Sports nutrition products can be mainly categorized as supplements, food or beverage. Sports food and beverages comprises of gels, bars and sports drinks. Sports nutrition supplements comprises of performance enhancers, muscle builders, metabolic/fat burners, weight gainers, meal replacements and  energy formulas that are sold in the form of powder, tablet or ready- to -drink formats. Segment wise, Sports drinks are the largest market for Sports & Fitness Nutrition. 

The main consumers of sports nutrition products are pro/amateur athletes, bodybuilders, recreational users and lifestyle users.

Lifestyle users are consumers who mainly consume sports nutrition products as a healthy snack or a refreshing beverage or a quick meal replacement.

In 2010, the global market for sports nutrition products was around US$4.7 billion. Out of which, the United States was the world’s largest consumer of the sports nutrition products, representing around two-thirds of the market in terms of both volume and value of retail sales, as per the report given by Euromonitor. 

In 2008, the global market for sports nutrition products was estimated to be around $31.2 billion, which is an increase when compared to $27.8 billion in 2007. The market is expected to reach $91.8 billion by 2013 having a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.1%, as per the report given by Bcc Research.

The United States is the world’s largest consumer of sports nutrition products, followed by Western Europe and Japan. Asia and Latin America are the developing markets.

The huge demand for sports nutrition products is mainly because of the product’s price, taste, variety and brand trust. 

2 . Sports Nutrition Industry Current Trends

By 2018, the global market for sports and fitness nutrition supplements are forecast to reach $6.17 billion. In the next 5 years, the Asia Pacific region for sports and fitness nutrition products is forecast to have a CAGR of 12%, as per the report given by Global Industry Analysts. 

3 . Major Industry Players

Abbott Nutrition, Dymatize Enterprises Inc., GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Body Wise International Inc., AST Sports Science, Slim-Fast Foods Company, Coca-Cola Co, Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc., Champion Nutrition Inc., Clif Bar Inc Hansen Natural Corporation, Kraft Foods Inc., NBTY Inc, Nestle SA, Optimum Nutrition Inc, Red Bull GmbH, PepsiCo Inc, Seven Seas Ltd, and Yakult Honsha Co. Ltd are the some of the major sports nutrition industry players.