Propel may be Gatorade’s little brother, but it’s not acting like one.
Launched in 2001, the fitness water has never hidden its lineage as a spinoff product from the sports drink giant. The PepsiCo-owned brand — which markets flavored waters and powder mixes (as well as an unflavored water SKU) enhanced with vitamins, electrolytes and antioxidants — still prominently features the Gatorade logo on its packaging, and borrows that brand’s tagline of being the “only (water) that puts back what you lose in sweat.”
Yet Propel has steadily managed to establish its own space and identity within the bottled water category, growing by double-digits over the past six years. According to research firm IRI, the brand’s bottled water products grew 8.3% year-over-year to $267.3 million in multi-outlet retail sales (plus c-stores) through August 18, 2020.
Now on the cusp of its 20th anniversary, the brand is preparing for its biggest year of innovation thus far, according to Laura Gardner, Senior Director, Active Fitness Platform at Propel. First up is the launch of Propel Immune Support, a two-SKU line of flavored waters that contain 100% of the daily value of Vitamin C and at least 30% of the daily value of zinc in each 20 oz. PET bottle.
Though developed prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gardner said the product’s launch is “timely” as consumers seek hydration drinks with additional health and wellness benefits and ingredients. To reach those consumers, Propel Immune Support is launching in variety packs on Amazon this week, before expanding into Sam’s Club next month and then moving to single-serving bottles (SRP $1.99) at retailers nationwide on January 1. Both e-commerce (12-count packs, available in variety or single flavors, and 24 oz. bottles for $10.99) and Sam’s Club (24-count variety packs of 16.9 oz. bottles for $10.49) will have differentiated formats and sizes.
“We’ve seen a huge spike in e-commerce behavior. We’ve seen a really big spike in purchasing at big box retailers,” Gardner noted. “Leaning in early with those two channels has been a core tenant of the launch strategy, but we do see this product being hyper-relevant across channels.”
Despite being an early mover into the fitness water space, Propel now finds itself competing on several fronts, with on-shelf competition coming from premium and alkaline water products as well as sports-centric line extensions from BodyArmor and Powerade. Yet the brand has found success driving traction with consumers interested in exercise as part of a healthy active lifestyle, rather than competitive athletes or “forever athletes,” according to Gardner. Having a “relentless” focus on that cohort has helped the brand outpace growth in the category as a whole, which stands at 4.9%, and position it to hit double-digit annual growth for the sixth consecutive year, according to data from IRI.
Propel has plans to leverage that momentum in the year ahead: along with a 360-degree “exercise-forward” marketing campaign, Gardner said the brand will continue to explore formats beyond ready-to-drink, including tablet versions of its powder mixes, a segment in which sales increased 26.3% year-over-year through August.
“As we look through that lens in thinking about how to innovate for exercisers, we’ve been really focused on healthy functional benefits and also form innovation,” Gardner said. “Those are two areas [in which] you will see us lead.”