Sports Drinks in Latvia

PROSPECTS

Increasing awareness is key to further growth

Sports drinks is a relatively new and small category in comparison to other soft drinks in Latvia. It is increasingly present outside of specialist sports nutrition stores, and the share of sports drinks on the shelves of mainstream hypermarkets and supermarkets grew over the review period.

Well-known local brands innovate in sports drinks

Established brands benefit from positive image spillover into sports drinks. Local producers such as Cido (Mangali Active Isotonic) and Cesu Alus (Vitamin Performance) attempted to strengthen their presence in sports drinks, aiming for a new, growing niche that allows them to charge premium prices which are unjustifiable in bottled water.

EU rules on nutrition and health claims set limitations on functional claims

Making the strongest possible product benefit claims while staying within the legal framework will remain challenging for sports drinks. To promote their products, manufacturers will have to become creative, often focusing on communication of ingredients rather than making functional claims they cannot support.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Mix of local and imported brands

The mainstream off-trade retailers have a number of local sports drinks on their shelves, such as Cido’s Mangali Active Isotonic and Vitamin Performance by Cesu Alus, as well as Polish brand Oshee, Swiss brand Isostar and Coca-Cola’s Powerade. The category is becoming increasingly competitive and dynamic, with great uncertainty and changes possible during the forecast period, as a growing number of brands and products compete for consumer wallets and shelf space in hypermarkets and supermarkets, as well as convenience stores and forecourt retailers.

Mangali expands its portfolio

Mangali Active Isotonic by Cido Grupa, - the leading local bottled water player - continued to broaden its portfolio. The 2017 launch of Mangali Fitness as a Mangali Active variety locked additional shelf space and addressed the various needs of fitness enthusiasts.

Online and cross-border competition

Many specialist sports nutrition products, including powdered and liquid sports drinks, can be conveniently purchased via international e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and local online specialist stores by computer literate and well-travelled young sports enthusiasts. It is not unusual for local gym users to research such products online to identify those that best suit their workout needs and scan the internet for the best offers.

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