US – Monster Energy has launched a new sugar-free version of the original Monster Energy Green drink which has 160mg of caffeine to boost mental performance and focus and helps fight fatigue.
Dan McHugh, Monster Energy CMO said: “Consumers have been asking for years when we would release a sugar-free version of the OG Monster. But we didn’t want to do it until we had the formula just right — and we believe we have nailed it.”
“We are very proud of our existing sugar-free Monster Energy Ultra line and all of its incredible innovative flavors. But we were long overdue for a zero-sugar version of our flagship flavor.”
CEO Rodney Sacks on the company’s Q3 2022 earnings call had said Monster Energy’s Zero Sugar was specifically developed as an indistinguishable zero sugar analog of the company’s original unique Monster Energy Green flavor.
He expressed excitement about the opportunities that the product will provide to their Monster consumers who have come to enjoy the unique taste profile of the original Monster Green flavor, which remains Monster Energy’s leading flavor.
Future Markets Insights forecast the global energy drink market to have a compound annual growth rate of 7% from 2022 to 2032, reaching US$98.8 billion.
Reducing sugar and bitterness in products, as well as sustaining energy, are ways that the energy drink category could keep surging, the report added.
The market for energy drinks is driven by a large consumer base composed of all ages and growing focus on health and fitness,” the report said, detailing that “natural energy drinks that are extracted and directly sold to consumers are gaining traction among fitness enthusiasts while sports energy drinks are popular among e-sports players and gamers.”
Sugar and caffeine tend to be the main ingredients in the energy drink, acting as a source of energy and stimulating increased alertness and energy, respectively.
While those two ingredients create some headwinds for the category, seventy-three percent of respondents in the 2022 Food and Health Survey from the International Food Information Council said they either were trying to limit or avoid sugars. Higher levels of caffeine may make drinks too bitter.
Monster Energy plans to launch Monster Energy Zero Sugar in the fourth quarter, initially in the United States.
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