Monster Energy case study: building successful brands in the competitive US energy drinks market

Monster Energy case study: building successful brands in the competitive US energy drinks market

Introduction

This report on Monster Energy forms part of Datamonitor's case studies series, which explores business practices across a variety of disciplines and business sectors. It focuses on how Hansen's Natural's most successful brand has managed to overtake Red Bull as the leading energy drink in the US by volume.

Reasons to Purchase

*Gain insight into the methods used by important industry players to give them a competitive edge

*Identify specific areas for operational improvements

*Capitalize on the knowledge of experienced companies when entering a new niche or market

DATAMONITOR VIEW 1
CATALYST 1
SUMMARY 1
ANALYSIS 2
The US energy drinks market is strong, leading to high number of new entries on the market 2
Monster Energy has gained solid growth since its launch in 2002 2
Owner Hansen's Natural has been operating since the 1930s, but only recently entered the energy drinks market 2
The company has overtaken Red Bull in terms of US volume sales 3
However, growth has recently slowed due to the credit crunch 3
Novel marketing has been key to its growth 3
The company outsources manufacturing and distribution duties to concentrate on marketing efforts 3
Hansen's employs teams to distribute free samples of energy drinks to colleges 4
Monster Energy sponsors sport and music events to further attract young males 4
Monster Energy has its own website to differentiate it from Hansen's other offerings and provide a strong brand identity 5
The company undertakes novel marketing initiatives to help build brand interest 5
Java Monster has been one of its fastest developing brands 6
Java Monster accounted for 13% of company sales in Q4 2007 6
The beverage rivals Starbucks in the bottled coffee market 7
Hansen's currently has limited international distribution, but this could change with InBev's takeover of Anheuser-Busch 7
Monster's distribution centers on the Americas, the UK and Hong Kong 7
A planned Australian launch was affected by the launch of another Monster branded drink 8
The company will have to work hard to beat Red Bull's strong international position 8
InBev's takeover of Anheuser-Busch may aid Monster's international growth 8
APPENDIX 9
Case study series 9
Methodology 9
Secondary sources 9
Further reading 9
Ask the analyst 9
Datamonitor consulting 10
Disclaimer 10
List of Figures
Figure 1: Monster's CAT teams target colleges to encourage young adult consumption of the energy drink 4
Figure 2: Monster Energy is marketed on a Las Vegas monorail, creating a novel marketing initiative 5
Figure 3: Java Monster rivals Starbucks' retail bottled coffee offering 7