Caffeine Makes the World Go Round
As the Energy Drink Craze Escalates, Getting Creative Will Snag
Further Sales

In this month’s Buzztime Report, we looked at one of the hardest working product categories in the industry. Energy drinks sales seem as awake as the patrons consuming the actual product these days. But beyond simply cracking a can, what do patrons desire on the side?
    The fact that 56 percent of those polled claimed they don’t drink energy drink cocktails should not deter bar owners from experimenting. That means that almost 50 percent of patrons do consume them, and there is half the market open for persuasion through innovation and creative mixology. The second question follows an almost identical pattern with half choosing vodka and half ranging into other brands. It is a given that vodka and energy drinks have formed a bond for life. However, rum, tequila, Champagne and liqueurs leave endless flavor combinations to be considered.

Getting Off the Ground
    The third question’s results indicate a lack of adventurousness among consumers. But think of it this way: Twenty years ago, if you had polled the consumer about spending $400 on a bottle of premium vodka and a choice piece of real estate in the form of a couch and a cocktail table inside a nightclub, they would have laughed.
    Bottle service was a phenomenal long shot that paid off. Energy drink cocktails are not such a long shot. The demand for them is evident in the millions of cans sold and consumed annually. Where there is a mixable product, there is room and necessity for innovation. Come up with a signature drink and market it.

Shooters, Service, Success
    And finally, the last question relates to what every bar operator worth his salt must know. Energy drinks appeal to a younger crowd during the later hours of the evening the best. They follow the shot trend in that way, and they make an excellent sales addition to a straight pour shooter.
    Twenty-six percent of patrons out there have never even tried it, and 37 percent currently enjoy the trend. Collectively, that is 63 percent of the market open to persuasion on the subject.
    Energy drinks come in a wide variety of colors, flavors and levels of intensity. Bartender and server training is a must when working with this category just as it is with any other.