Celsius grows its energy drink empire, inks deals with sporting goods and military stores
Expansion in the military channel was pushed by an increase of orders, now over 75,000 units sold per week compared to 40,000 units in May last year.
In addition, the company is also ramping up distribution through national retail giant Target by introducing a new SKU (the Kiwi Guava flavor) to more than 1,000 stores.
Celsius’ products of canned drinks with Supplement Facts panels compete in the rapidly changing energy drink segment, once dominated by a small cadre of international brands.
In an interview with NutraIngredients-USA last year, Celsius president and CEO John Fieldly attributed the company’s success to clinical trials done on whole finished formulations.
The Florida-based brand’s growth was further pushed by $16 million in backing from Hong Kong businessman Li Ka-Shing, one of the richest people in Asia, in early 2018. It now enjoys wide distribution in China.
Fieldly said in a statement released today that the latest distribution agreements came outside of its traditional selling season, “demonstrating the demand we are receiving from consumers across multiple market channels.”
One of Celsius' strengths has been its sales performance in the convenience channel, which is seeing growth in the number of ready-to-drink and ready-to-eat products with supplement facts panels stocked in its shelves, a trend driven by the increasing consumer demand for protein-rich drinks and bars.
According to data from SPINS, a market research company, Celsius experienced a 39% year-over-year sales increase in the convenience channel compared to 5.8% growth overall in the energy drink category in the 52 weeks ending December 2, 2018.
“Industry backed third party data continues to validate our positioning and acceptance as a healthy, functional fitness drink that resonates with consumers and we are confident that Celsius will continue to drive these sales metrics even higher across all our market channels,” Fieldly added.
The company's expansion to 250 DICK's Sporting Goods stores also mirrors the growing ubiquity of ready-to-eat and ready-to-drink products sold as dietary supplements.
"This sporting goods channel expansion further exemplifies the company's broad appeal and stands alone in the beverage market with significant sales growth and extensive acceptance in convenience stores, grocery, drug channel, vitamin specialty, health & fitness clubs, online, sporting goods, vending and big block retail," according to the company.
