During the past decade or so, the energy drinks and shots category has experienced solid growth. In 2016, wholesale dollar sales for energy drinks grew 7.3 percent to $7.8 billion, according to Roger Dilworth, senior editor at New York-based Beverage Marketing Corporation (BMC). Energy shots, on the other hand, experienced 2 percent wholesale dollar sales growth in 2016, to reach $651 million. However, as the market begins to mature, growth is expected to slow.
“Energy drinks have already performed better than anyone could have expected, so inevitably their growth will slow to the 4.5 percent to 5 percent annual range in the next five years,” Dilworth says.