Mintel: Almost 6 in 10 Energy Drink Consumers Concerned About Safety

A Mintel study reports that almost 6 in 10 energy drink consumers are concerned about the safety of the products. Before we assume anything from this report, consider a few points for perspective.

* Only 59% of those in this poll reported being concerned about the safety of energy drinks.
That's barely a majority. I would expect that number to be a bit higher, honestly but it depends on how the question was asked. For example: "Are you concerned about the safety of energy drinks?" is a very open question because someone who limits their consumption of energy drinks to 1x/month and someone who drinks energy drinks every day but is careful about limiting the number of servings might answer "yes". Furthermore, a question like "How concerned are you on a scale of 1 (not concerned) to 10 (extremely concerned)" would give useful information about the weight of these safety concerns on consumers' minds. However, this report only polled energy drink consumers so it's unclear how many people would like to drink energy drinks but don't because of safety concerns.

* The definition of "energy drink" in this poll greatly affects the results.
Red Bull, Monster and Rockstar have dominated the energy drink market for at least the past 6 years. However, alternative energy drinks like V8 V-Fusion + Energy, Starbucks Refreshers and Mountain Dew Kick Start complicate the energy drink definition. Mountain Dew Kick Start contains 92 milligrams of caffeine per can - this is more than a can of Red Bull - but PepsiCo does not market this as an energy drink so it's unclear how products like these are represented in the poll.

*It's unclear how these safety concerns will affect the energy drink market.
If nearly 6/10 energy drink consumers are concerned about safety, will green tea-based caffeine products like Rize, V8 V-Fusion + Energy or Nawgan ever meet or overtake the Big Three? If the safety concerns are based on caffeine content, will consumers start looking for more moderate dose products? (Unlikely). If ingredients that typically garner criticism like taurine and guarana are driving the safety concerns, will energy drink products without those ingredients grow in favor?


Tell me: Are YOU concerned about energy drinks? If so, HOW concerned on a scale of 1-10, and what do you crave to resolve your concerns? 

Resources:  

BevNet: Mintel Reports Majority of Energy Drink Consumers Concerned About Safety 

Mintel Energy Drink Report 

Caffeine Safe Limits - How to Determine YOUR safe daily dose