A better-for-you powerhouse: Why Celsius is buying Alani Nu for $1.8bn

Energy drink superstar Celsius says the addition of Alani Nu - a brand led by a better-for-you energy drink and snacks with nationwide distribution - will turbocharge its already impressive growth trajectory.

The brand is attractive to Celsius for three key reasons.

Firstly, the two brands can combine forces to embrace the potential across the better-for-you energy drink category; secondly, Alani Nu can help Celsius bring in more female consumers into the category (offering incremental growth).

And thirdly, there’s the potential to expand beyond energy drinks into snacks and bars: with Alani Nu already housing protein bars in its portfolio.

Sales potential

Founded in 2018 by entrepreneur, trainer and influencer Katy Hearn, Alani Nu is a growing, female-focused brand covering functional beverages and wellness products that are ‘aspirational yet accessible’ for a growing community of Gen Z and millennial consumers .

Its portfolio is led by Alani Nu energy drinks, alongside energy sticks, gummi sweets, RTD coffee and protein bars.

Alani Nu products can be found at national retailers in the US including Walmart, Target, GNC, The Vitamin Shoppe, Kroger Family Stores, Costco and Amazon.

All that has made it an attractive acquisition for Celsius.

Having hit the big time following the pandemic, Celsius’ trajectory has been meteoric: sales of $300m in 2021, $653m in 2022, then doubling that into a billion dollar brand with revenue of $1.3bn in 2023.

In 2022, PepsiCo invested in the ‘category defining’ brand, helping it grow distribution. Now, in 2025, Celsius' focus is clearly on expansion.

The company has revenues of around $1.3bn a year. The addition of Alani Nu will power this momentum forward with the combined brands expected to bring in some $2bn in sales annually.

Shares in Celsius jumped up 21% following the acquisition announcement.

Female focus

The energy drink category has long been defined by masculine branding, colors, flavors and formats.

Celsius' core energy drink proposition already skews far more towards the female consumer than traditional energy brands - around 50/50 between male and female consumers, according to CEO John Fieldly.

That’s thanks to its relatively gender-neutral proposition: a slim white can, clean packaging, and fruity flavors (contrast that to the typical dark, heavy colors of the traditional male-focused energy drink).

But Alani Nu’s female focus can complement that with a much stronger, targeted appeal to women.

Consequently, the acquisition gives Celsius access to a highly-attractive female consumer base.

And what’s important is that it’s this female consumer base which is driving incremental energy drink category growth.

That, says Celsius, brings the company an opportunity for additional, adjacent category expansion: ultimately enabling the company to reach ‘more people, in more places, more often’.

The proof of Alani’s potential to tap into the female market is in its sales: retail sales of Alani Nu increased by 78% year over year as reported by Circana (total US MULO Plus with Convenience) for the last-four-week period ended Jan. 26, 2025. Alani Nu dollar share for the same last-four-week-period was 4.8%, an increase of ~200 basis points from the prior-year period.

Energy drinks and beyond

But it’s not just about the female energy drink consumer: it’s about better-for-you category as a whole across beverages and snacks and even beyond.

The two brands together create a whole new ‘better-for-you, functional lifestyle platform’ - and the potential is huge.

“Both these brands together offer a better-for-you platform, there’s a lot of opportunity, especially with Alani, expanding into adjacent categories,” Fieldly told analysts on the company’s FY2024 earnings call as it announced the acquisition.

“I think that opens up scale. Health and wellness continues to grow and become part of the daily lifestyle of all of our consumers.”