The evolution of “energy-boosting” food and beverage offerings hinges on using more natural ingredients, while meeting the needs of better-educated consumers
No matter how hard we Canadians strive for balance in our lives, many of us are still tired. That’s why the “energy” category is hotter than ever, with bars, candy, one-shot drinks and more providing people with a convenient hit of power.
An increasing number of energy-boosting foods are being introduced nowadays, a trend built on consumers’ 
familiarity with ingredients such as caffeine, taurine and electrolytes through long exposure to energy drinks. And, as with all other food and drink categories, energy products now contain more natural ingredients than ever before.
Focus on performance
Sport Beans energizing jelly beans from Jelly Belly Candy Company reflect both these trends. As of January 2011, fruit juices now deliver the Beans’ natural flavours and colours, with tapioca syrup and evaporated cane juice having replaced corn syrup and sugar. Sports Beans also contain electrolytes and vitamins B and C. Convenience – something that people who like energy products tend to be keen on – is delivered through offering the four non-caffeinated and two caffeinated Extreme varieties in 100-calorie, re-sealable packets.
Yet although they’re shaped like jelly beans, Sport Beans are not a candy, nor are they targeted to children, although kids involved in high-exertion sports can use them. Instead, says Tomi Holt, Jelly Belly’s director of Communications, they’re a sports performance product. A 2008 study that appeared in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism showed that Sport Beans performed as well as energy gels and drinks in a simulated 10K cycle race following an endurance ride.
This emphasis on proper function in the energy product category is key, says Carol Culhane. “These are performance products to help you do just that – perform,” says the food industry analyst with International Food Focus Ltd. in Toronto, a consulting firm that provides market assessment and regulatory advice. “They’re for after work when you’re heading to your workout, or for people who have health conditions and need an energy boost, or who are on a weight-loss regime and face a moment in the day when they need a convenient way to maintain calorie and nutrient intake, or for people who travel and commute a lot.” They should not, as she believes most consumers understand, be used to replace food.
However, there are some energy products on the market that are indeed meal replacements, and the difference between energy-boosting products and energy-related meal replacers has become more blurred in the last few years. Culhane notes that before Natural Health Product (NHP) regulations were passed in 2004, the energy food category was dominated by nutritional supplements and meal replacement products (bars and drinks like Ensure and Boost) that are regulated as foods and must contain specified amounts of vitamins and minerals, quality protein and a balanced source of energy (calories). Now that energy products are part of the NHP category, Culhane says they are not required to have the same high degree of nutrient balance. All this has meant an explosion of highly differentiated energy products, particularly after 2007 when it became lawful to market NHPs in food format.
Vector cereal and Vector bar from Kellogg are examples of old-school energy foods still regulated as a meal replacement and nutritional supplement respectively. While they contain many minerals and vitamins, something Culhane says can negatively impact taste and texture, Kellogg and some other companies are doing a great job to overcome this with flavour masking.
Respect for ingredients
