To my knowledge no long term data has been collected on its adverse health benefits, which reduces the external validity of any conducted experiment. Most of the deleterious health benefits, I believe, have been linked the high sugar content and also the caffeine.

Zack H. (college junior): Yup. It’s 2013, there should be a pill for that when I need one.

Max Y. (recent college graduate): Yes. James N. (college senior): Nope Cesar A. (law student): I was a college student not to long ago; I don’t believe in adverse health effects...

Anonymous 28-year old Ohio University Student: Three times average/week. I also drink them during the week nights when I have more school work to do as well as weekends when hang out with friends.

William B (MBA student): Yes, but I continue to use them out of necessity.

Jake K. (MSA student): Yes, but I never really think about them when I’m actually drinking the product.

Mike W. (MBA student): I have read the various news reports when a tragedy happens, but no I am probably not completely aware.

Alex M.: Yes The responses to the question “Are you aware of the adverse health effects of energy drinks?” gives us an insight in to user of these drinks. For the most part, people do not care about the health effects of these drinks. Either they are ignorant about the effects, or they just do not care. This is good news for energy drink manufacturers and brands, as they have to worry less about combatting the potential negative perception of the drinks.

W H AT W E L E A R N E D F RO M TALKIN G TO ENERGY DRINKERS

W H E N

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D I D Y O U S T A R T D R I N K I N G E N E R G Y D R I N K S ?

Zach S. (medical student): I started using them in college. I was a pre-med student and needed to stay awake for late night studying sessions. I also occasionally mixed Red Bull with vodka.

Zack H. (college junior): Senior year of high school.

Max Y. (recent college graduate): High school.

James N. (college senior): When I was about 16.

Cesar A. (law student): College Anonymous 28-year old Ohio University Student: It contains more caffeine, and I think it has good flavors William B (MBA student) : College Jake K. (MSA student): College Mike W. (MBA student): Probably 3rd or 4th year university. 2008 The key takeaway from the question�When did you start drinking energy drinks?� is that almost all people seem to start drinking energy drinks between the ages of 16-22. That falls within our previously stated target market and also fits into most of the advertising you see form energy drink companies. It shows that manufacturers and brands of energy drink should focus on hitting this demographic hard because they make choices about their favorite brand of energy drink during the same period.

W H AT W E L E A R N E D F RO M TA L K I N G TO ENERGY DRINK RETAILERS We conducted an interview with Sara, a CVS/ pharmacy’s cashier on March 17, 2013. The interview took about 10 minutes. She told us that the most customers of red bulls are male college students between 20-25 years old. In her opinion, they were the same repeat customers. When we asked on what brands/flavor the college students bought, she replied Red Bull and Monster are most popular. But later, she quickly said that the Red Bull brand was the most famous one. Also, Red Bull was more popular on Friday, Saturday as well as the week of mid-terms.

Moreover, she thought that these customers buy these drinks mainly to help them do school work and also to mix with alcohol. Further, the cost of red bull was varied from $ 3.00 - $ 5.00 for each can depending on the size. She also said she thought that Red Bull’s advertising helped drive sales because of the customer’s awareness of the product and its benefits.

Description of ED

Volume

Price (US $)

The Red, Silver and Blue edition

8.4 Fl OZ (250 ml)

2.29

Red Bulls energy drink with Taurine

8.4 Fl OZ (250 ml)

2.29

Red Bulls energy drink

16 FL OZ (473 ml)

3.99

Red Bulls total zero

8.4 FL OZ (473 ml)

2.29

Red Bulls total zero

12 FL OZ

2.99

Red Bulls total zero

12 FL OZ

2.99

Red Bulls sugar free

8.4 FL OZ

2.29

Red Bulls sugar free

16 FL OZ

3.99

Red Bulls sugar free

20 FL OZ

4.79

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CONSISTENT THEMES We see College Energy Drinkers as Thrill Seekers, Social Butterflies, and/or Caffaholics.

Some consistent themes that emerged during our study of the college energy drinker are:

• Thrills add a lot of spice to their life. The risk of winning big or losing in one game at a casino is highly appealing to them, as is watching TV that demonstrates a focus on extremes, such as Speed TV. They also love to attend amusement parks featuring rides that have huge drops or high rates of speed. • They are social people. Spending time with their friends and having a good time are of paramount importance. They frequent websites that encourage social gatherings such as LivingSocial.com or those that drive interaction 24/7, such as Twitter, so that they can be connected with their friends at all times. • They are addicted to caffeine. Energy drinkers use caffeine not only in the mornings, but at all times of the day for a boost that leads to enhanced cognitive abilities. They also ingest caffeine from many different sources, such as soda, coffee, and tea, not just energy drinks.

Therefore, we have classified college energy drinkers into three categories: Thrill seekers, Caffaholics, and Social Butterflies. This means that the advertising message portrayed by companies that sell energy drinks should reflect that energy drinks contribute to a greater quality of, and more exciting, life through thrills and social interaction.

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A DAY I N T H E L I F E O F T H E ENERGY DRINKER We observed an avid energy drinker (age 24, college graduate student) throughout his normal day and were able to see his use of energy drinks in certain situations. On this particular day, he consumed an energy drink at two different times once for studying and once to drink before going out to the bars. We observed that the purchase of the energy drink was more of a spur-of-the-moment decision rather than a calculated purchase. Energy drink brands and retailers should keep this in mind when deciding where to place their products within a retail establishment. Since it is an impulse buy, retailers should place the product near the checkout point. 5 Hour energy drinks has already done an excellent job of this.

1

3

9:30 am - wake up

2

4

Day in the Life:

9:45 am - make first cup of coffee

10 am - noon - Lounging/watching tv

Observational Notes:

2 pm - Decides he needs a boost for studying

- The decision to buy the energy drink was quick and easy. Coffee was not doing enough, subject said.

1 pm - Starts studying for accounting exam

2:15 pm - Purchases first energy drink in photo 1 2:30 - 5pm - Continues studying 5 pm - Dinner and lounging

8:30 pm - Purchases energy drink in picture two in order to gain energy to go hang out with friends at the bars.

- Subject established an affinity for the Monster brand of energy drink during his undergraduate studies, so he always gets the same kind of energy drink.

- Subject maintained high level of focus while studying after consuming the drink.

- Subject said he enjoys listening to fast-

paced music when studying and drinking energy drinks.

Observational Conclusions: - Energy drink consumers seem to feel an urge to drink them at certain times (i.e. studying; drinking).

- Consuming the drinks helps user maintain higher level of focus than normal.

- Connection with particular energy drink brand occurs early, possibly during formative college years

CONSUMER AND ENERGY DRINK SEGMENTS

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SEGMENTS Athletes were initially the primary consumers targeted for energy drinks. This however has changed over time as more niches became apparent due to the growth of the energy drink market. The majority of today’s energy drinkers are teenagers and young adults (roughly around 18-34 year olds). This is partly due to the young, vibrant, “live life on the edge� marketing techniques used by energy drink companies but also because of the on-the-go lifestyle of the current generation. Another large segment of energy drinkers that fits into the targeted age mentioned above is the college student. It is reported that about half of college students consume at least one energy drink per month. Part of this is due to the social scene of a college student where energy drinks can be mixed with alcohol and the other part is to make up for a lack of sleep or to increase their energy levels.

ENERGY DRINK SEGMENTS Because most energy drinks are non-alcoholic, they fall into the same category as soft drinks. Then, soft drinks are divided into two categories and one of these categories is energy and sports drinks. These can be divided again into three categories which are; glucose energy drinks, sport drinks, and high energy stimulation drinks. High energy drinks can even go on to be further categorized into tea, coffee, or energy drink products.

CONSUMER INSIGHT

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Throughout our research of energy drink consumers we found five consumer insights that stood out amongst the rest.

1. Energy drinkers want to stay awake and alert as long as possible. Once energy drinkers are tired they turn to drinks to wake them up and keep them awake for longer.

2. Energy drinkers don’t always turn to energy drinks. Sometimes they might drink coffee or soda. They opt for energy drinks because of the high concentration of energy, the taste or to avoid the calories in other options so they drink low calorie energy drinks. They also avoid coffee for the bad breathe associate or the taste.

3. Energy drinkers partake in an energy drink between anywhere from once a month to three times a week.

Most of the drinkers we interviewed said they had about 2-3 a week.

4. Energy drinkers consumer energy drinks for social outings as well. They will consume an energy drink before they go out so they can stay up longer or in combination with alcohol for taste and energy.

5. Energy drinkers like deals. At gas stations and convenience stores there is a spike in energy drink sales when drinks can be purchased with a sale like 2 for 4 or $.50 off.

CONCLUSION

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Based on our interviews with college-aged energy drinkers and our research about energy drinkers through MRI and Scarborough, energy drinkers are typically males aged 18-34. Energy drinkers use various products for a variety of reasons, including studying, partying, and before working out. Most of the people that we surveyed indicated that they first began using energy drinks in high school or early in college. These people also indicated that there first reason for trying an energy drink generally came out of necessity more than a regular choice. This means that energy drinkers are more concerned with the effects of the energy drinks than the taste. Energy drinks brands and companies should keep that research insight in mind when making marketing and research and development decisions. 5-Hour Energy is one brand that has done this already, condensing the effects of an energy drink down into a very drinkable liquid shot.

Our research through interviews with students that met out target demographic of college-aged males showed that more than half of these people had consumed at least one energy drink in the last month. Of those people that had consumed an energy drink, Red Bull was the prohibitive favorite, garnering more than 60 percent of the market share in our survey. Monster was second. We included 5-Hour energy as a separate category, and most of our survey respondents indicated they had consumed both a 5-Hour energy drink as well a traditional energy drink beverage in the last 30 days.

Scarborough and MRI research also showed us that energy drinkers tend to be thrill seekers. We found high index numbers relating to attending theme parks, casinos and watching channels such as Speed TV. We then coupled this information with our knowledge that college-aged energy drinkers revolve around social activities. We gathered that a lot of energy drinkers are also social butterflies, flocking to be social and get things done. Finally, our survey results also showed that energy drinkers consumed large amounts of caffeine in general, leading us to deduce that energy drinkers are also caffeine-aholics.

With energy drinks garnering an $8 billion market share last season, it is an industry that continues to grow. Brands need to focus on research available to be able to best reach their target markets.

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