5-Hour Energy Withstands Shots From Competitors

Over the last couple of years, major energy-drink brands have launched their own smaller, shot-style drinks to try to exploit the growing niche created by the success of 5-Hour Energy.

Now, however, the category is cluttered as Full Throttle, Amp, and other energy-drink stars have leapt into the shots business. While shot sales continue to climb strongly overall, standard energy-drink sales have dramatically leveled off – especially for some of the bigger brands that are trying to work both ends of the market.

Take Full Throttle, for example. Sales of its shot version rose more than 250 percent in supermarkets, drug stores, and mass merchants (except Wal-Mart stores) surveyed by Information Resources Inc. But sales of the mainstay Full Throttle energy drink declined by nearly 3 percent during the same period.Continue reading...