Gatorade, Powerade and Bodyarmor: Market data reveals how the top trio shape the US sports drink category

Together, the big three make up a whopping 87.9% of the US sports drinks category, powering over the landscape. Their influence is wide-reaching: and with the might and muscle of PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, they have the resources to boost NPD and innovation and explore the potential of the category.

Data provided by Euromonitor helps us assess how the top players are competing on the US sports drink market field.

Gatorade (PepsiCo): Market share: 61.6%

Gatorade takes, by far, the largest share of the US sports drink market. It’s been a consistent winner for PepsiCo for many years, with continued growth in the market.

The brand has a legacy of some 50 years: presenting itself as ‘the most scientifically researched and game-tested way to replace electrolytes lost in sweat’.

Yet the brand has also moved with the times: such as with the brand’s organic launch in 2016, the debut of Gatorade Zero in 2018, outreach into new categories such as protein bars, and innovations such as a smart cap to give athletes direct hydration feedback on their personal smart cap vessels.

And it’s this push into personalization that’s been particularly successful for the brand in recent years.

But what’s the next big step for the brand? Expanding to more consumers and more consumption occasions.

That’s seen with a emphasis on hydration powders: a format that’s catching on across the sports and hydration powders – and where Gatorade naturally wants to take the lead. It launched Hydration Boosters last year in the US.

“We have invested in an infrastructure for powders and mixing that allows us to create much more complex solutions in sachets and tablets and we’re going to invest massively behind that business,” said PepsiCo chairman and Ramon L Laguarta, presenting at CAGNY this month.

“It is now a $1 billion business in the US, our Gatorade and Propel Powders. This will be a driver of growth for us. We can provide much more functionality in every sachet. Clearly there is a lot of value, I think, in providing convenience and making sure that we can take our hydration with us throughout the day.”

Gatorade has also launched an electrolyte-infused water, an energy drink with Fast Twitch, and rapid rehydration product Gatorlyte.

Powerade (Coca-Cola). Market share: 14.5%

Coca-Cola’s big bet, meanwhile, is Powerade. The drink uses its ION4 electrolyte system to replenish four key electrolytes lost in sweat: sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium.

In 2023, the brand had a revamp: debuting an all-new formula (now claiming 50% more electrolytes than comparative sports drinks – a key attribute pulled out on label) and new look packaging.

It was an early innovator in the powerful sugar-free category (Powerade Zero has been on shelves since 2008 – far longer than Gatorade Zero) and boasts other innovations in the sports drinks category such as Powerade Ultra (with shelf-stable creatine, branched chain amino acids) and Powerade Power Waters.

And the brand has taken its marketing in a unique direction: focusing on supporting athlete’s mental health as well as their physical health (notably with ‘The Vault’, a creative spot that takes views on an emotional journey with US superstar gymnast Simone Biles, as part of the ‘Pause is Power’ platform).

Bodyarmor (Coca-Cola): Market share 11.8%

Coca-Cola is also focusing on up-and-coming sports drink BodyArmor. The brand was created in 2011 by Mike Repole and Lance Collins (basketball star Kobe Bryant joined the brand in 2013 and the #3 shareholder and served on the company’s board until his death in 2020), and counts Naomi Osaka, Megan Rapinoe, Mike Trout and Dustin Johnson among ‘Team BodyArmor’.

BodyArmor’s entry into the category in 2011 was one that immediately challenged what had been a two-horse race between Gatorade and Powerade: with its position as a premium sports drink with no artificial colors or flavors, and containing potassium and other electrolytes, vitamins and coconut water.

After years of courting Dr Pepper Snapple, BodyArmor took a sharp swerve away and instead teamed up with Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola took a 15% minority stake in BodyArmor in 2018, tucking it into its Venturing and Emerging Brands (VEB) unit as it eyed up the potential of the brand and premium side of the sports drinks category to complement the more mainstream, affordable Powerade proposition. In 2021, it acquired the remaining 85% of BodyArmor for $5.6bn.

BodyAmor has built up a portfolio that includes BODYARMOR LYTE (no added sugar), BODYARMOR SportWater (pH 9+) and BODYARMOR Flash I.V. (rapid rehydration).

Bodyarmor’s point of difference continues to be its better-for-you positioning, Sabrina Niland, VP of Innovation & Strategy told us.

“Bodyarmor was created as a better alternative to traditional old school sports drinks, focusing on potassium-packed electrolytes instead of sodium… delivering superior hydration, using no artificial ingredients, and tasting great,” said Niland.

And as a younger brand – yet one with all the resources of Coca-Cola to push it forward - the company is keen to keep that clearly in focus.

“2024 was a critical year for us,” said Niland. “We went back to the fundamentals, cementing our core business with the right assortment and layering on consumer driven innovation to drive growth for Bodyarmor. We’ve set the stage for a strong 2025, we’ll build our assortment with the right innovation in the most important segments, and we’ll talk to the consumer in a modernized way that we know will resonate.”