deal in February as the energy drink maker continues to expand into sports.Courtesy of Celsius
In case you haven’t noticed lately, which would be hard to do, Celsius is skyrocketing in popularity in the energy drink space.
While Red Bull and Monster still account for about 70% of the category’s volume, Celsius Holdings, founded in April 2004, received a massive boost thanks to a $550 million investment from PepsiCo in August 2022.
The investment has not only helped the energy drink maker expand its distribution in major retailers and independent stores, resulting in a market share of nearly 10%, but it has also given new impetus to the company’s recent foray into sports.
“It’s been really great to see the brand branch out,” said Celsius CEO John Fieldly. “It goes back to Celsius’ core DNA, which provides the vital energy that helps you achieve your goals, and it is a perfect fit for today’s health-conscious consumers in the sports world.
“For us it is a big industry that we will continue to build on. We have expanded into new areas this year and look forward to expanding this into 2024 and beyond.”
Best known in the fitness community as the self-proclaimed “better for you” energy drink, Celsius is worth $13.4 billion today, according to GQ, from $280 million when Fieldly was named CEO in April 2018 US dollar up, now visible everywhere a seemingly endless list of sports properties.
The brand has partnerships in Formula 1, Major League Soccer, Professional Fighters League, P1 offshore boat racing, pickleball and skiing. Celsius is the energy drink of choice for Jake Paul, Dustin Poirier and Shaun White and is a sponsor of Inter Miami FC and Scuderia Ferrari. The Florida-based Celsius also had stints with the Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Florida Panthers.
“We’re starting to get our feet a little wet in professional sports,” Fieldly said. “I think there are more opportunities to build on this. We are receiving great interest from many athletes.”
The brand is not only expanding into professional sports. In August, Celsius announced a partnership with intercollegiate athletics marketing company Learfield to increase its presence on college campuses through college football and men’s and women’s basketball. This includes four new schools: University of Oregon, University of Colorado Boulder, United States Air Force Academy and University of Washington.
Celsius boasts an NIL roster highlighted by Bo Nix (Oregon), Blake Corum (Michigan) and Michael Penix Jr. (Washington) and is seeking further expansion into men’s and women’s NCAA basketball.
With a target demo of 18 to 24, Fieldly said Celsius is exploring different sports verticals that align with the brand’s overall strategy, which has been buoyed by increased distribution from the PepsiCo investment.
Partnership with MLS in August.Courtesy of MLS
Not surprisingly, football ticks many of these boxes. Before signing its first league-wide contract with MLS in August, Celsius completed a multi-year partnership with Inter Miami FC in February, months before the arrival of eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi. Since then there have been further team contracts with Chicago Fire FC and New York City FC.
“We really like the MLS partnership because the World Cup is coming to the United States, so there will be a lot of preparation for that over the next two years and we really want to be involved in this trip and that trip,” Fieldly said. “We thought this league sponsorship with MLS would provide access to authenticity that we wouldn’t otherwise have when the World Cup comes to North America.”
With a market dominated by Red Bull and Monster, established brands such as Rockstar, upstart Prime as the sports and energy drink of choice for teenagers, ZOA, GOAT Fuel and Wooooo, supported by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Jerry Rice and Ric Flair In respectively Combined with the introduction of caffeinated products by Gatorade and BodyArmor, the energy drink market couldn’t be more competitive.
But Fieldly believes Celsius’ unique blend of vital energy and essential vitamins, the PepsiCo investment and the brand’s growing presence in sports will be the recipe for success.
“If you look at the competitiveness of the energy drink category, it’s extremely competitive and it’s really difficult to achieve scale,” he said. “In the last decade, no brand has managed to achieve a 10 percent share in the energy drink category, except Celsius, which has just achieved this share.
“Authenticity is really key so that our partners and fans enjoy the product as much as we do.”
Follow me up Twitter or LinkedIn. Checkout my website.
I have 15 years of experience as a sports journalist. Bylines include: GOLF.com, PGATOUR.com, Robb Report, Boardroom, Vice Sports, Yahoo Sports, PGA Tour Essential Guide to Golf, NHL.com, Muscle & Fitness and more.
Read moreRead less
Comments are closed.