Although energy drinks were not immune from the effects of the economy, the category has shown its ability to grow in sales. Energy drink sales increased 14 percent to more than $5.9 billion in sales for the 52 weeks ending June 12 in supermarkets, drug stores, gas and convenience stores and mass merchandise outlets, excluding Walmart, according to SymphonyIRI Group, Chicago. The energy shots category also posted strong numbers with a 31.6 percent increase generating $1 billion in sales during the same time period.
“Energy drinks weathered the recession better than many other food and drink categories in the U.S.,” says Ty Law, U.S. research associate for Euromonitor International, Chicago. “The primary consumers of energy drinks in the U.S. are younger males, including teenagers, which are not as affected by unemployment as older Americans were. This is why the consumption of high-priced energy drinks was able to remain strong in times of economic recession.”