The sports food market refers to energy bars, protein bars, sports gels. Sports food are different from the food that are consumed to fulfill the appetite or for taste. They are enriched with essential nutrients and generally used by sportspeople and athletes, who require energy after a workout or training. The major constituents of sports foods include carbohydrates and proteins, as they provide high physical performance returns. Protein helps in repairing and rebuilding muscle, and regulates body functioning after an exercise. On the other hand, carbohydrate is considered as muscle fuel, which also aids the performance of athletes in skill-based tasks, such as tackling.
The global sports food market has been growing, due to factors such as surging urbanization and growing number of fitness centers and health clubs. The key trends observed in the global sports food market include consumer’s focus on ingredients used in such foods and substitution of cereal and snack bars by energy and protein bars. The latter trend is also acting as a potent driver for the sports food market.
Earlier, sports foods were mostly consumed by the athletes and body builders. However, now-a- days the non-athlete consumer group, especially the younger people, is also consuming them owing to healthy profile of sports foods as compared to the snack bars or chocolates consumed by them.
The global sports food market is dominated by the U.S. and European countries. However, Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at a faster pace, due to changing demographics and adoption of healthy living style by the consumers. The major companies operating in the global sports food market include Nestle SA, Clif Bar & Company, Glanbia Plc, Abbott Laboratories, PepsiCo Inc., GNC Holdings Inc., The Coca Cola Company, Universal Nutrition, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, and MusclePharm Corporation.
