Red Bull still rules the roost in the energy drinks market, but other brands are vying for a share of this growing sector

Energy drinks cannot claim to be healthy, but as the third-fastest growing sector in soft drinks, up 10% last year to £146m, there is clearly still a growing demand for the category. Energy drinks meet consumer demand for a non-diet treat as well as keeping them going during the longer opening hours.

Red Bull remains the dominant force in the energy market, with sales up 14% to £79m in pubs, making it eighth most popular soft drink. Red Bull communications manager Sophia Antoniades claims consumers are beginning to use Red Bull as a mixer with other soft drinks: "As well as the traditional way of mixing Red Bull with vodka, we are also seeing an increase in Red Bull being ordered as a functional soft drink, often mixed with fruit juices, as a sign of consumers looking for more out of their drinks."

Coca-Cola Enterprises also wants to exploit the growth of the market, with the launch of Sprite 3G in March, which combines the lemon-lime flavour of Sprite with the "3Gs": glucose, guarana and caffeine from green coffee beans. Andy Slee, CCE trading director for licensed, says: "Sprite has a strong connection with younger pub and bar goers. We're confident Sprite 3G will be a hit with both existing and new energy drink consumers, offering a great profit opportunity for licensees."

He also claims that its lemon and lime base allows it to be mixed with a wider range of spirits than traditional energy drinks. The launch was backed by a marketing campaign drawing on a "wrong sprite" theme, including posters, on-line activity and nationwide sampling.

It is too early to tell how consumers are reacting to the drink, although pub-group buyers are generally worried that there are too many "me-too" products crowding the market. All the buyers say they are bombarded with alternatives to Red Bull, such as Shark, Red Devil and a raft of others.

Punch commercial director Jonathon Paveley says:"There are definitely too many Red Bull £me too" products out there. It's not a high priority sector for us - it's certainly not the sort of thing that yhou'd have with a meal, or on a Sunday night - it's not at all refreshing." However, he acknowledges that Red Bull will continue to be a popular product, "selling well as a late-night drinking product"

Purchasing manager for Mitchell's & Butler Tara Taylor says: "There are certainly a large number of products on the market although new entrants seems to be slowing down. The category is still in growth and if there is consumer demand our strategy would be to list products and let the consumer make the choice."

But given that Sprite 3G is positioned between a traditional soft drink and an energy drink, is this likely to fare better than other Red Bull alternatives? Thayne Forbes, joint managing director of brand valuation consultancy Intangible Business, believes so.

"A plethora of Red Bull look-alikes have failed because they offered nothing different," he says. "Sprite 3G is the first genuinely-differentiated energy drink for two reasons: it is an extension of a popular mainstream brand and its lemon and lime flavour means it can be drunk on its own of as a mixer in a wider variety of spirits than its rivals. Capitalising on the strength of the irreverent Sprite brand is a smart move as Sprite 3G immediately has an audience of millions who understand and trust its brand proposition."