For a long time most energy drink brands were publicizing new, bigger cans, but it turns out that the biggest increase in sales is actually coming from the smallest packages.

Energy “shots,” are concentrated one to three-ounce versions featuring the same basic energy mix of caffeine and b-vitamins as the larger energy drinks are now riding a wave of runaway sales multiples that echo the frenzied growth of first-generation energy drinks like Red Bull and Monster.

Just three years after the introduction of 5-Hour Energy, Nitro2Go, ZipFizz and their ilk, the category grew to nearly $100 million. With new brands and new distribution avenues coming on-line, however, the energy shots could be a $500 million business by the end of the year.

Like espresso to coffee drinkers, energy shots appeal to a slightly different group of consumers than core energy drink users. In their ability to satisfy consumers’ need for energy, the shots offer retailers a product that complements the energy category, but they don’t fight for cooler space with the traditional 16 oz. and 8 oz. drinks. For some consumers, they are an add-on product to go with their energy drink in a kind of shot-and-chaser strategy.

Energy shots are selling to truck drivers and yuppies alike, but that the sales demographics seem to include customers who need energy but might not have drunk energy drinks in the past. With little or no sugar in the product, energy shots are advertised as helping consumers avoid the “crash” associated with sugar-laden energy drinks. Small enough to make it through a TSA airport security check, consumable in one gulp, and low in calories while still high in stimulants, the reduced size of the energy shot also has one main advantage that the previous generation does not: the reduced bladder impact of the significantly smaller volume of liquid in the package — as some call it, the “pee factor.”

The bathroom factor is huge as truck drivers don’t like to pull over. Energy shots also work for the military, law enforcement, fire departments and anybody that can make use of fast, handy one gulp energy that does not require refrigeration or big storage.

EnergyThis is introducing a new category solely for energy shots. We will add the best and most searched for energy shot products in the market to our catalog. We will offer these bulk at tremendous savings and with our usual free shipment guarantee.

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