Author: Xiaoshidai
On the eve of the opening of the beverage season, the familiar pulse brings a "new face".
Xiaoshidai noticed that Pulse recently launched a new packaging of electrolyte drinks on mainstream e-commerce platforms. Compared with last year's launch, the new product comes in a more conspicuous blue and white packaging, and the orange lightning logo on the bottle also makes its electrolyte selling point more intuitive.
Pulse replied to Xiaoshidai that after testing the water last year and "achieving good results", it has comprehensively upgraded its sports drink "Pulse + Electrolyte" this year. Not only does it come in a more eye-catching, vibrant packaging, but it also comes with a "Optimal Ratio" hydration regimen to meet the electrolyte needs of an hour of happy exercise.
After the electrolyte drink has attracted many industry leaders to enter the game, what kind of play has Pulse shown this year? Let's take a look.
Meet the 1-hour exercise hydration
Judging from the upgrade of "Pulsation + Electrolyte", it not only further strengthens the image of the brand associated with electrolyte drinks in terms of appearance, so as to deepen consumer awareness, but also expands the market by closely following the differentiated selling points of consumer demand.
At present, the common selling points of electrolyte drinks on the market include rapid hydration, scientific isotonic formula, 0 sugar and no burden, etc. In the face of similar concepts, Pulse proposed a "optimal ratio" hydration plan based on consumption scenarios and actual needs, focusing on 455mg electrolyte fast charging.
"There are many studies on exercise perspiration at home and abroad, and the mainstream view is that at a temperature of about 15-30 degrees, the average sweating volume is about 1 liter after 1 hour of moderate and high-intensity exercise. Zhong Kai, director of the Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center, recently wrote an article mentioning that "if it is calculated according to the low concentration of sweat electrolytes, 1 liter of sweat will lose about 500 mg of electrolytes, which can be used as a rough reference for ordinary people to exercise fluids." ”
It is reported that "Pulsation + Electrolytes" aims at the daily exercise scene, and accordingly developed a formula of "at least 455mg of electrolytes per bottle" to help consumers quickly hydrate and replenish the loss of electrolytes during exercise.
The Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022) recommend that people of all ages should be physically active every day. Among them, it is recommended that children and adolescents aged 6~17 years old should do at least 1 hour of moderate-intensity to high-intensity physical activity every day, and it is recommended that adults should do at least 5 days of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, with a cumulative duration of 150 to 300 minutes. If you exercise for 1 hour at a time, it is equivalent to 3-5 times a week.
When you sweat a lot during exercise, sweat will take away a lot of electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, etc., which may cause decreased exercise capacity/performance and, in severe cases, muscle cramps. According to the brand, 1 bottle of "Pulsation + Electrolyte" can meet the needs of 1 hour of exercise, and the product formula adopts a scientific formula to help quickly hydrate and recover quickly. In the actual test, more than 9 percent of consumers believe that drinking "pulsation + electrolytes" after strenuous exercise has significantly restored their state.
In addition to the targeted formula, "Pulsation + Electrolyte" also caters to the psychology of current consumers, taking into account both good taste and health.
"Through in-depth interviews with nearly 200 consumers in three cities, we found that electrolytes are no longer just a beverage ingredient, but have established a separate category in consumers' minds, which can meet the body's need to help the body quickly hydrate during or after exercise. At the same time, the taste is bland, too salty and greasy, and it is not delicious, which is the biggest pain point of the whole category. Pulse said.
It is understood that the above product formula brings 5 electrolyte components of potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium and chloride by adding natural coconut water, which is said to be "close to the composition of human sweat". In addition, the new product continues the characteristics of pulsating low sugar, and uses high-grade glucose, which not only has a refreshing taste, but also promotes the absorption of electrolyte sodium, and adds vitamin B6, vitamin C and niacinamide to add three vitamins to add points to the vitality of exercise.
"The electrolyte content of each bottle is as high as 455 mg, which scientifically helps to exercise for 1 hour, the addition of natural coconut water solves the problem of salty and greasy taste of electrolyte drinks, the selection of high-grade glucose at any cost to promote the absorption of electrolyte sodium, and the large bottle is delicious and suitable for large gulps...... A series of characteristics that no one has and no one has me, all of which reflect the 'volume' of pulsation + electrolyte. Zhu Danpeng, vice president of the Guangdong Food Safety and Security Promotion Association and an analyst of China's food industry, said.
Catch the youngsters
Pulse's upgrade of its electrolyte drinks also shows that it hopes to "get a bigger piece of the pie" in this emerging track.
According to the market share growth rate of various items in the beverage market in 2023, although the epidemic factors have gradually subsided, the market share growth rate of sports drinks represented by electrolyte water still reached 22.07%, ranking second among all categories.
The pulse of last year's entry also shared this wave of dividends. At last year's third-quarter earnings conference, Danone's chief financial officer, Juergen Esser, said that the new pulsating electrolyte product had "paid off quickly" for the brand.
In fact, in the increasingly competitive beverage market, electrolyte beverages have been considered the "second growth curve" by more than one major player. In the long run, this sub-category, which is still in a period of rapid ramp-up, is considered to have considerable potential.
According to a research report released by Hua Chuang Securities in December last year, the penetration rate of sports drinks in China is only 1.8%, while the levels of the United States and Japan are 6.1% and 5.3% respectively, compared with the Chinese market has sufficient room for growth. In China, the main consumers of electrolyte drinks are cutting-edge white-collar workers, senior middle-class and Generation Z who have a stronger consumption level and awareness of new categories, which shows the importance of young people among them. In terms of scenes, the biggest consumption occasion in this category is still sports moments.
In the face of the tuyere of electrolyte drinks, Pulse chooses to concentrate resources on the most important positions at this stage and develop the most important scenes and groups.
One of the major features of this upgrade is to expand new products around the sports scene of young people. For example, on the outer packaging, which is the most intuitive, "pulsation + electrolyte" enables a trendy and energetic style that conforms to the aesthetics of young people. In a simulated shelf test with the participation of thousands of consumers, the new packaging has also been loved by more young people aged 18-25.
Gao Yueqiu, General Manager of Danone China Beverages, said that Pulse has more than 20 years of scientific research experience and market accumulation in the field of hydration. Health is an area that pulsates to focus on and excel in. Backed by professional scientific research strength, Pulse continues to launch products that meet the different consumption scenarios of young people.
"We hope to help consumers quickly hydrate and recover during exercise by providing scientific healthy hydration options, quickly charging 455mg of electrolytes, and exercising happily without interruption. She said.
Zhu Danpeng believes that in addition to the hard core strength of the product itself from proportioning to health and nutrition, what cannot be ignored is Pulse's huge distribution system and rich trading experience in China, "the new and upgraded new products will surely become a huge attraction in the 2024 sports drink market".