This column will review the sports sponsorship investments of dozens of representative companies in the industry in the past two or three years, and extract major cases for a brief analysis, and then summarize the overall sports marketing direction and new trends of the industry.

In order to more intuitively and systematically analyze the development and changes of the sports marketing market, Yutang Sports specially launched a sports sponsorship observation and analysis column based on the brand industry - Yutang Observation. This column will review the sports sponsorship investments of dozens of representative companies in the industry in the past two or three years, and extract major cases for a brief analysis, and then summarize the overall sports marketing direction and new trends of the industry. In this issue, we are focusing on the functional beverage industry.

Preface

Functional beverages refer to beverages that regulate human body functions to a certain extent by adjusting the ingredients and content ratio of nutrients in the beverage. Broadly speaking, functional beverages mainly include sports drinks, energy drinks and other beverages with health benefits. In overseas markets, functional beverages are already a relatively mature industry. In China, as the enthusiasm for mass sports consumption is highly ignited, the market size of functional beverages is also expanding rapidly.

Market research and business intelligence company Expert Market Research (EMR) pointed out in the Global Sports and Energy Beverage Market Report and Forecast 2022-2027 that in 2021, the global sports and energy beverage market size will be US$100.3 billion, and it is expected that by 2027, this number will grow to US$154.8 billion, with a CAGR of 7.5%.

China is growing into a large consumer market for functional beverages. In terms of market size, China's functional beverage retail market size was approximately 44.78 billion yuan in 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of 11.35% from 2014 to 2020, making it the fastest growing sub-category among soft drinks. With the continuous changes in human needs and the upgrading of consumption, the public attaches more and more importance to health and function, and functional beverages are becoming more and more popular among consumers. Functional beverages were originally just a niche market, but now they have expanded into a large industry market.

In the global sports marketing market, functional beverages have always occupied an important position. From traditional football and basketball to younger and cooler e-sports, extreme sports, and mixed martial arts, functional beverage brands have always been at the forefront of the sports marketing market. Of course, as more new brands enter the battle, competition in the future functional beverage industry will inevitably become increasingly fierce. How to create differentiation in marketing and connect with the personalized needs of target consumers will become a problem that brands in the industry must face.

Domestic brand

Dongpeng Special Drink

Dongpeng Special Drink is a vitamin functional beverage under Dongpeng Beverage. The slogan "I'm tired and sleepy, drink Dongpeng Special Drink" has been remembered by many consumers. Sports marketing has always been the core marketing strategy of Dongpeng Special Drink. Since 2018, the brand's sponsorship footprint has spread to sports fields such as football, racing, tennis, and e-sports.

2018 and 2019, Dongpeng Special Drink became the official supplier of the Chinese Super League for two consecutive seasons, which also opened the door to its football marketing channel. 2018 is the year of the World Cup in Russia. Dongpeng Special Drink hopes to take advantage of the World Cup to further increase brand awareness, so it established a cooperative relationship with the Portuguese national team and became its official energy drink. In addition, Dongpeng Special Drink also sponsored the ICC International Champions League Singapore Station event held after the World Cup in Russia. The three giants of Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal , and Atletico Madrid have contributed wonderful performances to the fans.

Pictures from Dongpeng Special Drink Official Website

In 2019, Dongpeng Special Drink became the only official designated energy drink for CEC China Automobile Endurance Championship , and the whole process is for the drivers to last for energy. CEC racing brings together a fashionable group of people who love cars and sports. Dongpeng Special Drink communicates and interacts with this group of young people through sponsoring events and resonates with them. Through this cooperation, Dongpeng Special Drink also allows more people to have a glimpse of the charm of motorsports, experience the fun brought by racing competition, and jointly lead the progress of event culture and automobile life. In the same year, Dongpeng Special Drink also sponsored the Zhuhai WTA Super Elite Competition.

E-sports is an important marketing line of Dongpeng Special Drink.As early as 2017, Dongpeng Special Drink sponsored the NESO National E-sports Open. In 2018, Dongpeng Special Drink became the official partner of the Royal E-sports Club League of Legends RNG team. These measures are mainly to promote the brand’s youth strategy. In addition, Dongpeng Special Drink has also tried to deepen its efforts on targeted targets. As a competition event that young people are highly keen on, game e-sports is highly consistent with the product functions and brand spirit of Dongpeng Special Drink.

In 2022, Dongpeng Special Drink also became the official designated functional beverage of the KPL King of Glory Professional League. As the world's leading mobile e-sports event, KPL has become a new way of life, entertainment and socializing for the "Gen Z" and has attracted the attention of the whole people. It has received 73 billion national event views in 2020, and has more than 600 hot searches on Weibo topics in 2021, and has remained high in both viewing popularity and topic discussion. Like traditional sports events, KPL carries the passion and passion of young people, and together with Dongpeng Special Drink, it conveys the spirit of "when you are young, you must fight hard."

In addition, Dongpeng Special Drink also actively supports world-class competitions held in the country. In early 2022, Dongpeng Special Drink became the official designated functional beverage for Hangzhou Asian Games , and then became the official sponsor of drinking water and beverages for Shantou Asian Youth Games. However, due to the impact of the new crown epidemic, the Hangzhou Asian Games was postponed to 2023, while the Shantou Asian Youth Games was directly cancelled.

joins hands with the Hangzhou Asian Games, which is not only the recognition of Dongpeng's brand strength and product quality by the Hangzhou Asian Organizing Committee, but also another witness to Dongpeng Beverage accompanying the development of China's sports industry. From deeply cultivating the e-sports market to sponsoring the Chinese breakdancing national team, to supporting the Hangzhou Asian Games, focusing on the consumer market for young people and inspiring young people's love for sports and fighting spirit have always been the core marketing driving force of Dongpeng Special Drink. At the same time, this also shows Dongpeng Special Drink’s judgment and firm determination on future market prospects.

Zhanma

Zhanma is an independent research and development, production and sales of energy-based vitamin beverages launched by Huabin Fast Consumer Products Group in 2017. Its positioning is a trendy brand loved by young people. War horses go deep into e-sports, sports, and cool fun toys, and where there are young people, there are war horses. These brand concepts determine the main marketing line of Zhanma.

In the field of sports marketing, Zhanma adheres to the strategy of parallelism between e-sports and traditional sports. Since 2017, Zhanma has joined hands with the top IP LPL League in the e-sports field to become the official sponsor of this event. In 2019, Zhanma launched the "On JD.com, Gathering Zhanma" e-sports monthly event, providing the 6 fans who won the ultimate prize with the opportunity to go to Paris to watch the League of Legends Global Finals. In addition, Zhanma also supported the traditional e-sports giant EDG e-sports club.

Pictures are from the official website of Zhanma

In 2021, Zhanma reached a cooperation with the PEL Peace Elite Professional League to plan mobile games and mobile e-sports. In the PEL Peace Elite Professional League, the horse continues to be a loyal partner of the contestants. When teammates in the team support people on the field, the horse will immediately help "recharge immediately and return to the battlefield"; when a player operates "shocking", the horse will also lock in exciting moments, wishing "high-energy moments and full combat power". Not only that, Zhanma has also planned a number of creative activities to play with the Peace Elite fans and fight with Chinese e-sports, support Chinese players to go to the world stage and shine in China's e-sports energy in a broader world.

"Dare to try, be loyal to love, and be confident". This is Zhanma's description of the younger generation and also a description of its own brand value. In a pun, it shows the vitality of a young brand. Of course, Zhanma sponsors the PEL Peace Elite Professional League, which also follows such brand values. At the same time, it hopes that China's e-sports industry, a promising industry, can thrive.

In the field of traditional sports, Zhanma also always demonstrates its brand proposition of young and breaking through its limits. In the fields of bicycles, skateboards, table tennis, street dance, skiing and other competitions, the horses have left their marks. is worth mentioning that the WHP War Horse Street Dance Challenge, which is a self-created IP launched by War Horse in 2019, affecting more than tens of millions of street dance enthusiasts and young people. Through years of creation, the War Horse Street Dance Challenge has witnessed the rapid growth of a new generation of young street dancers in China, conveyed the street dance culture and sports spirit, and created a new trend of street dance.

takes advantage of the Beijing Winter Olympics, and war horses are also actively integrating into the field of ice and snow sports. The Nanshan Open has a very important role in the domestic snowboarding field, and the upgrade and development of this event cannot be separated from the support of Huabin Group. In 2007, China Red Bull, a subsidiary of Huabin Group, began sponsoring the competition. In 2021, the Horse won the baton and started a new chapter in the Nanshan Open. In addition, Zhanma also invited the world champion of snowboard Liu Jiayu to join the Zhanma Energy Team, which also demonstrated the determination and action of Zhanma to explore new areas of trendy culture.

Basketball is the sports field that war horses are focusing on. Zhanma became the top partner of the CUBA College Basketball League from 2019 to 2021. By creating a rich basketball experience scene for basketball enthusiasts and deeply interacting with the campus crowd, it has left a deep brand mark among the vast young basketball crowd. In March 2021, Zhanma officially released the "War Horse Basketball Player" basketball ecological promotion plan. While inviting legendary star Stephen Marbury to become the head of the War Horse Basketball Player, he also carried out a series of basketball activities, producing rich basketball line video content.

In 2022, Zhanma became the official sponsor of the CBA League and the official energy drink of the CBA League. war horses have formulated a 2.0 version of the war horse basketball plan around the CBA league, including many activities including the newly upgraded WARHORSE Challenge, CBA Watch Carnival, and Marbury Training Camp. After writing a trilogy of cooperation with grassroots basketball, campus basketball and professional basketball, the new season of "War Horse Basketball 2.0" will be more worthy of attention.

文

文 is a health-care functional beverage launched by Dali Food Group in 2013. When the brand was established, Lehu quickly entered sports marketing and became the official designated functional beverage of the CBA league. It also formed the "Lehu Team" represented by players such as Yi Jianlian, Marbury and Wang Zhelin and , thus opening its own basketball marketing journey. The strong cooperation between Lehu and CBA has injected sports genes into the Lehu brand. On the one hand, many CBA basketball stars help to build momentum for Lehu; on the other hand, as a basketball sport with extremely popular young people, it has received high attention from the young people and is highly consistent with the target consumer group, accurate and efficient.

In 2018, with the help of Yutang Sports, Lehu became the designated functional beverage for the Stankovic Cup Intercontinental Basketball Championship. In 2019, Lehu also sponsored the Men's Basketball World Cup held in China, and became the world's first basketball World Cup functional beverage sponsor. From domestic to international, Lehu has gradually consolidated its market position with its leading basketball IP, and at the same time conveyed its brand philosophy to a wider group of young consumers.

Pictures from Stankovic Cup

In addition to basketball, racing is also a field that Lehu has more in-depth exploration. As early as 2016, Lehu became a strategic partner of the FIA F4 China Championship and also exclusively sponsored the event's track drifting activities; in addition, Lehu also sponsored the Formula Chinese Grand Prix (CFGP), and Lehu also sponsored the drivers who competed in CFGP. The tense and exciting events and smoke filled the air made the car fans excited. The drivers also showed their tenacious willpower and positive fighting spirit on the track, which complemented the brand spirit of Lehu's "awakening wildness and stimulating potential".

Overall, Lehu is a functional new beverage brand that has fully deployed sports marketing in China, which has enabled it to gain significant brand growth in the early stage. However, in recent years, Lehu's sports marketing momentum has slowed down, and the limelight has gradually been overshadowed by two strong rivals, Zhanma and Dongpeng Special Drink. According to Yutang Sports' observation, Lehu has now shifted its marketing focus to direct consumers, and becoming an honorary partner of 3X3 Golden League is an obvious example.

Other brands

Jianlibao is known as the father of Chinese national sports drinks and is also the first sports drink containing electrolytes in my country. As early as the company was established in 1984, Jianlibao accompanied the Chinese sports delegation to participate in the 23rd Olympic Games in Los Angeles, USA. In 1990, Jianlibao also exclusively sponsored the "Asian Games Light" Beijing Asian Games torch relay event. In 1992, Jianlibao formed the Jianlibao Youth Football Team and went to Brazil to learn football skills. This became a good story in the history of Chinese football development. Many players in the team later became the backbone of the Chinese men's football national team .

In 2003, Jianlibao was named Shenzhen Football Club, which won the first Chinese Super League championship in 2004. The 2010 Asian Games was held in Guangzhou, and Jianlibao became the designated sports drink for the event. Entering the second decade of the 21st century, Jianlibao's presence in the sports marketing market gradually declined. It was not until 2021 that by signing Su Bingtian , this national beverage brand returned to the vision of the majority of sports fans. However, looking at the brand development history of Jianlibao for nearly 40 years, sports marketing is still an unchanging main line. Whether signing a contract with Su Bingtian means the opening of a new era of a brand is worth paying attention to.

Magic is a sports drink brand under China Resources Yibo, aiming to help sports people experience and perform sports. In recent years, Magic has been one of the main brands promoted by China Resources Yibo, and the brand has also followed the Yibo brand to participate in sponsorship of many important events. In 2020, with the help of Yutang Sports, Magic sponsored the Spartan Warriors adult competition. In the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Magic has also been a partner of Shandong Taishan Football Club. In addition, Magic is also the official sports drink of the Chinese national team/TEAM CHINA, providing targeted sports supplies to national team athletes and those who love sports with professional sports supplies and high-standard quality. With the help of Yibao's huge sports marketing resources, the subsequent development of magic is worth paying attention to.

international brand

Gatorade

Gatorade was invented in 1965 by researchers at the University of Florida to help the then-hard NCAA Florida Gators American football team. With Gatorade’s help, in 1967, the Gators won their first orange bowl. That same year, Stokeley Vancamp Company obtained the right to use Gatorade from the University of Florida and its researchers and began promoting the drink nationwide. In 1983, Quaker Oats acquired Stockley Vancamp; in 2001, Quaker Oats merged with PepsiCo , and Gatorade became a member of the PepsiCo family.

Gator's brand attributes determine the absolute dominance of sports marketing in its brand development history. As early as 1983, Gatorade became the official sports drink of NFL, and the cooperative relationship between the two parties has continued to this day. In addition, the two major sports leagues, NBA and MLB, have also been bound to Gatorade for a long time. NHL and PepsiCo have also cooperated for ten years, and the two parties have recently renewed a long-term agreement, but Gatorade is no longer included in the framework of the new agreement. This also marks a change in Gatorade's sports marketing strategy.

Gatorade plans to shift part of its focus to a young and diverse athlete community. In the past year, Gatorade has signed a college athlete as the brand spokesperson and has become the first brand partner of the Overtime Elite (OTE) basketball league. OTE is a league composed primarily of athletes aged 16 to 18, which provides new access for basketball players to enter professional leagues such as the NBA. In addition, Gatorade has become the exclusive sports drink partner for the new NWSL team, Angeles City. Angel City will take out 10% of sponsorship revenue to open up new paths for young female coaches.

In the European market, football must be Gatorade's main marketing channel. In addition to relying on PepsiCo's cooperation with UEFA , Gatorade is also actively cooperating with major clubs.Barcelona, Manchester City , Inter Milan and AC Milan have all entered Gatorade's football marketing matrix. It is reported that Gatorade has sponsored more than 80 football clubs worldwide. In addition to the club, football stars are also an important part of Gatorade's marketing arsenal. The representative figures must be Messi , and also players such as Jesus , Pulisic.

Of course, Gatorade's well-known sports spokespersons are spread throughout the sports field. In 1984, Michael Jordan became Gatorade's first signing star. Now, Gatorade's well-known active athlete spokespersons include Serena Williams, Paul George , J.J. Watt, Zion, Jason Tatum, Downs , Bryce Harper, etc.

The Chinese market has always been Gatorade's strategic focus. As early as 2007, Gatorade became the official market partner of the NBA China. The "One Invest in Million" event launched in 2015 has received huge market and public opinion response. In recent years, Gatorade has focused on cooperation with Chinese sports stars, from Abudu salad to badminton mixed doubles golden partners Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong , and then to Chinese women's football leader Wang Shuang , Gatorade has made a steady layout and has become a core competitor in China's functional beverage market.

Austrian Red Bull

"Red Bull" can be a major part of the term for energy drinks, but there is an extremely complex development story behind the brand. The founding company of the "Red Bull" brand is Thailand Tiansi Pharmaceutical Health Co., Ltd. , established in 1956. In 1982, Austrian Dietrich Matshitz came to Thailand to taste this energy drink and fell in love with it. Later, he claimed that he drank eight of the drinks a day.

In 1984, Matshitz , founder of Tiansi Pharmaceutical Health Co., Ltd., Xu Shubiao (Chaleo Yoovidhya) and his son established the "Austrian Red Bull" in Austria. He himself owns 49% of shares . The company began promoting the "Red Bull" beverage of the same name in Austria in 1987. Entering the 1990s, Austrian Red Bull began to expand internationally, from Eastern Europe to Germany to the United Kingdom and the United States. Sports marketing has played a key role in this process.

Austrian Red Bull is the brand with the widest scope of sports marketing, covering extreme sports, racing, ice and snow, football, skateboard, parkour , etc. Extreme Sports is Red Bull's most distinctive brand label. It is also known as the world's most "deadly" extreme brand. As long as it is sports or experiments that challenge human limits, there is almost Red Bull's support behind it. From "regular" extreme sports such as fancy motorcycles, fancy bikes, skiing, etc. to wing suit flying , paragliding , high altitude parachuting, iceberg rock climbing and other absolutely meaningful brave players games. The Austrian Red Bull wants to make marketing surpass everyone's imagination.

This is not the limit of Austrian Red Bull's imagination. In 2012, Austrian Red Bull launched a "Red Bull Stratosphere Project". The challenger was Austrian Extreme Skydiving athlete Felix Baumgertner. He rode a helium balloon and directly entered the stratosphere and jumped down at an altitude of nearly 40,000 meters from the ground. This jump not only verifies that people can break the speed of sound when they freely fall in and , but also break three official world records. Related videos have even spread virally on the Internet. In addition, cliff bicycles, helicopter somersaults, and aircraft crossing tunnels have also been included in Red Bull's Extreme Challenge List.

In addition to supporting various sports events and challenging activities, Austrian Red Bull also deepens brand marketing by directly investing in high-quality sports assets. In the F1 racing field, Austrian Red Bull acquired two F1 teams in 2004 and 2005, respectively - Jaguar and Minardi team , and directly named Red Bull Racing Team and Red Bull II. Now Red Bull II has been renamed AlphaTauri, which is a clothing brand under Austrian Red Bull.

In the football market, the existence of Austrian Red Bull has been talked about by fans. Salzburg is the base of the Austrian Red Bull, and it is also the starting point of its football empire. In 2005, Austria Red Bull acquired the Salzburg Club, and the Salzburg Red Bull Club took to the stage of history. After entering the Red Bull era, this club quickly grew into the absolute overlord of Austrian professional football. In 2006 and 2009, the successive emergence of New York Red Bull and RB Leipzig further expanded the football investment map of Austria Red Bull.

Young people are the main audience of energy drink brands, so Austria Red Bull is also consciously developing some marketing assets that are more popular among young people, and e-sports is an important option. Austrian Red Bull is an official energy drink partner for many years for the League of Legends European Championship (LECh). In addition, it is also the main sponsor of EDG, a well-known e-sports team in my country.

There are so many sports spokespersons for Austrian Red Bull. According to statistics, in the single field of extreme sports alone, the number of spokespersons of Austrian Red Bull has reached hundreds of people. However, when it comes to the two most popular sports spokespersons of Austrian Red Bull, they must be Verstappen and Gu Ailing . The former won the F1 individual championship in the 2021 season, while the latter shone out at the Beijing Winter Olympics, winning two gold and one silver, becoming a phenomenal sports star in China and even the world.

Monster Energy

Monster Energy's parent company is the Monster Beverage Company in the United States, which was founded in 2002. Its appearance also gave Austrian Red Bull a strong rival in the energy drink market. Monster Beverage Company was formerly Hansen, which mainly operates juice and Exploration Beverages. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1988 and was later acquired by South African businessman Rodney Sachs and renamed Hansen Natural. Sax is very optimistic about the new functional beverage market in the United States. In addition, Austrian Red Bull is very popular in the United States, and Hansen Natural has also begun to launch monster beverages.

In 2012, Hansen Natural Company was officially renamed Monster Beverage Company. Two years later, Monster Beverage Company was favored by Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola used US$2.15 billion to acquire a 16.7% stake in Monster Beverage Company and became the largest shareholder of Monster Beverage Company. After that, Monster Beverage Company accelerated its development in the global market.

In terms of the main marketing ideas, Monster Energy is exactly the same as Austrian Red Bull. Extreme sports and racing are the most important investment areas of the brand. In recent years, in order to further explore the global market, Monster Energy has also begun to accelerate its actions in the fields of mixed martial arts, football, e-sports, etc.

In the field of extreme sports, Monster Energy has been involved in freestyle motocross, BMX, mountain bike, skateboarding, skiing, snowboarding, surfing and and other sports. The X Games is undoubtedly a signature event in the field of extreme sports, while Monster Energy is a long-term energy drink partner for this event. Many well-known skiers are regular visitors to the X Games competition, including Chloe King, the gold medalist of the U-shaped field skills of the two Winter Olympics. And when Chloe King was only 14 years old, Monster Energy signed with her.

In the field of racing, Monster Energy's footprints are spread across top event IPs such as NASCAR, F1, MotoGP. From 2017 to 2019, Monster Energy was the title sponsor of NASCAR. After that, NASCAR changed its marketing strategy and canceled the title sponsor, but the company is still a partner of NASCAR.

In F1 and MotoGP, Monster Energy mainly sponsors Grand Prix, teams and drivers. Monster Energy has always been a partner of the F1 Mercedes-Benz team and its main driver Hamilton. Similar partnerships have also been reflected in MotoGP, with the protagonists being replaced by Yamaha team and Rossi. In addition, Monster Energy has been the title sponsor of the MotoGP Catalonian Grand Prix since 2014, and in 2021, it became the title sponsor of the British Grand Prix.

In recent years, Monster Energy has also significantly increased its investment in major European football markets, especially in the Premier League. Currently, Monster Energy sponsors Premier League clubs include Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Leicester City, Southampton, Wolves and Aston Villa. shows that Monster Energy hopes to penetrate major regional markets in Europe, and is also interested in expanding its consumer audience with the help of the Premier League's global influence.

Monster Energy Another long-term sponsored sports IP is UFC, and it has been working for more than ten years. In 2021, the two sides extended the global cooperation agreement. In addition to continuing to be the official functional beverage of UFC, Monster Energy has also become an official water brand. In addition, Monster Energy sponsors several original shows on the UFC Fight Pass streaming service, which currently covers more than 200 countries and regions.

Monster Energy is also a new functional beverage brand that entered e-sports marketing earlier. As early as 2014, the brand began sponsoring DreamHack competitions and has continued to this day. In 2021, Monster Energy became a global partner of the e-sports event organization ESL Gaming. In 2022, the two sides expanded their cooperation, and Monster Energy entered the mobile e-sports field for the first time. In China, Monster Energy sponsors the Tobo E-sports Club. "Our partnership with DreamHack, and now ESL Gaming, makes this one of the longest and most successful partnerships in the esports and gaming industry," said Dan McHugh, Chief Marketing Officer at

Monster Energy. "Just like we have developed many other major partners, we will continue to cultivate and develop top esports competitions, mobile esports, DreamHack festivals, and even retail partners."

BioSteel is a sports drink brand founded in 2019 by John Cellenta and former NHL player Mike Camarelli, which was originally only available to professional sports teams." In the past two or three years, Baicui has significantly strengthened its investment in sports marketing and began to seize the market. However, the main focus of Baiqu’s current efforts is only limited to the US and Canadian markets.

In the NBA, Baiqu is the official sports drink partner of the Toronto Raptors and the Los Angeles Lakers. In addition, it is also the official sports drink of the US Football Association. With the help of this cooperation, Baicui hopes to make brand information resonate with all walks of the US football industry. Baiqu Investment focuses on the hockey field. It is not only a sponsor of the American Hockey Association and the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association, but has recently joined hands with the World Hockey Championships and the NHL. As Camarelli said, ice hockey has always been an indispensable part of Baiqu brand. Baisui has also formed a strong spokesperson lineup, including sports stars such as Mahomes, Doncic, Wiggins, and Nash, covering five major professional sports leagues.

Yu Tang Views

The competition in the functional beverage market is becoming increasingly fierce, the confrontation between traditional brands is becoming increasingly fierce, and many new brands are entering the market. However, overall, the overall development trend of the market remains optimistic. Of course, this also puts more stringent requirements on major brands. They not only need to ensure that remains personalized on product , but also continue to innovate in marketing and invest in assets that are more concerned by the target consumer group.

From a global perspective, the competition between Gatorade, Austrian Red Bull and Monster Energy is still the main theme. We have seen that some brands have begun to re-examine their sports marketing ideas and lay out resources that are more in line with the brand's tone. From the current perspective, e-sports and women's sports will be the investment focus of the industry.

The domestic functional beverage industry has not started late, but it has only entered the peak of development in recent years. New brands have continued to emerge, and the scale of investment in sports marketing has also increased significantly. Sports sponsorship for domestic functional beverage brands is far from saturation. As more independent event IPs enter the market, relevant companies should actively explore relevant marketing opportunities and use personalized products and services to attract potential young consumers.

In the post-epidemic era, consumers will pay special attention to the health performance of food and beverage products, which provides a better market space for the functional beverage industry. In addition, consumers' demand for innovative diet products is also increasing, which will further promote the innovation of the functional new beverage market, and sports marketing will become the best experience and DTC distribution window. For relevant enterprises in my country, how to align with the world, upgrade marketing concepts, and create brand differentiation will inevitably become the decisive factor in the next stage of development.

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