NEW YORK -- An alternative beverage with a small but growing presence in convenience stores earned an auspicious recognition last year.
According to 1010data’s E-Commerce Insights Panel, online sales of Bai Brand’s line of antioxidant drinks grew by 625% in 2015, scoring it second place in growth among small brands—those with more than $5 million in annual sales but less than $20 million—in 1010data’s annual survey. Bai came in second behind only Amazon Elements Baby Wipes.
Bai Brands LLC is a Princeton, N.J.-based company founded in August 2009. Its Bai 5 antioxidant infusions are only 5 calories, infused with coffeefruit and flavored with exotic fruit juices. It is one of Dr Pepper Snapple Group’s allied brands.
Bai’s growth came without its category—energy drinks, according to the survey—landing a spot among the top 10 fastest-growing consumer-packaged-goods (CPG) categories in online sales, a list that included only bottled water in the beverage category.
Top 10 CPG Categories Year-Over-Year E-Commerce Growth in 2015
- Laundry detergent – 85%
- Pet food – 84%
- Toothpaste – 75%
- Health snack bars – 74%
- Deodorant – 71%
- Adult nutrition – 68%
- Baby wipes – 68%
- Protein powder – 66%
- Bottled water – 63%
- Mouthwash – 63%
- Baby diapers – 61%
While total e-commerce grew by 30%, CPG grew at an even faster pace of 42% year over year, the report said. Much of the growth was fueled by Amazon’s Subscribe and Save feature (SNS) being the default selection for many Amazon users as they check out. More than 20% of all growth in CPG came from Amazon’s SNS.
The report also said that e-commerce is still less than 10% of total sales and often less than 5% for major CPG manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, Mondelez, Coca-Cola and Pepsi. However, the majority of their sales growth in the United States is coming from e-commerce in many categories.
New York-based 1010data’s Ecom Insights Panel consists of millions of online shoppers in the United States who allow 1010data to anonymously track their online behavior for market research purposes, including e-commerce activity.
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