Tenzing is stepping up its efforts in functional energy-drinks, with founder Huib van Bockel arguing “only natural” is no longer sufficient to stand out in a rapidly evolving category in the UK.
Earlier this year, the London-based business launched a sub-range dubbed Natural Energy+ to tap into consumer interest in drinks offering functional benefits.
The first Natural Energy+ drink featured lion’s mane and a second SKU, Natural Energy+ Focus, was launched in June and contains magnesium, Sakura extract and a “triple tea blend” that provides L-theanine.
“Those SKUs are doing also incredibly well. For instance, [in] the largest retailer in the UK, we are now outselling every Red Bull edition. That is big. That SKU has turned out to be a bit of a game changer as well for us and just kind of opens a whole new category of people,” van Bockel told The Just Drinks podcast.
Van Bockel set up Tenzing ten years ago after leaving Red Bull. Tenzing’s natural recipe and brand positioning helped the brand break into a category dominated by brands like Red Bull and Monster.
The Tenzing founder said the brand is “number three” in the UK energy drinks market when measuring “value rate of sales”.
He said: “We are being outsold still by let’s say a brand like Relentless that has the Coca-Cola machine behind it but, for instance, in London grocery, where our distribution is still lower than the likes of Relentless, our rates are still so much higher that we are the number three brand.
“We say it’s no longer a two-horse race between Red Bull and Monster. It has actually now become a three-horse race. You’ve got the original energy, you’ve got the big can energy and you’ve got the first kind of better-for-you, good energy drink.”
During the podcast, van Bockel discussed how Heineken has supported Tenzing in the year since the brewing giant made a minority investment in the business.
He also explained why Tenzing, which does have a small presence in a limited number of international markets, remains focused on the UK market.
And van Bockel also shares lessons on distribution and the realities of scaling in energy drinks, a market he says is worth £3bn ($4.05bn) in the UK.
“Everyone wants a piece of the energy drinks pie, it’s the fastest growing. It’s now the biggest in soft drinks, it’s now past the colas,” he said.
