Dive Brief:
- Celsius Holdings is creating three separate business units designed to accelerate growth, sharpen commercial focus and expedite execution at the energy drinks giant.
- The company will have separate divisions responsible for its three brands: Celsius, Alani Nu and Rockstar Energy & Emerging Growth. Each unit will have its own president who will report to CEO John Fieldly and be accountable for strategy and performance.
- Alex Zigliara will join the company from Fiji Water and oversee Celsius. Rishi Daing, Celsius Holdings’ chief marketing officer, will oversee Rockstar. The beverage company is conducting a search for an executive to run Alani Nu.
Dive Insight:
Once a distant player in energy, Celsius’ sales have soared in recent years as the company’s energy drinks have moved from the gym to being everyday staples for health-conscious consumers and other individuals looking for a boost.
In 2018, the year Fieldly became CEO, Celsius rang up $53 million in sales; last year alone, sales topped $2.5 billion. But as the energy drink market grew, Celsius expanded its portfolio beyond its namesake beverage to reach new consumers.
Celsius spent $1.8 billion to purchase rival Alani Nu in early 2025, part of an effort to add more young women to the mix. A few months later, it acquired PepsiCo’s Rockstar, an energy drink popular with consumers who prefer classic energy drink flavors and formats.
Celsius says that while the three brands are energy drinks, they are different enough that they should operate as distinct entities in order to most effectively tap into their growth potential. Each brand president will be able to benefit from the parent company's marketing, sales, operations and corporate capabilities.
“This new brand-led structure is the next step in how we align the Company to capture those opportunities, bringing our leaders closer to the brands and consumers they serve, while leveraging the strength and enterprise capabilities of Celsius Holdings to drive strong execution at retail,” Fieldly said in a statement.
In picking leaders to oversee two of its biggest brands, Celsius is turning to executives with extensive CPG experience.
In addition to Fiji, Zigliara has been CEO of MrBeast Feastables and Clif Bar & Company, now owned by Mondelēz International. Zigliara said in a statement that he is joining at "an important point in the [Celsius] brand’s trajectory" and sees "significant opportunity to build on that momentum and unlock the next phase of growth.”
Daing has more than 20 years of global marketing and commercial leadership experience across consumer goods, beverages and emerging brands, Celsius said. He’s held a senior role at White Claw maker Mark Anthony Brands and spent 16 years at PepsiCo, working on global brands including Pepsi, Gatorade and Rockstar.
Despite its torrid growth, Celsius has not been without its share of recent challenges.
It’s been dogged by ongoing questions over its health claims and an investigation in Texas into whether Alani Nu unlawfully markets its high-caffeine energy drinks to minors.
Rockstar Energy founder Russ Savage announced in August that he acquired a 4.7% stake in Celsius. The activist investor has called for sweeping leadership changes at Celsius, including the replacement of Fieldly.
Celsius admitted that same month it went too far in delaying Celsius-branded innovation as it prioritized the integration of Alani Nu and Rockstar and waited for the rollout of better retail space at higher-traffic store locations to come online. Celsius brand sales declined 6% in the third quarter, after they slipped 12% in the prior three months.
