ENERGY DRINKS PORTFOLIO STRATEGY

SITUATION

A leading global beverage company sought to transform its Energy Drinks portfolio in the highly competitive and fast-growing European market.
The company faced significant challenges, including declining performance of its key energy brand and limited competitiveness against established players.
The company conducted an extensive consumer survey across key European markets, providing critical insights to shape a consumer-centric strategy and aimed to leverage this data to inform its Energy Drinks portfolio strategy.

Conduct a comprehensive diagnostic of the Energy Drinks category across key European markets to identify opportunities for growth.
Define where to play and how to win to capture $1.4 billion in incremental business by 2030.
Develop a portfolio strategy that addresses current challenges, improves market share, and delivers sustainable growth across Europe.

Conducted an in-depth category analysis using Nielsen and Kantar data to evaluate the performance of energy drinks, market dynamics, and growth opportunities across six key European markets.
Analysed the client’s brand strategy and market position against competitors, focusing on sales performance, portfolio mix, pricing, and distribution coverage, identifying areas for improvement and differentiation.
Reviewed internal research on macro and consumer trends, package redesign, pack price consumer tests, and brand equity results, delivering critical insights to assess the current portfolio strategy’s effectiveness.
Analysed consumer survey results to uncover key characteristics and best opportunities within beverage consumption occasions and consumer cohorts.
Conducted a comprehensive analysis of consumer attitudes toward brands, focusing on the elements influencing brand consideration, meaning, and differentiation to uncover key drivers of consumer choice.

Crafted a compelling storyline to uncover the key drivers behind the historic growth of energy drinks and outline their future evolution.
Provided consumer-centric where-to-play recommendations, identifying key needs, occasions, and consumer cohorts to target, driving both brand share growth and the expansion of the overall category.
Developed the “winning strategy” for energy drinks to drive both brand share growth and overall category expansion, delivering region-specific differentiation to align strategies with diverse market dynamics.
Led a strategic workshop with European beverage CEOs and senior leaders from marketing, sales, and R&D, fostering alignment on the where-to-play strategy and ensuring cross-functional support for its implementation.