Using the five major brands at the core of this research, there is a singular trend that is becoming apparent. These brands utilise language and product design tailored to a broadly young and male audience.

The naming conventions that many of these brands’ use, such as Monster, Relentless and Rockstar, all carry characteristics that are typically masculine. This correlation is not lost within the marketing of these products, as they tend to tie themselves closely to activities that are popular among this demographic, such as extreme sports, video games and sponsorships at live music events.

In an article for the New Yorker, Giese says “soft drinks had vast mass appeal and then their line extensions, like diet versions, attracted specific consumers,”. So, companies like Red Bull and Monster tried to set themselves apart by appealing to the emotions of an impressionable demographic. “Energy drinks needed to establish a base with a particular group and then expand from there,” Seifer said. “So, the message was, ‘Hey young guys, put down those soft drinks, you want this’” (Giese, 2015).

While researching the relationships between demographics and the purchase of energy drinks it was stated that the rate of young women purchasing energy drinks was increasing (Clapp, et al., 2019). Of the few brands that are dedicated to a female audience, they tend to focus more on the potential health benefits of the product as opposed to a surge of energy.

Case Study – Women’s Best

Women’s Best is a lifestyle brand established in 2015 and aims to be “more than just a brand that sells products” and “inspire & empower women around the globe to become the best version of themselves” (Womens Best, 2023). This brand is ingrained into several aspects of the overall health lifestyle model, selling a variety of products such as fitness wear, supplements and wellness accessories.

Women’s Best have a softer aesthetic design than the more masculine contemporaries and focus more on the potential health benefits (Women’s Best, 2023)

The energy drinks that they offer are called “Different Energy” and are only available in 335ml quantities compared to the aforementioned five brands whose primary product lines tend to be 500ml cans. This allows for a more compact design that has a taller but skinnier profile.

Interestingly, Women’s Best uses their website to focus more on the potential health benefits of this line, including a breakdown of how each ingredient is used to promote wellness within the consumer. There is also a large focus on the “natural” aspects of the product, claiming that it uses “100% natural flavours & colours” (Women’s Best, 2023) as if this makes any tangible difference to the consumer.

Seeing as this appears to be one of the few female focused energy drink brands on the market, it could be argued there is a space in the industry to promote a product targeted more specifically to women. Through research, there appears to be far few less energy drink product lines whose branding is designed to appeal more towards women and therefore this is something that my brand will focus on.

These are six “wellness” goals brands can promote and use to sell products (McKinsey & Company, 2023)

Bibliography

Clapp, O., Morgan, M. Z. & Fairchild, R. M., 2019. The top five selling UK energy drinks: implications for. British Dental Journal, 226(7), p. 493.

Giese, R., 2015. How Energy-Drink Companies Prey on Male Insecurities. [Online]
Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/how-energy-drink-companies-prey-on-male-insecurities
[Accessed 15 02 2023].

Women’s Best, 2023. Different Energy Drink. [Online]
Available at: https://uk.womensbest.com/products/different-energy-drink?variant=39609340199017
[Accessed 02 16 2023].

Womens Best, 2023. Why Women’s Best?. [Online]
Available at: https://uk.womensbest.com/pages/about-us
[Accessed 16 02 2023].