Survey on Energy Drinks of 400 Businessmen (Japan)

Drink it in the Morning When You Want to Give It Your All

The most common answer was drinking it on weekdays in the morning, with 34.8%. Additionally, 45% of respondents said they drink it when they want to boost their energy and vitality. From this, it seems that people drink energy drinks to energize themselves for the day’s work.

In the actual survey on when they drink it, the answers were:

“To boost energy and vitality” (45.0%) “To pump myself up and raise my spirits” (34.3%) “To increase motivation at work” (29.0%) and “When I feel tired” (26.8%). Rather than using it like medicine when feeling worn out, it’s chosen more for a positive, forward-thinking boost.

Personal Image of Drinking an Energy Drink in the Morning

Since it's a carbonated drink, it's easy to drink, and simply having around 250ml helps with hydration, quenching both your mouth and throat. Also, the fact that you can choose the flavor based on your preferences has likely contributed to its wide popularity. Although it's expensive (´・ω・｀), I think it has become more widely consumed.

In the past, there were people who drank nutritional drinks in the morning when they wanted to do their best. The fact that energy drinks became lighter and easier to drink, compared to those nutritional drinks, may have made them more widely accepted.

Survey Results on Recognition of Energy Drinks

Red Bull 95.8%
ReGAIN Energy Drink 80.5%
Monster Energy/Khaos 66.8%
Burn Energy Drink 63.0%

The result shows that Monster Energy ranks lower due to low recognition among people in their 40s and 50s. Since there's no TV commercial exposure, they are unlikely to know it. ReGAIN, being an established brand, naturally has high recognition just because of its name, as people think, "Oh, ReGAIN has an energy drink now."

Survey Results on the Image of Energy Drinks

Looking at this result, it seems that ReGAIN has brought the image of a nutritional drink directly into the energy drink category. The image of “immediacy” is a bit unclear, but it is widely recognized as “for working people” and “to drink before or during work.” This seems to have established the position of energy drinks as “corporate warrior drinks.”

The most interesting thing is that Rockstar comes in third in the "for young people" category. Although its recognition rate is around 25% across all age groups, it’s still notable. I'm wondering if people who didn’t actually drink it just saw the package and answered accordingly. (；´∀｀)

Drinking Energy Drinks at Your Desk at Work

If you were drinking Monster Energy at your desk, with that sweet smell from the packaging, would people think, "You're slacking off at work"? Though, I don't think that's the case for everyone who drinks it.

ReGAIN, on the other hand, originated as a nutritional drink, so it has a strong image of being the “corporate warrior drink.” It seems that drinking it at work would give you a "you’re motivated" vibe, and it would be easy to drink it without hesitation, using the ReGAIN image to boost your own image.

In conclusion, it seems like the two strongest energy drink brands that are synonymous with energy drinks have been overtaken. If we changed the target of the survey, we might get different answers, but for now, it seems there’s barely any distinction between nutritional drinks and energy drinks.