The energy shot category has found itself the beneficiary of an unlikely consumer demographic: senior citizens. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the appeal of products like 5-Hour Energy is among a growing number of active baby boomers, and that energy shots are now being sold alongside other elderly-focused beverages like Ensure nutrition shakes. Manufacturers are also designing new advertising to reach out to aging consumers, the newspaper reported.
In order to reach older consumers, NVE Pharmaceuticals, maker of 6 Hour Power, has begun advertising on adult focused premium cable channels like the Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel. And in recent months, category leader 5-Hour Energy has been working with AARP, the aging persons advocacy group, to advertise and promote its product. 5-Hour handed out thousands of product samples at last October’s annual AARP convention, and also started running full page ads in the AARP Bulletin, a magazine delivered to 22 million households.
According to the Journal, sales executives at 5-Hour have begun to hand out samples to doctors, and also have undertaken marketing drives in places like golf courses, where the shots have begun to sell at pro shops and clubs.