In December it was announced that Boost Drinks has been acquired by A.G Barr, the drinks company known for brands such as IRN-BRU, Rubicon and Funkin.
Boost will continue to be run independently by founder Simon Gray from its office in Leeds, operating as a standalone supported business unit within the AG Barr Group.
Founded in 2001, Boost primarily operates in the energy drink category, and is known for being distributed exclusively to the independent retail channel.
Adrian Hipkiss, Marketing & International Business Director at Boost Drinks, tells Wholesale Manager what the acquisition will mean for the business.
What will the acquisition of Boost by A.G. Barr mean for the business?
The acquisition by AG Barr is a really exciting next step in Boost’s journey. AG Barr is a long-established drinks company, well known for great brands such as IRN-BRU, Rubicon and FUNKIN COCKTAILS and has a proven track record of acquiring and developing attractive brands. We are confident that together we will be even stronger positioned to take advantage of a number of exciting growth opportunities.
Boost will continue to be run independently from the office in Leeds, operating as a standalone supported business unit within the AG Barr Group. The Boost team will remain exactly the same, as will the way we do business, and the products we offer.
Boost is famous for being supplied to the independent retail channel only, and not to the multiple supermarkets.
Is there any possibility this could change under the new ownership?
We’ve been developing the Boost brand for over 20 years, working as a priority in wholesale and independent retail. Our focus and passion for the channel will absolutely continue following the acquisition.
It’s clear though that the world has been and continues to move quickly, Covid has accelerated change, with consumer shopping habits evolving as more people work from home more often and on vs offline is developing. The retail landscape is changing and the lines have blurred in more recent times. Like all businesses, we must also evolve to keep growing and mitigate risks.
So, the Boost brand will be available to some new customers through convenience, discounters and online. Our focus and passion for the independent channel will absolutely continue, working with our key trade partners to build on our future plans, driving growth across our portfolio. We choose to invest behind and prioritise the channel due to the scale of opportunity in impulse for our categories and the cultural alignment that we share. We invest heavily in strong margins for the trade, deliver big advertising plans, big distribution drives and invest in strong resources that are focussed on the channel.
We are really confident that the business outside independent retail has an overall complimentary benefit, as more demand flows through the brand and back into independent retail. We believe that we can all sell more as a result of careful expansion.
The supermarkets are not currently in scope, and we see plenty of opportunies ahead of us, so we don’t have any plans to enter the top 4, nor the 2 German chains.
Will any of the jobs within Boost change? Will there be any redundancies?
There will be no redundancies as a result of the acquisition.
Will there be any changes to the product range?
Aside from some exciting NPD on the horizon for 2023, there are currently no plans for any changes to be made to the existing product range.
How much is the sports and energy drinks category worth and what is the household penetration of sports and energy drinks? Is the category in growth? What is driving the growth?
Sports and Energy Drinks are currently the number one category in Soft Drinks, worth a staggering £818m with 19% growth YoY1. The category has seen a strong post pandemic bounce back. Decline in Covid-19 cases and a return to normalty has meant people can begin enjoying group socialising again, and with this, are consuming Sports and Energy drinks to help hydrate and energise them. The Sports category is now the 2nd fastest growing category in Soft Drinks, growing at +27% YoY in value2. Looking at Energy Drinks, we can see huge growth here too, with £1 in every £3 spent on Soft Drinks being attributed to Energy category, and 26% of all Soft Drinks value sales being for Energy Stimulation. These factors combine to show us a +14 YoY growth for Energy Drinks and great success for the category as a whole.
What are your key brands that wholesalers should be stocking? How much are these brands worth?
Boost is unique in that it operates in 4 functional drinks categories – Energy Stimulation, Sports Drinks, RTD Iced Coffee and Protein. We’re also the only Top 3 brand in all 4 categories3 – something we’re incredibly proud of.
Taking a closer look at these products, we can see huge success for Boost as a brand, with Boost Energy being the 3rd largest selling energy stimulation brand, whilst Boost Sport is the 2nd largest selling Sports Drink brand. Boost Iced Coffee is the 2nd largest and 1st fastest growing RTD Iced Coffee brand1, and Boost Protein is the 4th largest protein shake brand4. Our flavoured energy stimulation ranges have shown to perform exceptionally well too, including two of our biggest NPD successes for 2022 – our reformulated Fruit Punch 250ml SKU and our new 500ml Juic’d range.
Boost offers multiple products across Its stable, each playing a complimentary role for the retailer’s fixture.
Boost also distributes the Rio brand. With demand on the rise for drinks options that combine natural ingredients, provenencene and nutritional benefits5, it’s essential to provide options that cater to this demand. Rio is a top 5 ranked SKU in Fruit Carbonates based on unit rate of sale. Not only this but it also has the second largest wholesaler sales rates to retailers6 and is the highest performing Fruit Carbonate SKU in the 300ml Original variant – selling even faster than Orange Fanta!7 Rio provides a distinctive option that taps into the increasing desire for healthier options and isn’t one to be missed.
What consumer trends are currently influencing the sports and energy drinks market?
There are multiple trends that we can see as we look at the end of 2022 and onto the start of 2023, one of these being that of multi-pack and take-home formats.
With increased flexible working and group gatherings due to the relaxing of rules around Covid-19, value sales for energy take-home formats (including 1 litre and 4x pack multipacks) are growing at +10% YOY8, providing a great opportunity for wholesalers and retailers to profit.
We can also see an increase in the thirst for interesting and unusual flavours, something that now accounts for 38% of Energy Stimulation sales9. Boost boasts the largest selling 250ml Stimulation Flavour SKU – our Red Berry flavour10. We have also expanded our flavoured offerings further to cater to this demand, with the reformulation of our fruit punch 250ml SKU and the release of our 500ml Juic’d range – Boost’s biggest ever NPD launch to date.
Lastly, looking at shopper habits, it’s important to acknowledge the current financial landscape the country is experiencing. With inflation at 40 year high, and interest rates at their highest since 2009, it’s undeniable that the beginning of 2023 will be tinged with uncertainty. 22% of households would now consider themselves as struggling, and 90% are concerned about rising prices11. Taking this into consideration, wholesalers can stock a value brand like Boost to help with savings compared to a more premium alternative.
How will the new HFSS regulations affect the sports and energy drinks market?
By May 2023 all Boost and Rio products will be HFSS compliant. The process started in 2022 when we started launching NPD with HFSS compliant recipes and started moving over ranges such as iced coffee.
Do you have any NPD to talk about?
As we enter the New Year, we are really looking forward to all the growth opportunities 2023 will have to offer. We’re delighted to be diversifying our offerings even more, by building on our existing portfolio with multiple NPD launches in the pipeline.
2022 has been a great year for the brand as we introduced a diverse array of NPD, from our RTD Iced Coffee range – and the addition of a Mocha variant to the reformulation of our popular 250ml Fruit Punch SKU.
One of the biggest accomplishments for us this year was the launch of our 500ml Juic’d range. This marked the brand’s biggest foray in the largest selling can segment. The sought-after range was received by huge success, and in just the first 3.1 weeks since launch, experienced sales just shy of 20k cases4, across four key customers. We can’t wait to see how Juic’d will continue to perform next year alongside our other new arrivals.
What marketing activity do you have to support your ranges?
At Boost it has always felt important to operate a 360-degree marketing strategy, meaning that we support each NPD launch, and our core range, with marketing plans that start at customer level, and live through to retail and consumer with our brand strategy being the red thread that ties it all together. Through doing this we hope to run marketing comms that feel authentic, cohesive, and engaging for wholesalers, retailers and shoppers alike.
We’ve been carrying out consumer advertising through various touchpoints that include TV advertising, highstreet placement in high-traffic areas, bus adverts, digital adverts that delight and excite shoppers, social media, sampling and experiential. As a ‘Gold tier’ Leeds United sponsor we not only promote the brand inside the stadium but through national and international TV coverage and social media presence, gaining critical exposure In Premier League football.
To support the launch of the Juic’d range this year, we also carried out a robust PR campaign across the UK and Northern Ireland with multiple press releases, gifts sent to media, YouTube adverts, trade adverts and OOH. To ensure the trade were able to sample the range for themselves, we constructed market stall in-depot POS, providing the perfect environment for the fruity refreshment to flourish. The range was also promoted with a range of social media activity, with a staggering reach of 3.7m, and six lucky consumers rewarded with a case of product to try for themselves. To top it all off, we ran some fantastic consumer activations in the UK and Northern Ireland, with sampling activations in some of the UK’s biggest markets and a branded campervan touring events, stations and bustling crowded locations in Northern Ireland. All of this combined to make an impactful marketing plan that resulting in Juic’d rising to the top of the sales charts in the UK.
How can wholesalers maximise sports and energy drinks sales?
We recommend that wholesalers start with considering the needs of their core retailer groups. This means assessing current and emerging trends and shopper habits and using these to infiltrate planning and merchandising strategies for retailers. We’re aware that this can perhaps be overwhelming, with the consumer landscape changing so often and so rapidly, so we offer support to wholesalers in the hopes of offering as much insight into both the category and the Boost Drinks portfolio.
To continue on from this, it’s important to remember that retailers are busy and usually on-the-go. To help them shop in a way that is as stress-free and convenient as possible, simple, and bold POS should be a priority. It’s also helpful to stock items in the correct area by size, brand, and need. Fridges should also be kept clean and fully stocked, allowing for an enjoyable shopping experience for retailers.
How do you work with wholesalers to help them grow sales?
As a brand we aim to work closely with retailers, providing merchandising and stocking support, and offering demo days with sampling opportunities so that wholesalers can solicit help if needed to help improve and maintain sales. We also aim to craft helpful and meaningful comms with wholesalers through the Boost website and app. All of this ladders back to the Honest Broker approach that Boost is founded on – a belief that in order to help retailers achieve the best sales, open, honest and collaborative interactions are essential. This translates into helping choose which SKUs to stock, and how best to merchandise them, rather than pushing all Boost products regardless of multiple varying factors.
We also run a range of distribution days for Boost and Rio, to get retail listings that lead to increased volumes for wholesalers. Boost SKUs have seen total distribution, SKU distribution and Sticky Rate at their highest ever, with 95% for our most popular SKU – the Boost 250m12. Rio has seen two national distribution drive campaigns, with over 5,000 stores visited, over 10,000 new distribution points of 330ml cans and YoY distribution at its highest ever recorded! Overall, we’ve seen great success for both Boost and Rio across our distribution days, showing them to be a worthwhile activity for both brands, wholesalers and retailers.
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