Launched in 2018, Optimum Nutrition’s AMIN.O. Energy drink has spent four years building distribution in specialty health food stores and gyms. Now the sports nutrition company is putting its muscle behind the fitness-focused beverage to get deeper in the energy category.
Hoping to capitalize on the increased interest for pre- and post-exercise energy boosting drinks, Optimum has put renewed investment behind opening up more distribution channels in grocery and convenience while tweaking AMIN.O.’s packaging to streamline the product’s value proposition.
The brand is betting that the increased capital spend on marketing and activations will resonate with a younger demographic of fitness-oriented consumers who are flocking to energy brands like C4 and Celsius.
“[We’re] highly focused at meeting consumers where they are; whether that’s point of sale with our packaging and investments in retail merchandising,” Optimum Nutrition senior brand manager Kelly Boyle said. “Or driving trial and getting cans in hands, and really meeting these consumers that’s authentic to our brand [and] that’s authentic to our voice.”
The redesigned cans attempt to paint a clearer picture of the drink’s functional benefits. AMIN.O. Energy (which Optimum Nutrition also sells in a powdered format) offers a moderate caffeine load of 100mg plus electrolytes in eight flavors (the brand’s ninth variety, Berry Burst, will be launching in coming months). AMIN.O.’s 12 oz. cans retail for about $2.50 each. One differentiator for the product is the 5 grams of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) per can that aid in muscle recovery.
Boyle calls it an “anytime energy solution” that is geared towards “active individuals” who are not only looking for a pre-workout caffeine boost but also a hydrating recovery product.
Although the new can design doesn’t stray too far from its original incarnation, it is meant to echo Optimum Nutrition’s “More of You In You” marketing campaign aimed at bringing younger, active lifestyle energy drinkers to the brand, said Boyle.
AMIN.O. does well in health food and nutritional supplement stores like its national partner Vitamin Shoppe, but to grow further in the category it is targeting retail channels where younger consumers buy traditional energy drinks.
Aligned nationally with 7-Eleven and Speedway locations, convenience is AMIN.O.’s strongest velocity driver accounting for about half of all drink sales, a company representative told BevNET. The sports nutrition company has increased capital investment 70% year-over-year in AMIN.O. Energy marketing campaigns as it tries to make it a “first to mind, first to find” BCAA energy drink in the category and both grow in c-stores while adding more grocery channel partners.
That elevated capital spend has been put towards in-store sampling throughout the brand’s distribution partners and merchandising support with floor decals, shelf talkers in coolers and experiential campaigns to drive trial. This summer, the brand held a pre-U.S. Open sampling event at a Vitamin Shoppe where professional tennis player and brand ambassador Taylor Fritz met with consumers.
AMIN.O. has added about 7,000 new retail stores so far this year, bringing its total footprint to around 25,000 doors.
Though a staple in fitness and nutrition circles, BCAAs have found limited traction within the soaring fitness energy set. In 2019, Celsius dipped its toe into the subcategory with a three-flavor line called BCAA Recovery and has added BCAAs to its 16 oz format relaunched at NACS. Ghost BCAA brings hydration and energy together with the brand’s signature candy collaborations in a powdered format.
Launched in 2014, Swedish import NOCCO (No Carbs Company) has been steadily moving its RTD BCAA-laden energy drinks into the U.S. market while brands like PRIME, FitAID and Kill Cliff have also begun to market their own amino acid recovery beverages.