the energy drinks market | France

1.1 Definition and introduction

Energy drinks are an important part of the sub-category of "soft-drinks". According to the French Ministry of Health, energy drinks are "drinks that contain high doses of caffeine substances, such as guarana, taurine, ginseng, and others. These are drinks sold with the ambition to stimulate physical and intellectual efforts. [Ministres des Solidarités et de la Santé]

Energy drinks in this study are to be distinguished from drinks which are designed to meet the specific needs of athletes before, during and after exercise, and are enriched with minerals and vitamins.

The world market for energy drinks is growing rapidly, and is expected to continue to grow in the coming years, where Asia-Pacific leads the way.

The domestic market is expected to outpace the world market in growth. Nevertheless, the energy drinks segment remains small relative to other similar drinks, and consumption in France is still modest. Similarly to the world market, France is dominated by Red Bull and Monster. Despite the fact that the market development has been towards more segmentation in terms of more companies and products, private labels are struggling to keep up with the giants in the sector, outpaced primarily by the massive marketing budgets used by Red Bull and Monster. 

The marketing of energy drinks in France has been subject to many public health debates, which in turn has enforced a supervised sales system.