As the government contemplates a ban on the sale of energy drinks to children in England, Jonathan Davison, Beverage Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, gives his view on the news: “Considering a ban on energy drinks sales in the UK defined by age might seem premature given the already pervasive impact of the recently introduced sugar tax. A handful of energy drinks brands have reformulated their products and the ^*22 % volume sales increase of low calorie energy drinks in the UK in 2017 v 2016 would suggest the industry is making progress.

“Such action from the government would of course have an effect, but if reducing caffeine and sugar intake is the goal another approach could simply be to look at capping energy drink pack sizes instead. Larger energy drink pack formats have fast become the norm in the UK, particularly 50cl which has more than doubled in volume over the last 10 years to dominate the category. Limiting energy drink pack sizes to 25cl and below, and potentially the quantity that can be purchased, could go some way to addressing the current concerns without the need for an outright ban.”

^* GlobalData Consumer Intelligence Centre

Consumers usually prefer food and drink formats over pills or tablets for the delivery of health enhancing ingredients. However, this preference for formats is not consistent across all age groups. Therefore, functional food and drink brands should carefully study the differences between the generations of consumers in more detail for their successful product launches, says leading data and analytics company GlobalData.

An analysis of the company’s Q4 2017 global consumer survey reveals that even though food is the most preferred format among all formats across all age groups, the majority of the Silent Generation chooses food as the preferred consumption format (89 %) compared to Millennials (85 %).

The gap between generations is conspicuous when it comes to drink format. According to the survey, younger consumers are more likely to opt for drinkable formats over pills or tablets for the delivery of health enhancing ingredients. The survey showed that drinks are favored by 60 % of Millennials and 58 % of Generation X consumers but only 52 % of Boomers and 48 % of Silent Generation consumers.

On the other hand, preferences for food and supplements (in the form of pills or tablets) that deliver health enhancing ingredients are relatively consistent across all age groups.

Aleksandrina Yotova, Consumer Markets Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Functional drinks brands should therefore target Millennials and Gen X-ers specifically with innovative launches that respond to younger generations’ requirements for convenience, simplicity and effectiveness.”