Sports Drinks

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 Chicago-based Fair Oaks Farm Brands Chief Executive Officer Steve Jones knows the importance protein plays in a balanced diet. 

During Super Bowl XLVII, Kraft Foods Group Inc. unveiled its new Mio Fit liquid water enhancer, which enables consumers to turn water into a zero-calorie sports drink.

 Sports and protein drinks are transitioning from being separate categories into one overall sports performance market, experts say.  

The Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, announced that Powerade, the official sports drink of the London 2012 Olympic Games, is offering athletes from around the world the opportunity to train with professional athletes and coaches at the Powerade Sports Academy during the Olympics.

It’s one of the largest independent bottlers in California, but Nor-Cal Beverage Co. Inc., Sacramento, Calif., is more than just a contract packager. In addition to its successful co-packing business, which operates production facilities in Sacramento and Anaheim, Nor-Cal also is an Anheuser-Busch distributor in Northern California and markets its own Go Girl line of energy drinks. The family-owned company was started by Roy G. Deary in 1937 as a franchise of Hires Bottling Co., explains Deary’s granddaughter and current president and chief executive officer of Nor-Cal Beverage, Shannon Deary-Bell. The franchise bottled and distributed Canada Dry, Dr Pepper and RC Cola brands in the Sacramento area.

With platforms geared toward athletic enthusiasts, sports drinks experienced a resurgence in sales. The total category increased 14.9 percent to more than $3.9 billion in sales, according to SymphonyIRI Group, Chicago, for the 52 weeks ending May 15 in U.S. supermarkets, drug stores, gas and convenience stores and mass merchandise outlets, excluding Wal-Mart. Non-aseptic bottled sports drinks made up most of the category with more than $3.8 billion in sales and a 14.6 percent increase, SymphonyIRI states.  

After years of focusing on energy and performance, “recovery” may be the new buzzword in the sports and energy segment.  New products are focusing on what happens after exercise rather than during the activity itself. A number of recent sports and energy products have addressed post-activity recovery: Gatorade G Series Pro 03 Recover platform includes a dairy-based Protein Recovery Shake and a Protein Recovery Drink that also has electrolytes and carbohydrates. The company suggests consuming the shake 20 to 50 minutes after activity and then an additional serving 2 hours later.