Blogs, Surveys

Do you drink energy drinks?

Energy drinks are consumed by adolescents and young adults

In 2010, the Institut national de la santé publique du Québec published the report “Boissons énergisantes: risques liés à la consommation et perspectives de santé publique (Energy Drinks:  Risks Associated with Consumption and Public Health Perspectives),” which stated that the portrait of energy drink consumption, in Quebec and elsewhere in the world, was poorly documented. This same report stated that the little data available revealed that energy drinks are consumed by adolescents and young adults, some of whom consume these drinks regularly, sometimes several times a day, and in combination with alcohol.

The marketing surrounding the consumption of these drinks is often carried out through non-traditional communication channels and is frequently associated with extreme lifestyles and youth culture. We only need to recall Red Bull’s famous collaboration with Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner in 2012, who made the highest jump on record (Red Bull Stratos). On a smaller scale, the brand associates itself with several extreme sports events and even distributes its products to CEGEP and university students free of charge.

Leger therefore asked the Canadian population the following question: Do you drink energy drinks? To learn more, we then asked respondents who answered “yes,” to indicate which brand of energy drink they drink the most.

As shown in the map below, we find that 15% of Canadians say they consume energy drinks. Not surprisingly and in line with the Institut national de santé publique du Québec’s report, we note that millennials, i.e., Canadians between the ages of 18 and 34, are significantly more likely than older generations to drink this type of beverage (28%). Indeed, 18% of Generation X Canadians said they consume these drinks versus only 5% for baby boomers.

This Leger poll was conducted from April 7 to April 9, 2019 with a representative sample of 2,952 Canadians. The margin of error is 1.8%. *For comparison purposes, for a probability sample.

Red Bull, the most popular brand among Canadians

In other respects, among Canadians who consume energy drinks, Red Bull is the most popular brand in Canada (40%), followed by Monster (30%) and Rockstar (15%). These latest statistics are not surprising if we consider the marketing efforts deployed by these brands. For example, it’s not uncommon to find “Red Bull” or “Monster” branded fridges in convenience stores or close to the cash registers of various grocery stores. For maximum visibility, these brands are also involved in many sponsorships and omnipresent at widely disseminated sports events. It should be noted that the Québec brand, GURU, founded in Montréal, was the first to market an all-natural energy drink. There is no doubt that it will be very interesting to observe energy drink trends over the next few years.

This Leger poll was conducted from April 7 to April 9, 2019 with a representative sample of 370 Canadians. The margin of error is 5.09%. *For comparison purposes, for a probability sample.

Source:

Institut national de la santé publique du Québec, 2010. “Boissons énergisantes : risques liés à la consommation et perspectives de santé publique, Consulted on April 19, 2019 on: https://www.inspq.qc.ca/pdf/publications/1167_BoissonsEnergisantes.pdf