The future of sports drinks in Europe: What do companies need to know?

The decision makers that have now taken office in the European Parliament – along with Ursula von der Leyen’s re-appointment as President of the European Commission – will be expected to pick up key policy and regulatory initiatives on food, nutrition and sustainability.

So how will sports drinks be affected?

Labelling  ​The European Commission has already thrown its weight behind promoting healthy diets: with the long-term objective being to tackle the ever-increasing obesity levels that cost millions.

“Perhaps the most important plan that we’ve seen in this context is the introduction of mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling and nutrient profiles to promote consumer information on food and reduce the consumption of products high in fat, sugar, or salt (HFSS),” explained Bucchini.

“A controversial proposal indeed – considering Member States’ different opinions on what constitutes a healthy diet – this regulatory initiative has been put on hold and it is now up to the new Commission to decide whether and how to proceed with this plan and reach a consensus with the European Parliament in case of a new legislation.”  

What that means for sports drinks is particularly complicated – because they are designed for a specific function and thus deliberately contain high levels of some ingredients for fast action.

“The introduction of FOPNL and nutrient profiles are highly relevant for the sports foods sector and uncertainty is growing among businesses on what is going to happen next,” said Bucchini.

“Sports drinks companies should be aware that the Commission’s proposal broadly recommended a uniform approach across all food sectors, overlooking the fact that sports and nutrition products are specifically marketed to athletes and active individuals, and therefore their labelling should differ from that of foods intended for the general population.

“Should a standardised labelling system, aimed at informing people about unhealthy food products, apply to sports drinks it would unfairly penalise the sector and misinform consumers. Products, like protein or carbohydrate drinks, contain higher amounts of HFSS ingredients to support active consumers’ dietary needs before and after exercise and should not be considered unhealthy foods.”

ESSNA’s Manifesto will urge policy makers to ensure that any future labelling regulation will take into account the specificities of sports and active nutrition products to avoid the ‘huge economic impact’ a one-size-fits-all legislation would have on the industry.

Nutrition and health claims ​Making sure that sports drinks are not labelled as unhealthy products is only one of the many regulatory challenges that lie ahead for the sector. When it comes to the marketing of sports beverages, businesses need to be able to promote the benefits of their products in accordance with science-based claims approved by the relevant authorities.  

“In its Manifesto, ESSNA stresses that the EU Nutrition and Health Claims legislation, while aiming at ensuring consumer safety, has posed barriers to businesses in communicating valid health and nutrition claims,” said Bucchini.

“Take for example health claims on sodium and glucose, both important ingredients for the sports drinks and the wider sports foods sector. While they have been approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), they have been rejected in Member States, due to conflicting public health guidelines. An example is the health claim on carbohydrate solutions contributing to the improvement of physical performance during high-intensity and long-lasting physical exercise in healthy trained adults, which has been validated by the European Commission.

“ESSNA believes that better guarantees must be put in place to ensure proportionate, consistent and evidence-based assessment and authorisation of health claims – taking due account of the specific needs of sports people.”

Sustainability   ​Over the past few years, the Commission has introduced ambitious regulations to make the food system more sustainable, such as the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation and the EU Single-use Plastics Directive.

That’s a key issue for sports drinks, which are almost all packaged in plastic bottles. However, recycling is not a simple issue.

“As emphasised in our Manifesto, at present, fragmentation in the Single Market still exists, specifically with regard to different infrastructures for recycling in Member States,” said Bucchini. “This poses important barriers to the industry’s transition to sustainability. This is why we ask decision makers to ensure appropriate and harmonised implementation of sustainability laws before considering new initiatives and their impact.”

Free trade in the EU  ​Another challenge in relation to the Single Market is Member States’ differing interpretations of EU law and national provisions, and often, their poor application of the Mutual Recognition Regulation, which is the key framework to facilitate the marketing of products lawfully sold in one country in other EU markets. As a result, businesses face free trade barriers that undermine the integrity of the EU’s Single Market, says Bucchini.

“ESSNA’s Manifesto calls for the correct implementation and enforcement of the mutual recognition principle and other relevant regulations,” he said.

“While the next few years will be challenging for the sports and active nutrition market in the EU from a regulatory point of view, with the new policy cycle, the sector has a unique opportunity to build relationships with decision makers to ensure fit-for-purpose legislation. Businesses need to work together and with a united voice pressurise policy makers to focus on the industry’s and consumers’ needs.”