The most profitable space in any store is the “front end.” This is the checkout area where retailers stock high-margin impulse items, such as gum and candy, to make them more visible to consumers. This profit-building technique will also work for your fitness center, not with gum and candy, but with high-margin impulse items that are beneficial to your members.
Such a product with a growing reputation among fitness centers is 5-Hour Energy. Introduced in 2004, 5-Hour Energy is now the top-selling product in Life Time Fitness – with each location moving 80 to 90 bottles per week. Smaller Clubs such as Gold’s and Powerhouse move 20 to 36 per week. Hundreds of other fitness centers are also enjoying the high margins and repeat sales of 5-Hour Energy.
WHAT IS 5-HOUR ENERGY?
5-Hour Energy is a two ounce liquid energy shot that provides users with hours of smooth, jitter-free energy without the resulting crash that comes from sugary, carbonated beverages. It takes just seconds to drink and its effects are usually felt in five to 10 minutes. Typical duration of increased energy is four to six hours.
Just another energy drink? Not so! The differences between 5-Hour Energy and beverage-style canned energy drinks are numerous – and important to your business. In fact, 5-Hour Energy was designed around the inherent weaknesses of canned energy drinks. By turning these weaknesses into strengths, 5- Hour Energy has become a hit with consumers and a hot seller for fitness centers.
SIZE MATTERS
One weakness of canned energy drinks is their size. Most are over eight ounces. Some are as much as 16. This creates numerous problems for club members and owners. Eight to 16 ounces of fizzy liquid is a lot to drink before a workout. It has to be consumed slowly which delays any energizing effect. For club owners, these beverages require refrigeration, which adds to the cost, and they’re impractical to be displayed on your counter – your most valuable retail location.
5-Hour Energy is designed to be displayed right on your counter. Each bottle contains only two ounces – easy for members to drink before a workout. On your counter, a display of 12 bottles takes less than a 6″ x 5″ of space. And, since you make $1.34 per bottle, it’s easy to see how, with repeat sales, that counter space can turn into a major profit center.
REPEAT SALES
To ensure consumer satisfaction and repeat sales, 5-Hour Energy was designed to overcome another weakness of canned energy drinks – the “spike-and-crash” effect. Most canned energy drinks are high in three things: sugar, caffeine and herbal stimulants. This combination of ingredients creates a jittery, high-strung feeling that ends in a crash. 5- Hour Energy takes a different approach.
Instead of over-stimulating the body, 5-Hour Energy wakes up the mind. When a person’s mind is alert and active, the body is ready to perform. We call it “smooth energy.” 5-Hour Energy causes no jitters, and best of all, no crash when it wears off. The difference is in the ingredients. Rather than large amounts of sugar, caffeine and herbal stimulants, 5- Hour Energy contains a therapeutic amount of B-vitamins and amino acids. It has no sugar or herbal ingredients at all. There is some caffeine – about the same as a cup of coffee. (Caffeine is a catalyst for B-vitamins, making them more readily absorbed and metabolized for energy). The result is smooth energy – a feeling of mental alertness and focus that helps people experience amazing workouts and perform everyday tasks.
PROVEN TRACK RECORD
These improvements have made 5-Hour Energy a top seller in many retail channels, including fitness centers.
One California fitness center tested 5-Hour Energy against the incumbent energy drink, Red Bull. Over a four-week span, 5-Hour Energy outsold Red Bull three-to-one. In Life Time Fitness, 5-Hour Energy is now the largest selling product in the chain’s Life Cafes. Although their coolers are filled with plenty of beverages, Life Time members prefer the small size and smooth, focused energy that 5-Hour Energy gives them. The common element between these, and other successful clubs, is that they placed the 5-Hour Energy display on the front counter. This visibility is key to high sales. A large, vitamin store chain realized this when they introduced the product in 2004. Sales jumped from less than 200 bottles in the first month, to nearly 10,000 bottles three months later – with no marketing or advertising support. Simply placing the 5-Hour Energy display on the counter was all it took. The chain proclaimed 5-Hour Energy their most successful new product launch of the year.
WHY FITNESS CENTERS SELL SO MUCH
Chain drugstores, convenience stores and vitamin stores also sell 5-Hour Energy. So why should you carry it if Walgreens does, too? Because in a sales-per-store comparison between a chain store and a fitness center, the fitness center always sells more during any given week – a lot more.
The reasons a fitness center sells more than a retail store are simple. The first is visibility. A typical chain drugstore contains almost 10,000 SKUs per store. It’s hard for any one product, especially one as small as 5-Hour Energy, to stand out from the clutter. But, a display of 36 bottles of 5-Hour Energy sitting on your counter will demand attention and drive sales. The second reason is audience. Not everyone shopping in a drugstore will see 5-Hour Energy, or feel a need for it. But, fitness center members have a huge appetite for energy. They’re always looking for a competitive edge, a more intense workout, or need to perform at work after a grueling morning exercise. With its delivery of smooth energy and no crash, 5-Hour Energy fits the bill perfectly.
WE HELP YOU MOVE PRODUCT
Another reason 5-Hour Energy is successful is a nationwide marketing campaign that is creating brand awareness and consumer demand. This marketing campaign features ads on nationally known radio talk shows, and a massive sampling outreach to major resort destinations and athletic events.
In addition, fitness centers can take advantage of free brochures that explain the features and benefits of 5-Hour Energy. We also provide posters and window stickers that encourage your members to try the product.
WHAT’S IN 5-HOUR ENERGY?
• Niacin (Vitamin B3) – Important for the conversion of food to energy. It also assists in the functioning of the digestive system, skin, and nerves.
• Vitamin B6 – Helps maintain normal nerve function and also acts in the formation of red blood cells. It is also required for the chemical reactions needed to digest proteins. nVitamin B12 – Important for metabolism. It helps in the formation of red blood cells and in the maintenance of the central nervous system.
• Vitamin C – Essential for healthy functioning of the immune system and the adrenal glands, which helps your body react to stress.
• Folic Acid – Works with Vitamin B12 and Vitamin C to help the body digest and utilize proteins, and to synthesize new proteins when they are needed.
• N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine – An amino acid that is a buildingblock for several important brain chemicals that regulate mood.
• L-Phenylalanine – An amino acid that keeps you awake and alert; reduces hunger pains; functions as an antidepressant, and helps improve memory.
• Taurine – A very important amino acid involved in a large number of metabolic processes in the visual pathways, the brain and nervous system, and cardiac function.
• Malic Acid – An Alpha-Hydroxy acid that is easily absorbed and completely metabolized for energy.
• Glucuronolactone – Reduces sleepiness and is widely known to improve mental performance, reaction time, concentration and memory.
IT’S TIME TO TRY 5-HOUR ENERGY!
It’s easy to introduce 5-Hour Energy to your club members and turn your counter into a major profit center. Its high margins and counter-friendly displays will help you earn more income. 5-Hour Energy delivers smooth, jitter-free energy in a convenient size, and it will generate repeat sales in your club as it has in hundreds of clubs across the country.
Carl Sperber is the Marketing Director for Living Essentials. To inquire about 5-Hour Energy, contact Brandon Bohland at 1.888.960.9495, or by email at brandon@chaserplus.com.
