The sales cycle of energy drinks is short
A major Japanese beverage manufacturer made a big splash in the energy drink industry with the ReGain brand. With large-scale PR campaigns that seemed to surpass even Red Bull and Monster, the ReGain Energy Drink was launched in July 2014, only to be discontinued after just one year.
At the time, many business news sites ran special features about it. The product aimed to target young people by shedding the "old-fashioned" image of nutritional drinks, even claiming it would become the top energy drink.
I thought ReGain might hit it big, but I believe this outcome was somewhat expected. The fact that a new product was released within a year suggests that product development was already in progress long before its release (；´∀｀)
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Author: Energy Drink-kun
In 2001, while living in the United States, I encountered energy drinks through the dance scene and was deeply impressed. After returning to Japan, I found that energy drinks were considered novelty beverages, so I established a comprehensive website in 2013 to share the true appeal of energy drinks. As an energy drink enthusiast, I began drinking them seriously again, collecting over 7,000 varieties of energy drinks from various countries. I am also active as a critic and expert, receiving media interviews.
Red Bull and Monster are Too Strong to Compete With
The energy drink market is likely still growing, but it seems that new products are constantly being released, and more than that, Red Bull and Monster Energy are too solid to be overtaken.
New products may sell relatively well, and they may even have the potential to grow into a hit, but in the end, most products disappear from the shelves within a year or two. Especially in this industry, where products constantly appear and disappear, there are likely many products that have never even reached a significant growth curve.
With that in mind, Raizin also went through a renewal and aired TV commercials before switching to Taisho Pharmaceutical and re-launching as a new product. If Raizin continues in the energy drink market, it will be difficult to maintain shelf space, and it's likely that something new will appear in the next one or two years.
In April 2017, Raizin switched to the mysterious drink priced at 200 yen, which no longer had the "energy drink" label, as seen in this news article.
Kickstart Arrives in Japan, but Production Ends After Six Months
In April 2018, Kickstart released its Japan-exclusive flavor, Kickstart Grape, exclusively in vending machines. With the tagline "Exploding in popularity in America," it seemed promising, but by October, production was officially ended, and Twitter rumors started circulating in September that it would be discontinued. It disappeared in just six months...
This may be one of the quickest product disappearances in the history of Japan's energy drink market.
Is it Possible for an Energy Drink to be Loved for a Long Time?
As of 2015, many convenience stores have Red Bull and Monster lined up in large quantities, while other energy drinks are often relegated to a single row.
I feel like there has never been an energy drink that has truly blown me away (when a good one is released, it just disappears afterward), and as long as the shelf space in convenience stores remains limited, this trend will likely continue for a while. Samuraido had great packaging and a solid concept, but it was discontinued.
Even after more than three years since this article was written in June 2015, in 2018, the cycle of products appearing and disappearing has hardly changed.
In fact, it seems that the business model relies on continuously cycling products in a short period, so it's difficult to envision a strategy where a brand is carefully nurtured and established as a major player in the energy drink market.
On the other hand, products like Awarise, 28BLACK, and KiiVA are being steadily sold by manufacturers and vendors, and these companies take a different approach than the large corporations, who release products nationwide and quickly withdraw them.
Since 2001, Energy Drink Maniac has been drinking energy drinks and providing the most detailed reviews of global energy drinks based on firsthand research.
1533 flavors reviewed.
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The collection includes approximately 7,000 types of energy drinks from different countries, sizes, and designs.