CELSIUS launches new line of ‘thermogenic’ liquid supplements for athletes

08-May-2017 - Last updated on 09-May-2017 at 14:07 GMT

With 300 mg of caffeine and 2,000 mg of L-Citruline, CELSIUS’ new line HEAT targets athletic trainers, body builders, military personnel, and endurance athletes for accelerated metabolism and an energy boost.

HEAT is the second product line in CELSIUS’ portfolio of liquid supplements. Coming in 16oz cans (compared to the 12oz cans of its first line), it was designed and formulated for intensive physical training, or what the company’s call a ‘trainer’s grade line.’

The proprietary formula of CELSIUS’ products have been studied in six different clinical trials published in six peer-reviewed journals, EVP of sales and marketing Vanessa Walker told NutraIngredients-USA.

Results from these studies, which are aggregated on CELSIUS’ website, suggest that the liquid supplements expedited metabolism and calorie burn compared to a placebo. In the bigger cans of this new line, “the enhanced caffeine and proprietary formula is delivered faster as the L-Citruline serves as a vaso-dialator and a delivery system for the vitamins and effects of the formula,” according to Walker.

A rapidly growing and changing category

Launched in three flavors (Inferno Punch, Blueberry Pomegranate, and Cherry Lime), the cans sell for about $2.79 - $3.29 each. Citing SPINS data, the company said that CELSIUS is “expanding at twice the rate of leading competitors” in the energy and sports drink category, though which brands these are were not specified.

“This designation is well suited to explain all the CELSIUS brand benefits as it is not just a ‘diet’ drink, and not just ‘healthy energy,’ those descriptions only tell part of the story,” Walker said. “This concept is a drinkable thermogenic, accelerated by fitness and an increase in heart rate.”

CELSIUS’s promise to its consumers play well into the current obsession to self-image, especially driven by social media among Millennial consumers. “Although we have a rise in obesity, there is also a generation who grew up without soda in schools,” Walker said. “This group is more likely to try healthier alternatives, or be consumers of cross-category brands, and CELSIUS plays in that world.”