Whether Coca-Cola can become a leader remains to be seen. Coca-Cola is making a continuous push into the sports drink segment. Recently, a Beijing Business Today reporter found that Coca-Cola's sports drink BodyArmor has started pre-sales on the Tmall platform. This is actually the second sports drink launched by Coca-Cola in less than six months after introducing the Powerade sports drink. Industry insiders believe that Coca-Cola's launch of two sports drinks in half a year is, on one hand, to "fill the gap" in its own sports drink market, and on the other hand, to avoid missing the market trend again. However, with Gatorade and Pocari Sweat already seizing the market initiative, whether Coca-Cola can become a leader in the future remains to be seen. High-End Positioning On September 24, a Beijing Business Today reporter learned on the Tmall platform that BodyArmor pre-sale specifications include two SKUs: 473ml6 bottles and 473ml12 bottles, with shipping starting on October 4, priced at 108 yuan and 216 yuan respectively, averaging 18 yuan per bottle. This price is three times that of current sports drinks in the 6-yuan consumption range. It is understood that BodyArmor's main ingredients are coconut water, electrolytes, and vitamins, without artificial flavors or sweeteners, positioning it as a high-end sports drink brand. In 2011, BodyArmor was officially established, with products launched in 2012. In 2013, basketball star Kobe Bryant invested $6 million for a 10% stake, injecting a shot in the arm for the company's development. Before Kobe joined, BodyArmor's annual sales were only $3 million; in the first year after Kobe's investment, sales exceeded $36.9 million, a 216.34% increase from the previous year. BodyArmor's development received a further boost in 2018. At the end of 2018, Coca-Cola acquired a partial stake in BodyArmor, becoming the brand's second-largest shareholder. Leveraging Kobe's traffic and connections, as well as Coca-Cola's advantages in channel promotion, BodyArmor's sales are expected to exceed $700 million in 2019. A Coca-Cola spokesperson introduced that BodyArmor is a fully imported product, currently sold only through e-commerce channels in China. This is seen by industry insiders as Coca-Cola testing the waters for BodyArmor's development prospects through online channels. In the view of the Coca-Cola spokesperson: "Through e-commerce channels, we continuously introduce high-end beverage products favored in other markets to China." "The BodyArmor introduced to China this time, along with ZICO coconut water, Ayataka green tea, and various limited-edition Coca-Cola products sold in the Coca-Cola flagship store, all reflect this strategy. We look forward to leveraging the precise reach of e-commerce platforms in niche segments to explore a sales model for small-scale, high-consumption products, thereby further meeting the diversified needs of Chinese consumers in the digital and multi-dimensional era." Gap-Filling Measures It is worth noting that BodyArmor is the second sports drink Coca-Cola has launched in the Chinese market within six months. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, due to IOC regulations requiring sports drinks for various sports teams, Coca-Cola briefly provided the sports drink Powerade in the Chinese market. As for why Powerade was not officially introduced to the Chinese market at that time, Coca-Cola believed that the potential of China's sports drink market had not yet been unleashed, and ultimately Powerade did not officially enter the Chinese market. In June 2019, Coca-Cola officially introduced its sports drink Powerade to the Chinese market. Currently, there are two Powerade products on the market: one is "Powerade Ignite," designed for explosive sports, containing Vitamin B6 to help the body effectively convert glucose into energy. The other is "Powerade Endurance," designed for endurance sports, with PeptiPro to help athletes perform better, enhance endurance, and speed up muscle protein synthesis recovery. Zhu Danpeng, a Chinese food industry analyst, believes that Coca-Cola is transforming into an all-category beverage company. In the Chinese market, Coca-Cola has strong competitiveness in carbonated drinks, juices, and other beverage segments, but is relatively weak in sports drinks. Coca-Cola once had the opportunity to enter China's sports drink market first but failed to seize it. Now that China is again at a development inflection point for sports drinks, it cannot afford to miss the opportunity again. In fact, Coca-Cola occupies an important position in China's beverage sub-markets. Recently, Coca-Cola has launched multiple products in China, covering carbonated drinks, soda water, juices, coffee beverages, and more. It is widely believed in the industry that through new product launches, Coca-Cola has raised the mainstream product price band from 3 yuan to 5 yuan, thereby driving revenue growth. Data shows that in the first half of this year, Coca-Cola's revenue, sales volume, and attributable profit in the Chinese mainland market all achieved growth; the core carbonated beverage category saw revenue increase by 6% year-on-year, and sales volume grew by 2% year-on-year. Breaking Through the Market Industry insiders believe that China's sports drink market has significant room for development. In the coming years, China's sports market may experience a boom. Data shows that by 2030, the number of people regularly participating in physical exercise in China will reach 530 million. As the sports population continues to grow, the scale of the sports industry is also rising. From 2012 to 2016, the average annual compound growth rate of China's sports industry output and added value was 18.94% and 19.87%, respectively. It is estimated that by 2020, China's sports industry total output will successfully achieve the goal of exceeding 3 trillion yuan, and by 2022, the sports industry scale will further exceed 3.5 trillion yuan, with added value reaching 1.14 trillion yuan. "The development of the sports industry will inevitably drive the development of sports drinks. By then, the market structure of China's sports drinks is also expected to stabilize. Before that, any brand has the opportunity to become a part of the landscape," Zhu Danpeng said. Research data shows that in 2017, China's sports drink market exceeded 5 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 14% over the next five years, expected to reach the 10 billion yuan level. Xu Xiongjun, a strategic positioning expert and founder of Shanghai Jiude Positioning Consulting, said, "Although China's sports drinks are currently growing rapidly, their absolute value is still small compared to other beverages, and further development is needed." "At present, no brand has yet been able to break through and lead the industry," industry insiders pointed out. Take Pocari Sweat, the world's third-largest and Asia's largest sports drink brand, for example. In 2002, Pocari Sweat entered China and opened its first factory in Tianjin. Now with over a decade of development history in the Chinese market, Pocari Sweat has always maintained a low-key style. PepsiCo's Gatorade is the world's number one sports drink brand, holding over 70% market share, with annual revenue of around $6 billion in recent years. In 2006, Gatorade entered the Chinese market. Over more than a decade of development, although annual sales have exceeded the 1 billion yuan mark, it has not been able to dominate the Chinese market. "With foreign brands entering the Chinese market one after another, local brands like Jianli and Jianlibao's Aiyundong are also competing for market share, but there is no company with an absolute high share like Red Bull in the energy drink market. Coca-Cola still has the opportunity to break out of the market," Zhu Danpeng further pointed out. Source: Beijing Business Today (ID: BBT_JLHD) Tips will be paid 400-2000 yuan once adopted. China FMCG + Internet Professional New Media Committed to FMCG manufacturer and distributor transformation and upgrading and channel digital solutions