Sports beverages are not only helping the fitness fanatics. They are becoming the drink of choice for health-conscious consumers, too.

The contrasting images are crystal clear. Lean Olympic athletes and obese fast food restaurant diners; fitness clubs bursting with baby boomer treadmill warriors and school cafeterias filled with oversized teens munching snack chips.

The food and beverage industry sees these contrasting themes as two sides of a golden marketing equation: maintaining energy levels and protecting muscle mass versus suppressing appetite and controlling weight. For manufacturers from Milwaukee to Moscow, the growing scientific research on nutrition, combined with mounting consumer awareness of obesity health risks, present a unique set of opportunities. The result is a deluge of nutrient-packed products aimed at the global market for sports enthusiasts, fitness addicts, seniors, teens and women. What the new generation of food and beverage nutritional products share are proteins.

Thus, as you complete another set on the weight machine, you reach for an energy drink to help you “power” up again. But this is not because you are a fitness fanatic. Far from it. As more and more consumers choose fitness over fatness, sports beverages are becoming the most popular health drink in the U.S. A market research analyst company, Packaged Facts, has predicted that retail sales of sports nutritional products, including large brands such as Gatorade and Redbull, will top $12.7 billion by 2011.

The sports drink sector is being driven by the continued trend for wellness and balanced eating among both the body builder and the baby boomer generation. Sports beverages are leading the sector, followed by bars, gels and supplements, which will grow at more modest levels.

The new report: Sports highlights how the sports beverage market has been traditionally driven by activity among the health-conscious athlete. However, manufacturers are now focusing on a wider target audience. More commonly known to focus on specific performance needs, including strength and bodybuilding supplements, fat burners/lean mass products, short-term energy products, and long-term endurance products, manufacturers are now showing a growing interest in the entire health and wellness industry.

Capitalizing on the growing consumer demand for food and nutritional products that promote health benefits and an active lifestyle, the industry has now geared up to benefit from this and is carving out a broader category which involves products that now focus on not only “physical” needs, but also “intellectual” needs. 

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