In the competition for sports drink market share, Gatorade’s Bolt24 is pumping up its offense.
The functional hydration sub-line will roll out a new ad campaign this month taking aim at rising competitor BodyArmor, calling out the Coke-backed brand by name. The initiative will include in-store, point-of-sale signage that will promote Bolt24 as containing 30% less sugar than Body Armor SuperDrink, claiming the decision for consumers is a “Super Easy Choice.”
Launched last year, Bolt24 features two lines of functional sports drinks — Antioxidant and Energize, each with three SKUs that contain 50 mg of caffeine. Both lines feature A and C vitamins, electrolytes from watermelon and sea salt and contain no artificial sweeteners or flavors.
Gina Hardy, head of brand marketing and athlete activation for Gatorade, said the campaign is a response to BodyArmor’s frequent claims that it is a healthier product for athletes. The ads will roll out nationwide this month, but there will be increased attention in key markets where athletes are more ingredient conscious, she said. Because Bolt24 is still a new product, the company plans to focus primarily on point-of-sale placements where consumers are still discovering the brand. However, the company plans to expand this campaign in the coming months by continuing to draw contrasts with BodyArmor and by boosting Bolt24’s own benefits.
“We’re just calling out the fact that they aren’t always the healthiest option for athletes,” Hardy said.
According to market research firm IRI, Bolt24 reported $47.2 million in sales for the 52-week period ending July 12.
As of August 22, Gatorade parent company PepsiCo led the sports drink category with $4.9 billion dollars in retail dollar sales, up 10.5% year-over-year, according to Nielsen. In the same period BodyArmor reported $906.3 million in dollar sales, up 63.1% for the year.
In contrast to the core Gatorade line, Hardy said Bolt24 is targeted towards older athletes looking hydration both on and off the court. Since its launch, she noted that the company has learned the messaging around Bolt24 needs to be “simple” and as a result it is focusing primarily on its functional ingredient panel and hydration properties.
She added that, rather than center this current campaign around flagship Gatorade or other product lines such as sugar-free Gatorade Zero, Bolt24 is in direct competition with BodyArmor which actively promotes its own functional ingredient panel.
Though Bolt24 does not use the Gatorade name on the front of its packaging, Hardy said most consumers still recognize the trademark lightning bolt logo and connect it to the brand. As the sports drink category continues to diversify, with multiple new entrants launching in the past several years, she said Bolt24 also provides an opportunity for Gatorade to claim shelf space beyond flavor innovations, although the core line will always be the company’s “bread and butter.”.
“We need to make sure that we show up strong in stores and, obviously, in the media,” she said. “So far, we’ve brought people in and from what we see our repeat rates are really strong for this product, which is great. So we know that once people try [Bolt24], they’ll repeat, but we still have to continue to drive awareness.”
As Bolt24 plans to continue drawing contrasts with its chief competitor in the coming months, reached for comment BodyArmor founder and chairman Mike Repole did not mince words.
“We are flattered that Gatorade is worried and concerned about us,” Repole said in a statement to BevNET. “It’s understandable since every day we are picking up thousands and thousands of their consumers who are switching to BODYARMOR because we are a much better sports drink. We actually want to thank Gatorade because their campaign will help grow BODYARMOR’s awareness and increase our sales. I hope they plan on running the Bolt 24 campaign early, since Bolt 24 will be discontinued by year’s end. In fact, I have wanted to try Bolt 24 but I have only been able to find dusty expired product at retail.”