Accelerade Finally Armed For Gatorade?

For years, we've heard from the folks at PacificHealth Laboratories with their Accelerade product. How they had the right carbohydrate to protein formula that Gatorade didn't have. How the true athletes were using their product and how the science proved that their product was better. The problem was that, at first, they didn't have a ready-to-drink product and their bigger problem was that they didn't have any money to advertise. Well, now Accelerade is being given its biggest push ever because Cadbury Schweppes bought it last year and Brandweek is reporting that the company is preparing to spend an astounding $50 million in Accelerade advertising. Gatorade currently commands 82 percent of the $4 billion sports drink market, so good luck. Accelerade is going to hit the protein point home, something that Gatorade doesn't have, but critics of Accelerade say that protein doesn't enable the product to taste as good as Gatorade and Gatorade has always contended that the benefits of during workout protein ingestion are inconclusive. Protein is most needed in the post-workout stage for muscle recovery. But Accelerade claims to increase endurance by 29 percent. At $2.79, it costs double a 20 oz. Gatorade, which I think will make it too costly for this mainstream ad buy and distribution attempt to let this all make sense. My prediction -- another Gatorade pretender. Another bust. But a good option for the hard core. Just keep this stuff and advertising to the hobby stores.

Comments

[Gatorade Coupon]

I don't think Accelerade will do well because it's too expensive and based on something that is inconclusive. It will be an up hill battle for Cadbury Shweppes to take on Gatorade because of their large market share.

-Darren

[John]

I think people will pay more if they perceive better performance. I also think availability will be key. Accelerade is competing with Gatorade Endurance Formula more than it is with the standard thirst quencher product, and you can't find that anywhere in stores, at least where I live in NC. If Accelerade has wide distribution, it will do well.

[jerry]

Gatorade is mostly High Fructose Corn Syrup aka the devil. I'm down on Gatorade because they've left the athlete and hydration for a sweet syrup and hype.

[sal m]

actually accelerade is on to something and offers a product that is superior to gatorade. while they do have a battle on their hands, at the grassroots level i think accelerade is making in-roads. the inclusion of protein in their formulation makes a lot of sense and is certainly better for recovery for football players, wrestlers, lax players and other athletes who aren't engaged in strictly endurance-basead activities.

[Robert]

John, sugar is a double-edged sword. The brain is among the most energy consuming organs of the body. Combined with the rest of the nervous system and under athletic physically active conditions it is probably tied for first place with the skeletal and cardiovascular muscles. These all require a lot of energy. And the primary form of energy is glucose. The degree and rapidity by which a carbohydrate affects blood glucose is called glycemic index. Two forms of sugar may provide the same amount of energy (i.e. calories) but affect blood glucose very differently. Consuming actual glucose results in a certain rise in blood glucose concentration. This increase is given a glycemic index measurement of 100, and is considered the benchmark against which all other foods are measured. Foods that exceed 60 cause an enormous spike in insulin, as the body attempts to bring blood sugar down to manageable levels. But the spike in insulin causes a near complete depletion of blood sugar. This is undesirable for athletes, since the brain and muscles depend on a steady supply of glucose for optimal performance. While other products are made with high fructose corn syrup or sucrose, which have glycemic indices well above 60, Gatorade does contain an excessive amount of sugar. This can create a spike in insulin and the subsequent depletion of glucose from the bloodstream. The result should be a steadier, more reliable flow of blood glucose to the muscles, brain and other tissues of the body, a much better scenario for athletes. When I was competing Gatorade was much lower in fructose than it is in its current formulation.

From Accelerade's nutritional facts I see that they have 36 grams of "sugar" vs. 43 grams of fructose in the same serving size of Gatorade. Hardly a low glycemic indicator delta plus if this is refined sugar that is much worse for your performance then fructose. I think you need to get your facts correct before you post.

[Kent Peterson]

The Accelerade folks are also trying to seed the blogosphere by giving out samples of their product, and doing other online promotions. This doesn't always work out the way they intended. See:

http://tinyurl.com/2moa3k