Fast Twitch, PepsiCo’s Gatorade’s first caffeinated beverage, will join the energy drink market. Each 12-ounce bottle of the new has 200 milligrams of caffeine, electrolytes, and B vitamins.
The beverage has some of the same flavors as Gatorade and was created in collaboration with the NFL and sports performance specialists. It is sugar and carbonation-free and will start showing at NFL games in the coming weeks. It will be available for purchase beginning February 2023.
The new beverage is the most recent in a string of product launches by beverage firms that use their existing brands to expand into other quickly growing areas.
Why Fast Twitch is a good move for Gatorade and Pepsico
Due to its emphasis on hydration, Gatorade has grown into a market-dominating brand with annual sales exceeding $6 billion. However, as rival products like Coca-Cola’s BodyArmor gain popularity, the market leader is searching for fresh opportunities for expansion and differentiation.
Fast Twitch enables PepsiCo to take a more significant stake in the market for popular energy drinks and get involved with more aspects of a person’s training.
How Fast Twitch Works as an energy drink
As a natural diuretic, caffeine helps the body rid itself of salt and water. Fast Twitch contains caffeine to increase energy. But PepsiCo says it is meant to be taken before a hydrating beverage is consumed during a workout.
Before working out, an athlete could drink Fast Twitch, followed by a regular Gatorade or one of its many variations, such as Gatorade Fit. Gatorade Fit doesn’t contain any added sugar, artificial flavors or sweeteners, or added color; G Zero with Protein, or Gatorlyte, which is said to have more electrolytes and less sugar than regular sports drinks.
Fast Twitch does not contain sweeteners like other pre-workout beverages that many consumers avoid. Additionally, it avoids using artificial additives and carbonation that discourage many consumers from trying energy drinks.
Anuj Bhasin, marketing vice president and general manager for Gatorade Brands, said in a statement: “We’ve spent decades studying the best athletes in the world. What we’ve learned is that there hasn’t been an athletic energy solution they can trust to help them start fast and ignite their performance.”
PepsiCo’s other moves into the energy drink category
PepsiCo has taken significant action to carve out a dominant position in the energy drink market. Since the beginning of 2020, it has purchased Rockstar Energy for $3.85 billion and launched Mtn Dew Rise Energy. Dew Rise Energy focuses on morning customers.
Recently, PepsiCo invested $550 million for an 8.5% investment in Celsius Holdings. Celsius Holdings is a company that produces energy drinks and is a potential rival of Fast Twitch. Bang, a beverage that targets pre-workouts and recoveries, had a distribution agreement with PepsiCo. But the arrangement quickly became problematic, and the two parties have since broken off their relationship.
Bottomline
Companies that make beverages are progressively branching out into areas of the market that were previously unheard of. The most recent depiction of that shift is Fast Twitch.
PepsiCo entered the alcoholic beverage market with Boston Beer by introducing Hard Mtn Dew, just like its closest rival, Coca-Cola. Late this year, energy drink manufacturer Monster Beverage also intends to introduce its first flavored malt beverage alcohol product. The Vita Coco Company in partnership with Diageo has developed a range of premium canned drinks. The drinks contain Captain Morgan rum and Vita Coco coconut water.
