Getting a quick energy boost: energy shots see sustained growth as energy drinks level off.(Category Focus)

EVEN THOUGH VOLUME AND DOLLAR SHARE OF THE MARKET FOR ENERGY drinks dwarf their smaller counterparts, energy shots are continuing their growing popularity. The category grew by 39 percent to $780.7 million for the 52 weeks ending June 13, 2010, in U.S. supermarkets, drug stores, gas and convenience stores, and mass merchandise retailers, excluding Wal-Mart, according to SymphonyIRI Group, Chicago.

That growth is expected to continue, as Mintel International, Chicago, forecasts energy shot sales to increase 147 percent in current prices from 2010 to 2015. "The segment has benefitted from consumers' desire for an energy boost that is less filling and has less sugar," Mintel reports in its "July 2010 Energy Drinks and Energy Shots" report.

For the most part, consumers drink energy drinks and shots to get a jolt of energy, Mintel says. …