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High growth ahead in the energy drink category means exciting opportunities for innovation. Here’s a look ahead at the 2025 energy drink trends.
Energy drinks are a pivotal segment of the functional beverage market. With annual sales of $28.18 billion, energy drinks account for almost 39% of the market.1 The category is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 8.2% from 2022 to 2027, outpacing the 6.6% growth estimated for the functional beverage market overall.2
Consumer research also indicates strong positive momentum in energy drinks. Over the past year, 7% of US functional beverage consumers have started using energy drinks, and 26% of energy drink users are consuming them more often.3
Energy drink brands are leveraging the power of flavor to attract interest and differentiate their products. Flavor trends include new flavor fusions like vanilla, blueberry, and eucalyptus in Red Bull’s Winter Edition Iced Vanilla Berry and craft citrus flavors such as mango orange, orange passion fruit, and pineapple citrus.
Floral flavors, particularly elderberry and hibiscus, are also gaining traction in energy drinks, while nostalgic flavors such as C4 Energy’s Creamsicle, Jolly Rancher, and Bubble Yum flavors are rekindling fun childhood moments.
We’re also seeing increased use of energizing solutions beyond caffeine. Green coffee extract and green tea extract provide a natural source of caffeine for clean label energy drinks (such as fitness and women-focused energy drinks), while ginseng is becoming a must-have botanical.
Vitamins are in demand, too, with 48% of consumers globally interested in vitamins in their energy drinks.4 The B complex vitamins (especially vitamins B2, B5, B6, B7, B8, and B12) are the most relevant due to their role in energy metabolism. Another ingredient to watch is L-tyrosine, a top-growing ingredient in functional sports nutrition products.5
Sugar reduction is a significant trend across the food and beverage industries. In energy drinks, more brands are offering zero-sugar versions of their energy drinks, and new brands are popping up with lower baseline sugar levels than we’ve seen in the past.
One in six US consumers want their energy drinks to have no or low sugar,6 a trend that will continue to grow as more consumers demand no-crash, sustained energy solutions and options to support their weight management and workout goals in a healthier way.
For today’s consumers, great taste and caffeine tie as the most important attributes they look for in an energy drink.7 Vitamins, minerals, taurine, and guarana round out the top five in-demand energy drink ingredients.8
Research shows consumers are seeking multiple benefits from energy drinks. In addition to energy and stamina, consumers are using energy drinks to improve performance (19%), stay hydrated (10%), help concentrate (8%), and help reduce sugar in their diets (6%).9
| Product Attributes | % US Consumers |
|---|---|
| Great taste | 35% |
| Contains caffeine | 35% |
| Refreshing | 24% |
| Hydrating | 19% |
| Sweet taste | 19% |
| High quality ingredients | 16% |
| No/low sugar | 16% |
Looking ahead, we see opportunities to expand offerings in the gaming energy drink segment, particularly through science-based nutritional and functional ingredients that support vision, muscular reflexes, reaction time, focus, and sustained energy.
Another opportunity is developing cognitive energy as a segment of its own (by blending energizing and nootropic ingredients), which would particularly appeal to seniors and biohackers. In addition, innovation in flavor will remain an ongoing opportunity and a solid strategy for attracting new consumers and generating buzz for the brand.
If your brand wants to make a splash in the energy drink market, contact Glanbia Nutritionals to learn how our insights and expertise can help you capture emerging opportunities and drive success.