Gatorade Sets Its Sights on Digital Fitness
Sports-drink maker is planning high-tech products for athletes and exercise buffs
An athlete trains on a treadmill that determines how many calories a person burns and if those calories come from carbohydrates or fats at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, in a April 2014 file photo. Gatorade plans to launch products that will tell users how much they need to hydrate. PHOTO:EDWARD LINSMIER/BLOOMBERG NEWS
Gatorade is going high tech.
The sports-drink pioneer, which taught the world about electrolytes, is making a major play for the FitBit crowd.
The PepsiCo Inc. brand is developing a microchip-fitted “smart cap” bottle and sweat patch that communicate digitally and provide athletes and fitness buffs constant updates on how much they should drink.
Because hydration needs aren't the same—Gatorade says sweat loss ranges from half a liter to more than 2 liters per hour of exercise—it plans to launch up to a dozen different formulas for electrolytes and carbohydrates in small pods that snap on to bottles.
A display of Gatorade’s smart-cap bottles that carry digital chips. PHOTO: GATORADE
The company also is stepping up its product offerings for before and after games and workouts with more protein chews, bars, powders, shakes and even a “night yogurt” to help those who work out rebuild muscles while sleeping.
On Friday, Gatorade will give an early peek of prototypes with a four-room interactive display at the South by Southwest festival in Austin.
“Your game is our lab,” says the voice-over to a new television advertisement airing this month showing professional athletes using the products.
Gatorade’s big push is in response to the explosive growth of wearable digital gadgets like Fitbit for consumers obsessively eager to monitor their footsteps and heart beats. The company is trying to tempt consumers to use its products around the clock—not just around the track or on the basketball court.
Global sales of wearable devices surged 172% last year to 78 million units, according to an International Data Corporation estimate. U.S. sales of sports-protein powder rose 13% to $4.7 billion, according to Euromonitor International.
Gatorade is just the latest sports-focused company to take a run at tech-thirsty consumers. Under Armour Inc. recently teamed up with e-commerce retailer Zappos to tell consumers when to replace sneakers, based on mileage tracked by Under Armour’s MapMyFitness app.
Nike Inc.’s Nike+ app on smartphones lets runners monitor distance, duration and pace—and learn how they stack up against other runners.
That is a long way from 1965, when University of Florida researchers concocted a carbohydrate-electrolyte drink to keep football players from collapsing in the heat. The drink still represents about 95% of Gatorade brand sales, and its formula—a mix of sodium, potassium and sugar—has changed little.
Gatorade sales rose 6.8% in the U.S. last year, giving it a 78% share of the $7.21 billion sports-drinks market. Coca-Cola Co.’s Powerade had an 19% share, according to Euromonitor.
But Gatorade, which until now has focused on flavor extensions, can’t ignore fast-growing rivals like coconut and alkaline waters and energy drinks.
Gatorade’s new line is far from the finish. Executives say the smart-cap bottle, sweat patch and sleep-time yogurt won’t be commercially available until next year or 2018. But the company plans to start selling concentrated 3-ounce pods to mix with water this fall. Earlier this year, it launched a single-serve protein powder and carbohydrate-protein bar.
PepsiCo also has said it plans to launch an organic version of Gatorade before the year is out. Although the drink’s bright artificial colors pop on store shelves, it is also a turnoff for consumers who prefer all-natural ingredients.
Gatorade’s track record for innovation is mixed. In 2010, it introduced its G Series, which included Prime, a pregame carbohydrate fuel pouch, and Recover, a postgame protein drink.
Many consumers found the products confusing, but the company says it made big inroads in professional sports, with some National Football League teams installing Gatorade-stocked mini-kitchens they called Gatorade Fuel Bars.
Gatorade began testing the smart-cap bottle with Brazil’s national soccer team ahead of the 2014 World Cup, and is testing a new version with the Boston Celtics basketball team and FC Barcelona soccer squad. Last year, personalized bottles with pods made an appearance on the sidelines of the Kansas City Chiefs football team. The bottles’ flashing lights tell players when it is time to fill up.
A disposable sweat patch with battery tracks sodium loss on the forearm and is about 2 inches by one inch in size. “It is basically a Band-Aid with electronics,”’ said Xavi Cortadellas, innovation director at Gatorade, adding that pro-athlete tests will accelerate this summer.
Rival Coke says it has no such plans for Powerade. It launched concentrated Powerade drops to mix with water in 2013 before dropping them. It launched a zero-calorie version in 2008 and reformulated its core sports drink in 2009.Gatorade isn’t alone in trying to commercialize a sweat patch to tell what’s going on inside the body. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, said in Januarythey had designed a wearable sensor that measures chemicals in sweat and relays data to a smartphone. Eccrine Systems Inc. and Kenzen Inc. also are racing to develop sweat patches.
