Celsius Holdings Inc., Boca Raton, Fla., makers of the fitness drink CELSIUS, announced that the company is continuing to grow its presence in the convenience store market as the trend toward functional energy grows as consumers shift toward healthier, better-for-you, functional energy drinks. CELSIUS beverages now are available in 3,245 new doors within the convenience store channel including Quik Trip, Pilot Flying J, Buc-ee’s, Casey’s, Circle K and 7-Eleven.

“We are gaining considerable momentum and with the power of our trend forward brand, CELSIUS is driving considerable growth, outpacing larger more established brands,” said John Fieldly, president and chief executive officer at Celsius Holdings Inc., in a statement. “The progress we are making to expand in the convenience store channel and capture additional market share is evidenced by the latest independent, industry-backed research. The data clearly validates our assertions for strong consumer demand for our functional fitness drinks and our achievements in broadening our placements with more retailers while at the same time increasing volume per location.

“Celsius has rapidly established itself as a leader in functional energy as demonstrated by its many initial new customer launches, similar to the initial 500 store test launches in CVS and Target prior to their national expansion,” he continued. “We continue to launch new test markets with marquee retailers at a higher rate than any point in our history and look forward to adding additional clarity on these accounts in the coming months.”

In the convenience sector of shelf-stable energy and functional beverages, Chicago-based SPINS data indicates that CELSIUS generated strong growth in volume in the energy convenience channel, growing at 39.5 percent for the 52 weeks ending Aug. 11, SPINS data reports.

Fieldly remains confident in the company’s ability to drive sales even higher in the convenience store channel. “[W]e continue to increase our ACV percent through additional launches with national retail chains and distribution partners,” he said. “With CELSIUS being in roughly 10 percent of all convenience stores nationally, this shift in retailers broadening their energy sets offers a massive opportunity since we are already outperforming the category in existing locations. Our CELSIUS brand is aligned with today’s health-minded consumer and our fitness position has mass appeal.” BI