The maker of 5-Hour Energy Living Essentials has been on a bit of a reinvention journey the last couple of years. In October 2021, the brand launched its first foray into beverages with a 16 oz. energy drink with varied success. Now, as retailers, producers and consumers reckon with how COVID has reshaped the CPG industry, 5-Hour is having to find new ways to engage with shoppers.

The brand has dominated a shot category it has largely created but has seen sales slide -3.6% in the last 52-week period ending August 31, amounting to a $27 million drop compared to a year ago, according to Circana data. A product with sales near $1 billion is down to about $800 million, begging the question: Are consumers leaving shots behind?

The loss of sales seems to be coming from two places: an increasingly competitive and diverse energy drink category providing more use occasions for a bump of caffeine, and a general change in how people buy groceries.

5-Hour’s shots have predominantly lived near the register in grocery and convenience stores finding sales among consumers as they wait to pay for their other purchases. A reliance during the pandemic (and after) on self-checkout has hurt sales in grab-and-go at the counter. 

“When you rely so much on impulse [purchases] and 65% of our business is convenience store impulse, any missed occasion is a loss,” said 5-Hour president and CEO Jeff Sigouin.

Where is the brand hoping to make back some of these losses? Bulk ecommerce sales on Amazon, Walmart.com and Target.com in larger 24- and 30-pack sizes.

There’s also an impetus to extend into other formats, including a two-year-old push into a larger can format. 

Total energy drink and energy shot sales have increased an estimated 14% from 2021 to 2022, according to data from Mintel. On the whole, that gives 5-Hour confidence it will turn the slumping sales around. 

Read the full story on BevNET

Whether it’s traditional staples of roasted turkey, buttered mash & pumpkin pie or more trendy options like fried turkey, cranberry bourbon sauce & jalapeno chili mash, flavor is the key element. A new holiday flavors guide from the flavor experts delivers tasty inspiration for the holiday season. Learn more

Non-alcoholic beverage sales decelerated in the two-week period ending September 9 due to somewhat softer pricing and volumes, according to an analysis of NielsenIQ data by Goldman Sachs Equity Research.

Here’s the top-level view: 

• Dollar sales grew 6.2% in the two-week period, compared with 7.1% for four-weeks and 10.6% for 52-weeks.
• Volume growth also decelerated, up +0.8% in the period versus a +1.3% increase in the four-weeks. 
• Overall, average pricing “remained healthy, but decelerated sequentially,” according to the report, up 5.4% in the two-weeks compared to 5.8% in the four-weeks, reflecting price growth across sports drinks, carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) and sparkling water.

Check out the full category breakdown on BevNET, including a drop from Monster and big gains from Niagara Bottling and Vita Coco. 

Read the full story on BevNET

Volumes improved slightly across wine, spirits and flavored malt beverage categories during a period that included a strong labor day weekend and a shift to on-premise, according to an analysis of NielsenIQ data by Goldman Sachs Equity Research. 

• Dollar sales growth continued for spirit-based RTD, up 40.3% in the two-week period, versus 40.7% for the four-weeks and 43.3% for the 12-weeks. 
• High Noon and Cutwater continue to lead sales, with Dogfish Head Cocktail dollar sales sharply up. Fresca Mixed Cocktail also continued to gain momentum following its recent launch.
• Category sales growth remained strong for FMBs too, up 18.3% for two-weeks in line with 18.2% in the four-weeks and 18.9% for the 12-weeks. 
• Hard Tea and soda are leading the category, with hard lemonade declining thanks to a deceleration from Simply Spiked, although the brand had near term-improvement. 
• One question analysts are asking: how long will the explosive growth of RTD cocktails continue?

After nearly four decades, Natural Products Expo East is on its last lap. Event organizer New Hope Network confirmed this morning that this year’s annual conference, which begins today in Philadelphia, will be the show’s last, to be replaced by a more “tailored and intentional” event next August called “Newtopia Now.”

This is what we know about the new conference so far:

• The conference will rotate locations each year with the inaugural event kicking off in Savannah, Georgia on August 6-8, 2024.  
• Exhibit halls will be replaced with curated product discovery halls, matchmaking sessions with retail buyers and investors as well as additional networking opportunities.
• Brands have been offered the chance to register for the new event in lieu of the annual booth rebooking appointments that traditionally takes place during and after Expo East. 

“The needs of the industry are changing, and the experience we provide our community must adapt to meet those needs,” said Carlotta Mast, SVP and market leader at Informa Market’s New Hope Network. 

Why pull the plug? Expo East has almost inevitably fallen more and more in the shadow of New Hope’s significantly larger West Coast event in March, even more so after COVID put it on hiatus from 2020 through 2022. With Expo West being the big draw, getting brands to lay out the expense for a second trade show each year was a big ask, so shifting to a smaller, more curated event built around one of primary motivations for attending a show – connecting with retailer buyers, category managers and potential investors – makes some sense. 

Yet for many natural CPG operators and brands, particularly those along the East Coast, the loss of a regular industry-wide get together each September will undoubtedly leave a gap in the calendar, at least for the time being. 

Read the full story on BevNET

Coconut water has the ability to enhance nearly any product formula. It has five essential electrolytes including potassium, magnesium, and calcium. It has no added sugar, fat, cholesterol or preservatives, and is significantly lower in calories than many other juices. Request a free sample today. Learn more

Heineken is adding a pop-star backed RTD to its portfolio. The beer giant’s UK arm has obtained a “significant minority” stake in Served, the ready-to-drink (RTD) brand backed by singer Ellie Goulding.

• The move is not Heineken’s first foray into RTDs. The company steered its Jamaican beer brand, Red Stripe, into canned rum cocktails earlier this year and launched a line extension of its imported Mexican beer last year with Dos Equis Margarita. 
• The latter brand was aimed at competing with established RTD players such as Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned Cutwater Spirits and E. & J. Gallo’s High Noon Sun Sips.
• Served is not sold in the U.S. so far, and the new partnership is aimed at providing Served with the opportunity to become a leader in the wider U.K. RTD market, according to Heineken.
• With spirit-based cocktails driving the $10 billion RTD market just in the U.S., the investment marks one of the ways beer and soft drink companies are tapping into the canned cocktail market as a gateway to new customers and demographics.

Read the full story on BevNET