Celsius Says Energy Drink Demand Still Strong as Shelf Reset Weighs on Growth

Key Points

• Demand for energy drinks remains strong across the category, with Celsius executives saying growth is broad-based and being driven by sugar-free products and more consumption occasions throughout the day.
• CELSIUS brand growth is being temporarily pressured by SKU rationalization, shelf-space changes, and Alani Nu integration work, creating a short-term timing gap even though the company says underlying brand health remains solid.
• Alani Nu is seen as a major growth engine, with strong velocity, expanding distribution, and significant runway in convenience stores, coastal markets, and international expansion.

Celsius NASDAQ: CELH executives said the energy drink category remains stronger than expected, while the company is working through a temporary timing gap tied to SKU rationalization and shelf-space changes for its core CELSIUS brand.

Speaking at a Staples Forum, Chief Financial Officer Jarrod Langhans and Chief of Staff Toby David discussed recent category trends, the integration of Alani Nu and Rockstar into the company’s broader portfolio and the outlook for margins, pricing and international growth. The event followed the company’s first-quarter results, which the moderator described as showing 138% top-line growth, aided by the Alani Nu acquisition.

Energy Category Growth Remains Broad-Based

Langhans said the energy drink category has evolved over the past 15 years from an impulse-driven, male-oriented and convenience-store-led segment into a lifestyle category with more consumption occasions.

“Sugar-free is really driving it,” Langhans said, adding that consumers are increasingly using energy drinks before the gym, with meals, in the morning or later in the day as a pick-me-up.

He said the category has exceeded expectations this year despite tough comparisons from the prior year, with growth across major players. Langhans also said retailers are responding to the category’s performance by allocating more space to energy drinks, potentially at the expense of slower categories such as alcohol, particularly in convenience stores over time.

David said consumers are also finding more occasions to consume energy drinks during the day. He pointed to packaging variations, including Alani minis, as a way to serve consumers who may want a smaller energy product later in the afternoon.

CELSIUS Brand Faces Timing Issue From Optimization

Executives addressed slower recent growth for the CELSIUS brand, citing several factors, including SKU rationalization, limited innovation in the first half of the year and the operational work of integrating Alani into PepsiCo’s distribution system.

Langhans said the company’s optimization project is intended to improve productivity, velocity and dollars per location for the CELSIUS brand. However, he acknowledged that execution has taken longer than anticipated.

“It’s probably kind of like Eric said last week, about a two-quarter roll as opposed to a little quicker,” Langhans said.

David said the company remains confident in the brand’s health despite pressure in scanner data. He said dollars per total distribution point for CELSIUS rose 17% from January through April. He also cited Amazon, where CELSIUS is up 23% year to date and 27% in the most recent week, and New York City, where David said the brand did not undergo as much rationalization and posted strong growth in the first quarter and recent month.

David said scanner weakness reflects a short-term disconnect: some lower-performing SKUs are being removed before faster-moving SKUs and incremental placements are fully installed. He said the company still expects 17% total shelf-space gains for CELSIUS, though not all of that will be visible in total distribution point data.

For one unnamed major retailer, David said CELSIUS total distribution points are down 10%, but the company expects total space in that retailer to increase 45% after optimization because of incremental placements such as end caps and cooler positions.

Innovation More Limited for CELSIUS, Stronger for Alani

David said CELSIUS has had several years of heavy innovation, which contributed to the need to trim the portfolio. This year, the company chose to limit CELSIUS innovation in the first half to simplify the Alani integration into PepsiCo’s system.

He said CELSIUS will have a limited-time offering rolling out in the third quarter, with possible revenue overlap into the second quarter due to timing within the PepsiCo system. Another CELSIUS limited-time offering is expected in the back half of the year, but executives did not disclose the flavors.

David said the company expects more CELSIUS innovation in 2027, after Alani has been more fully integrated and expanded.

For Alani Nu, executives said innovation remains robust. Langhans mentioned a future limited-time offering around the time of the brand’s prior Cotton Candy launch comparison and said the company is excited about upcoming products. He also referenced Witch’s Brew as part of the back-half pipeline.

Alani Nu Still Seen as Having Significant Runway

Executives said Alani Nu’s growth opportunity remains large, particularly in convenience stores and in coastal markets where the brand remains underdeveloped.

Langhans said Alani was around a four share when Celsius acquired it and is now approaching double-digit market share while still growing more than 50%. He said the broader company portfolio now has roughly 21% market share, meaning about one in five energy drink cans consumed is part of the company’s portfolio.

David said Alani is distinct from CELSIUS, with a sweeter taste profile and a younger, more female-leaning consumer base, though the brand is expanding demographically. He said the company has not seen more cannibalization from Alani than it sees from other competitors such as Red Bull.

Langhans added that Alani’s velocity has remained strong as distribution expands. He said Alani dollars per total distribution point increased 13% from January through April, despite expectations from some observers that velocity might fall as distribution broadened.

Margins, Pricing and International Expansion

Langhans said the company is building a revenue growth management strategy across its three-brand portfolio: Alani as “super premium,” CELSIUS as “premium” and Rockstar as “premium economy.” He said the company is working on people, processes and technology, along with pricing architecture, pack formats and promotional sequencing.

He said current promotional spending is “fairly consistent” for now, but the company expects changes in the back half of the year and into 2027 as revenue growth management processes take hold.

On gross margins, Langhans said the company expects second-quarter margins to be more in line with the first quarter, with improvement expected in the third and fourth quarters. He said Alani and Rockstar had lower margin profiles when acquired, and the path to improvement includes lower outbound freight, integration into Celsius’ freight “orbit model,” raw material purchasing benefits, direct sourcing and additional manufacturing capacity.

Langhans said the company has line of sight to return to low-50% gross margins, though timing depends partly on commodity costs. He said getting there could happen by year-end or extend into 2027.

Internationally, Langhans described a “huge opportunity,” citing similar macro trends abroad, including demand for sugar-free products, modern energy drinks, fruit-forward flavors, lifestyle positioning and female consumers. He said the company has built a team in Dublin to support international expansion and sees runway for both CELSIUS and Alani over the next three to five years.

About Celsius NASDAQ: CELH

Celsius Holdings, Inc is an American beverage company known for its line of fitness and energy drinks formulated to support active lifestyles. The company's flagship product, the Celsius® brand, features beverages enhanced with ingredients such as green tea extract, guarana seed extract and essential vitamins, positioned as a functional alternative to traditional energy drinks. These products are designed to deliver a blend of ingredients that support metabolism and sustained energy without high sugar content or artificial preservatives.

In addition to its core carbonated drink portfolio, Celsius has expanded its offerings to include powder mixes and non-carbonated ready-to-drink variants, catering to consumer preferences around taste, convenience and nutritional needs.

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