In the 23rd Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984, Jianlibao accompanied the Chinese Olympic delegation to achieve the "zero breakthrough" in the gold medal. It was known as the "Chinese Magic Water". As the first beverage in China to add alkaline electrolytes, Jianlibao was the first to introduce sports drinks to the Chinese people. the concept of. In April this year, the 35-year-old Jianlibao "Sports Gene" once again launched a new product "Love Sports" sports drink.
Euromonitor data shows that the market retail size of functional drinks (sports drinks, energy drinks) in 2017 reached about 60 billion yuan, and the compound growth rate in the past five years reached 15%, of which sports drinks were about 10 billion yuan.
Jianlibao once again increased the sports drink market, on the one hand because of the rapid growth of the sports drink market, on the other hand, because young consumers have shown strong spending power and new consumption tendencies, and they need a drink that meets differentiated needs.
So, what is the growth trend of the sports drink market? What are young people's needs for sports drinks? How does the 35-year-old Jianlibao play the "young card" in a targeted manner? This article will answer you one by one.
1. New growth in sports drinks: 430 million people in China will regularly participate in sports
With the increasing development of the general health trend, China has entered the era of "National Fitness". In 2016, the State Council issued the "Healthy China 2030" Planning Outline, which made clear arrangements for the development of mass sports activities, the promotion of a new fashion for national fitness, and the promotion of a healthy China. The State Sports General Administration predicts that the number of people in China who regularly participate in physical exercise will reach 430 million in 2020.
During exercise, water supply is the most basic physiological demand. This rigid demand determines that sports functional beverages will occupy an important market share in the sports business industry: daily normal exercise requires about 2000ml of sports drink supplement; above 20 degrees Celsius For exercise in an environment where the temperature rises by 5 degrees, it is necessary to increase the supplement of 1000ml of sports drink. [1]
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According to a report by Ipsos, 34% of consumers in first- and second-tier cities run regularly, and 51% of them said they drink sports-type energy drinks almost every time/frequently when running.
When sports develops into a way of life, consumers' functional and rigid demand for sports products and services will be transformed into flexible demands with lifestyle as the core, and they are willing to pay higher fees for them. [2] This also means that sports drinks have huge room for growth.
Sports drinks refer to products whose nutrient composition and content can adapt to the sports physiological characteristics and special nutritional needs of athletes or people participating in physical exercise, and can improve sports ability. They can be divided into ordinary sports drinks and functional sports drinks.
The main function of ordinary sports drinks is to supplement the energy substances consumed by the human body during exercise and the moisture released by perspiration. Products on the market such as Pulse Energy, Scream, Gatorade, etc. are mostly ordinary sports drinks; functional sports drinks are in addition to In addition to sugar, electrolytes and vitamins, some special fortified nutrients are also added to meet the special needs of athletes or fitness people. There are currently fewer products on the market.
From this point of view, although China's sports drink market has a large number of entrants, its functions are relatively simple, mainly limited to supplementing electrolytes, water and energy. New products are mostly taste extensions and lack differentiated innovation. As the representative of the national sports drink, the person in charge of Jianlibao said: The mainstream sports drink market is currently being driven by consumption upgrades and professional segmentation, and continues to usher in room for growth. [3]
In such an environment where consumers dominate the market development, brands should focus on the needs of Chinese consumers and think about what kind of consumers there are in the Chinese market and what kind of beverages different consumers need in order to innovate in a targeted manner. Next, let's take a look at the portrait of the sports and fitness crowd?
2. New opportunities for sports drinks: young people want to "burn calories"
According to data from the MobData Research Institute, the largest proportion of different age groups in the exercise and fitness population is 25-34 years old (38.8%), followed by 18-24 years old (26.7%). From the perspective of occupational distribution, the highest proportion is Corporate white-collar workers (43.7%), the income distribution is mainly 5-10k per month.
Therefore, the characteristics of the Chinese sports and fitness population can be summarized as: young, fast-paced, and have a certain spending power. These young people also showed diverse characteristics in sports, providing a wealth of innovative directions for the brand. At the same time, they are full of curiosity and willing to pay for innovative products with differentiated feature claims.
1. "Burn my calories": weight loss is the most important thing
Young people pay attention to "weight loss"
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Vest line, A4 waist, backhand touching the belly button, clavicle pendulum... Young people are paying more and more attention to the figure. Most people start to exercise because of the anxiety of losing weight. Many people say that they are "fat" and can’t wear last year’s clothes. Going up, taking graduation photos or wedding photos... are the easiest moments for young people to set the "weight loss" flag.
According to the 80 million user behavior report released by the fitness app Keep in 2017, although young people often talk about "weight loss", more than 60% of Keep users think that they are in good shape - 21.3% think that they are "slim and thin." "Slim", 39.6% think they are "proportioned and standard." It can be seen that the meaning of weight loss is no longer simply weight loss, but more about maintaining health.
Therefore, sports drinks can pay attention to the weight loss needs of young consumers, and use healthy raw materials to create the function of promoting fat burning.
2. "Buddhism Movement": Be nice to yourself and don't be too tired
"Spinning Pilates, soaking wolfberries in a thermos!" More and more young people are paying attention to health preservation, but their health preservation is not "authentic." Adding wolfberries to beer, chewing calcium tablets after drinking cola, and applying facial masks until the early hours of the morning, young people rarely put strict requirements on themselves for health preservation.
Young people prefer sports such as jogging and yoga
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Such "Buddha" and "pleasure oneself" attitude towards life are also reflected in sports and fitness. Compared with Europeans and Americans, most young people in China do not pursue large muscle mass. They tend to choose mild aerobic exercises to maintain their body shape, such as jogging and yoga. At the same time, young people are not willing to sacrifice the pursuit of taste and beauty for the sake of beverage functions.
Therefore, most young people look forward to "light" sports drinks that can make exercise more effective and help achieve multiplier results. The refreshing taste and the packaging that meets the aesthetics of young people will attract the attention of young people.
3. "996/997": Time is limited, and you can do it and cherish it
The "997" and "996" work systems that have recently aroused much discussion reflect the living conditions of most young people: they are in the early stages of their careers, with a fast pace of life and high work pressure. The "2019 White-collar Living Conditions Survey Report" released by Zhaopin Recruitment shows that for 80% of white-collar workers, overtime is the norm.
According to the 2017 White Collar Health Status of White Collars in Chinese Cities, the proportion of sub-healthy white-collar workers in mainstream cities in China is as high as 76%, and nearly 60% of white-collar workers are in a state of overwork.
The above data are only statistics for white-collar workers. There are also many young people who work or start a business, and their work intensity and pressure may be greater. They shoulder their parents' expectations and vision for the future, working hard in an increasingly competitive society. Therefore, young people have very limited rest time and need to relieve exercise fatigue as soon as possible.
On the other hand, young people’s exercise is not limited to fitness venues. 64.4% of Keep users will exercise in residential areas such as homes and bedrooms, 13.9% of users will exercise in outdoor venues such as parks and playgrounds, and 12% of users will exercise at any time. Exercise anywhere. Accordingly, sports drinks need to be as convenient as possible.
3. "Love sports": the three major nutrients of L-carnitine, vitamin B6 and niacin
In the past two years, new sports drink products have been trying to get rid of the problem of product homogeneity, and the product positioning is developing in the direction of functionalization and specialization to cater to the more diversified needs of consumers. The "Love Sports" that emerged at the historic moment is Jianlibao's in-depth insight into young Chinese consumers.
Based on the fitness characteristics of young people, in addition to supplementing electrolytes and water, Jianlibao "Love Sports" sports drink also contains three nutrients, L-carnitine, vitamin B6, and niacin, to make the exercise of fast-paced young people more effective.
During exercise, especially strenuous exercise, the body's oxygen supply is insufficient and the production of lactic acid increases, causing lactic acid to accumulate in the body, making the body feel fatigued. Vitamin B6 contributes to the metabolism and utilization of protein, plays a regulatory role in the process of protein and amino acid metabolism, participates in the processes of transamination, deamination and decarboxylation, can accelerate the decomposition of liver glycogen into ribose, and contribute to the production of energy. People feel energetic.
Niacin (usually in the form of coenzymes NAD and NADP) is an indispensable component in energy metabolism. It acts as a hydrogen transmitter in the process of cell biological oxidation and participates in glycolysis and tricarboxylic acid cycle. Energy metabolism disorder, insufficient energy production. Niacin is also a component of glucose tolerance factor (a complex composed of trivalent chromium, niacin, and glutathione), which can increase the utilization of glucose.
As a differentiated ingredient in sports drinks that love sports, L-carnitine not only enhances endurance and delays fatigue, but also promotes fat burning.
It is introduced in "Food Nutrition" that L-carnitine exists in human skeletal muscle, internal organs, brain, plasma, etc. It can promote the oxidative utilization of branched chain amino acids, change the activity of respiratory enzymes in mitochondria, and improve the body's aerobic oxidation function. The ability to enhance endurance. Adequate intake of L-carnitine in exercisers can also help promote fat oxidation and energy supply, reduce the accumulation of lactic acid in muscle cells, and delay the occurrence of fatigue.
At the same time, L-carnitine is also a key substance in the process of fat metabolism and often appears in weight loss products. L-carnitine has the function of promoting fat transport to mitochondria for oxidative decomposition, and can promote the burning of fat in the body to provide energy during exercise.
In addition, the market with similar claims is the American "net celebrity" Burnex sports drink, which contains taurine, green tea, guarana, ginger and other ingredients. The Ranlish official website states that "drinking 15 minutes before exercise is better." Generally, you need to replenish protein after exercise. The acids in green tea are easily combined with protein to produce non-digestible substances.
In the fast-paced life, young people’s "light exercise" pursues convenience, so they need a sports drink suitable for the whole process of exercise and daily life. In contrast, vitamin B6, niacin, and L-carnitine, the main ingredients in sports drinks, are more suitable for the human environment and can be drunk before, during, and after exercise and in daily life.
Four, summary
In 1984, Jianlibao won 15 gold medals with the Chinese sports delegation and won the hearts of a large number of young Chinese. Thirty-five years later, that group of young people has already entered middle-aged and old age, but the brand will not be willing to grow old.
Jianlibao launched a new "Love Sports" sports drink, precisely to achieve "re-dialogue" with the new generation of young people. To convey the concept of youth in the language of young people, and to meet their increasingly abundant needs with continuous innovation, can the brand remain vigorous and evergreen in the wave of generations.
We look forward to the future performance of Jianlibao's "Love Sports" in the market, and we also look forward to this name that has accompanied us for 35 years, and continues to accompany the next generation with a new attitude for more than 35 years.
Wonderful preview:
From May 19th to May 26th, the 2019 Sudirman Cup World Badminton Mixed Team Championship (one of the most important world competitions for the overall level of badminton) will be held in Nanning, Guangxi. Jianlibao "Love Sports" will be the international sporting event. The only designated drink, welcome badminton fans to witness every wonderful moment of the heroes of Habayashi!
Reference source:
[1] Wang Tianxiao, "The Big Market Behind Sweat: Sports Drinks", June 12, 2016, Lanxiong Sports
[2] Wu Chenpiao, "How Does New Consumption Infiltrate the Sports Field? These 5 Trends Tell You | The Seven Days of Sports Industry in 2017", December 8, 2017, Lanxiong Sports
[3] "Make exercise more effective, Jianlibao "Love Sports" sports drink will be launched this month", April 4, 2019, China Energy Drink
(Note: This article is from the WeChat public account of "FBIF Food and Beverage Innovation", https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/tav3WVNoVsjP-iNJ-EZF8w)
