Consumer Perception of Energy Drinks Bounces Back

LONDON -- Energy drink sales have rebounded following a segment-wide decline prompted by reports of possible links between Monster Energy and 5-hour Energy and several deaths, according to YouGov BrandIndex.

Additionally, purchase consideration, which can indicate future sales, has also risen gradually.

Although consumer perception has not reached the levels it was at during early 2012, marketing changes and a lack of negative reports may be responsible for the comeback.

5-hour Energy was the best-perceived energy drink brand in 2012 and has recovered faster than its rivals, possibly due to focusing on charity, according to the report. The company posted more than 20 "5-hour Energy Helps Amazing People" videos online and announced plans to donate some of the proceeds from its new raspberry-flavored energy shot to the Living Beyond Breast Cancer organization.

Meanwhile, Monster recently cited its launch of Muscle Monster Energy shakes and Monster Ultra Blue, plus its proposal of voluntary guidelines for energy drink marketing, as reasons it is a category innovator.

Energy drink purchase consideration for 5-hour Energy, Monster and Red Bull increased closely together from mid-September through early November, YouGov said. This indicates possible sales increases segment-wide.

Monster Beverage Corp. CEO Rodney Sacks also stated that the company's sales were up more than 9 percent during a recent conference call, according to Nielsen data.

5-hour Energy, Monster Energy and Red Bull were measured using YouGov's Buzz score, which asks survey respondents whether they have heard anything positive or negative about brands from advertising, news or word-of-mouth in the last two weeks. Purchase consideration is calculated by asking respondents which brands they would consider when they are next in the market to purchase items in the category.