Dive Brief:
- Bodyarmor is expanding its sports drink lineup with Bodyarmor Fit, its first sparkling offering with additional functional benefits, according to a press release.
- The new beverage is positioned as a hydration drink that goes beyond workouts to fit into consumers’ daily routines. The offering includes added electrolytes and caffeine, along with choline and green tea extract.
- Coca-Cola-owned Bodyarmor says the beverage taps into consumer interest in functional hydration, and takes advantage of white space for sparkling sports drinks.
Dive Insight:
With Fit, Bodyarmor is betting on consumers’ thirst for functionality and better-for-you offerings, and aims to modernize the sports drink category as a whole, said Sara Weaver, Bodyarmor’s vice president of marketing.
The impetus for the product was to meet consumers’ increased interest in sparkling and functional beverages — traits the brand hopes will help Bodyarmor stand out in the crowded sports drink market, Weaver said. The new offering targets its core consumer, which it defines as those with an active lifestyle.
“It combines our expertise in hydration, but also moves the ball forward with other benefits like metabolism support in this new format of a can,” Weaver said.
The new, sugar-free offering is available in Mixed Berry, Tropical Passion Fruit, Citrus Grapefruit, Orange Mango and Watermelon Lime varieties. It’s available in 12-ounce thin cans nationwide in-store and online.
Since Bodyarmor rebranded last year, the brand has focused on innovating beyond its classic beverage by expanding new ways customers drink the product, Weaver said.
While beverages with functional benefits ranging from boosting skin health to helping consumers relax remain popular, hydration is still the top benefit consumers seek out, according to Innova Markets.
Coca-Cola also owns Powerade, another sports drink brand that the beverage giant has been innovating to better compete in a changing consumer environment. Last fall, Powerade launched Power Water to broaden its hydration portfolio.
In Coca-Cola’s most recent quarter, sports drinks sales grew 3%, which the company said was driven by growth in North America and the region consisting of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
