Sports Nutrition Emerges As Major Growth Category In Retail Food

Sports nutrition has emerged from the shadows of bodybuilding, steroids, banned substances, etc., into mainstream retail, according to researcher Euromonitor. The impact of this transformation on the category has been significant – growth is expected to approach 40 percent by 2017. Producers are developing products that appeal to non-traditional users with worry-free formulations, third-party certifications of safety and purity, convenient formats, emphasis on general fitness, and greater accessibility in supermarkets and other retail channels. Retailers have embraced sports nutrition by creating their own brands. Key example: Walgreen, whose larger stores now feature separate sports nutrition sections in the supplement aisles, offering for example two separate lines of protein powders, one of which is a store brand.