How Sting Stung India’s Energy Drink Market

What is that one common thing you have recently started seeing across your neighboring pharmacy, kirana store, and restaurant? Yes, you guessed it right, it's the iconic red bottle of Sting. Let's dive deep into how in just a span of a few years, Sting managed to become one of the most famous beverage and How it created a space for itself despite competing against global giants like Red Bull and Monster.

The introduction of Energy Drinks in India

The first energy drink to launch in India back was Red Bull in 2009, which was then and is still now priced beyond 100Rupees. Then came Monster in 2014, which is also priced similarly but somewhat lesser than Red Bull.

But in 2015, Monster came under the government agency’s radar and got banned due to its contents, which included ingredients that were not on the Food Safety and Standards Regulation’s approved list of ingredients. And this created a vacuum in India’s energy drink market, and Pepsico(parent company of Sting) spotted and made full use of this opportunity.

Pepsico started out by introducing an energy drink named SoBe(most probably most of you wouldn’t even have heard of it like me, as it was not that popular), but it was not well received by the customers and was soon discontinued by the company.

But in 2017, they partnered with their bottling vendor Varun Beverages(NSE: VBL) and introduced Sting.

Sting was first launched in Vietnam and was an instant hit there, and seeing this success, the company decided to launch the drink in India, which was a much bigger market and with a similar purchasing power(or maybe slightly higher). Sting was launched in India in a 250ml can variant, which was priced at 50Rupees This made sure it was neither directly competing with Red Bull which was priced at around 125Rs, nor with ThumbsUp or Coca-Cola, priced at around 30Rs. It was a sweet spot in the middle(something similar to how OnePlus had done in its initial years).

The Gold Run of Sting

The real gold run of Sting started after 2020 when Pepsico decided to adopt a mass affordable strategy for Sting and introduced the 20Rs Variant sold in small plastic bottles.

This 20Rs bottle was highly well-received by the market. As now, in just 20Rs, the customers were getting a drink that not only tested good but also gave you an instant recharge of energy due to its extremely high amount of Caffeine content. And soon, you could spot these iconic red bottles in the refrigerators of every other pharmacy, kirana store, and restaurant.

Earlier energy drinks were seen as something that was only drunk by Sportsmen(and women) and that only rich people could afford. Sting successfully broke the stereotypical image of energy drinks with its low pricing and was and is easily affordable for everyone.

In 2020 during the COVID period, imports of Red Bull dropped sharply due to the constraints on the movement of goods resulting in a sharp drop of 21% in its revenues(in India), but as Sting was being manufactured in India, it was able to cater to and fill into this newly created vacuum. And this boosted the sales of Sting by a whopping 440%. In 2021 they brought in Akshay Kumar as their brand ambassador and launched various innovative ad campaigns to boost the popularity of the drink further. And with the backing from Pepsico and Varun Beverages, logistics was not a problem for Sting, and using their extensive logistic network built over these many years, Sting was soon made available in over 20lakh outlets! Spread across the country.

Sting not only took a share of the already present energy drink market but further boosted the category itself, leading to the launch of many drinks like ThumbsUp Charged and many other products by small startups. In 2017 Sting had a market share of 2.5% in the energy drinks segment, which reached a whopping 86% in 2021.

Is it safe to drink Sting?

Now that we have seen how Sting has made it to the refrigerator of the outlets in our neighborhood let us look into what is exactly inside this drink. A 250ml bottle of Sting contains 70mg of Caffeine(a same-sized can of Red Bull and ThumbsUp Charged has 80mg and 60mg of caffeine, respectively). In addition to this, it has Artificial Sugar, Citric Acid, Carbonated Water, Modified Food Starch, etc.

Now that we have seen the contents let us see if it is safe to drink Sting — The bottle clearly mentions on its backside that children, pregnant women, and people with caffeine allergies should not consume the drink. Doctors suggest that people below the age of 18 should strictly avoid drinking Sting or any other energy drink. The bottle also clearly mentions a warning that any individual should not consume more than 500ml of the drink in a day. A sudden high dose of caffeine can lead to a high heart rate, increased blood pressure, and loss of sleep. And the sudden drop of caffeine after the initial effects can lead to weakness and uneasiness. Additionally, artificial sugar can lead to weight gain and brittle teeth. And most importantly, consuming a high dose of Sting(or any other energy drink) can lead to its addiction. For a person with diabetes or less appetite, this can even be risky for life.

We can surely appreciate how Sting has made a spot for itself in a highly competitive market with the likes of global giants like Red Bull and Monster. We need to be equally careful while consuming the same.

Thanks for reading, and please DM me any comments/suggestions/mistakes at @hbb.bhosale on Instagram until then, adiós.