Energy drinks in c-stores: Strong summer for Red Bull, Monster, NOS, Full Throttle, weaker performance from AMP, Rockstar

The energy drink category - which did not set the world on fire in most other retail channels this summer - posted 7.4% dollar sales growth in the US convenience store channel in the four weeks to August 3, driven by a strong performance from Red Bull (+8.9%), Monster (+13.1%), and Coca-Cola (NOS, Full Throttle +11.4%), according to Nielsen data.

However, Rockstar Inc sales were down 6.7% and PepsiCo energy drink sales (AMP) were down 10.2% over the same period.

Commenting on the data, Wells Fargo senior analyst Bonnie Herzog said: “Monster continues to perform well in this channel, posting 13.1% dollar sales growth, the highest growth thus far this year.

“Furthermore, it was the largest accumulator of both volume and value share across all competitors, as Monster Zero Ultra [zero calorie, sweetened with erythritol and sucralose] continues to post strong results.”

‘The worst performance for PepsiCo in over a year’

Meanwhile, sales of carbonated soft drinks (excluding energy drinks) also held up considerably better in c-stores than they did in other retail outlets over the summer, noted Herzog.

While CSD dollar sales plunged 3.8% in all other retail outlets (xAOC) over the four week period, CSD sales in c-stores stayed in positive territory, rising a modest 1.3%.

Coca-Cola’s CSD dollar sales were up 2.7%, although Diet Coke “continued to struggle, posting its largest monthly decline in units sold in over a year”, noted Herzog.

Meanwhile, PepsiCo’s CSD dollar sales declined 1.4%, amounting to the “worst performance for PepsiCo in over a year”, said Herzog, who attributed the weakness to soft results from Mountain Dew.

 Click here to get the Nielsen sales data for the xAOC channel over the summer covering food, drug, mass, Walmart, dollar, club and military stores.