The team over at PepsiCo-owned Gatorade and Muscle Milk are not trying to reinvent the wheel, that’s for sure. In fact, they are going deeper into their own specialized wheelhouses with the announcement of two new product lines today: Gatorade Water and Muscle Milk Plant.
- The new, unflavored alkaline liquid is infused with electrolytes, which contribute between 65 to 90 mg of sodium per bottle
- The water is purified via a “seven-step enhanced filtration process.”
- It will be sold in a range of sizes including 1L bottles, 700 mL as well as 6-count multipacks. The bottles are made with 100% recycled (rPET) plastic.
- Pricing has not yet been determined and the product will begin to rollout in Q1 2024.
Muscle Milk, which is a sub brand of CytoSport and was acquired by PepsiCo 2019, is also expanding in its hero space. While Muscle Milk’s parent originally launched plant-based protein platform Evolve in 2017, Muscle Milk Plant marks the brand’s first expansion into the set.
- The RTD product contains up to 30 grams of protein, 3 to 4 grams of sugar, between 170 to 180 calories, vitamin B12 and iron, and all nine essential amino acids found in animal protein.
- The protein performance beverage is made with a blend of pea, rice and canola proteins and comes in Caramel Vanilla and Chocolate flavors.
- It will be bottled in 14 oz. plastic bottles with an SRP of $4.99 as well as 11 oz. TetraPak cartons (SRP: $10.99 per 4-pack).
- The product will begin rolling out in December with a full scale launch slated for Q1 next year.
For both new products, category competition is fierce – and some of it lives in-house.
Gatorade parent company PepsiCo also produces premium water brand LIFE WTR as well as enhanced flavored water Propel. Emily Boido, senior director of marketing at Gatorade believes the new water will serve as a “complement” to PepsiCo’s existing waters while highlighting the strength of Propel’s business, which she claims has notched nine consecutive years of growth.
“We are really thrilled to have the opportunity to bring the trust and the credibility of the Gatorade brand to unflavored water,” said Boido. “What we’re seeing with athletes is they are increasingly wellness minded, so they want that heat of the moment performance solution [but] they also want more wellness, more holistic solutions to support them throughout the day.”
She said the trust and credibility of the Gatorade brand, specifically the Bolt icon, will also help set the liquid apart on-shelf. According to recent Circana data, the bottled water category is growing at a rate of nearly 8% and unflavored still water specifically saw 9% dollar sales growth over the 52-week period ending August 13. Within that period, LIFE WTR sales declined 4.4% while newer unflavored still water products like BodyArmor and Waiakea saw sales increase 14.9% and 48.2%, respectively.
As for Muscle Milk, in-house competition may also be a challenge. PepsiCo relaunched CytoSport’s own vegan, pea protein-based RTD beverage brand Evolve in 2021 and the broader category is also rife with similar liquid concepts. Brands including Orgain, Huel, OWYN, Koia, and Venus Williams-backed Happy Viking, to name a few, all sell liquids with similar plant-based ingredients, taste profiles, attributes and pack sizes.
According to Marissa Pines, senior director of Gatorade Next Gen, in addition to PepsiCo’s own distribution strength, Muscle Milk Plant stands out for its high protein and amino acid profile. While many products offered by the aforementioned brands contain between 20 to 22 grams of protein per 11 oz. bottle, Muscle Milk Plant contains a slightly higher count, 25 grams per 11 oz. carton. Although Happy Viking contains only 20 grams of protein, it also offers a complete amino acid profile.
“Our consumers today, if they’re looking for more plants in their diet, they might be leaving us to go to someone else,” said Pines. “We’re trying to keep them in the family. Additionally, if you look at what is out there [for a consumer] who might already be more plant-based or adding more plants to their diet – there really isn’t a great performance option for them so that’s where we’d be bringing in new buyers.”