Gatorade had about 78.1% (based on sales) market share of sport drinks in the United States in the year of 2015. Consumers choose Gatorade over their biggest competitor-Powerade, since Gatorade better meets their consumers’ needs. Bryan found that there are some typical characteristics of Gatorade. It contains 160 milligrams of sodium and 45 milligrams of potassium per serving, while Powerade contains 150 milligrams and 35 milligrams. Gatorade contains table sugar and another simple sugar compound, while Powerade’s sugar content comes from high-fructose corn syrup. Gatorade is slightly superior at replacing lost electrolytes but inferior at replacing vitamins (Bryan, 2015).
When you perspire, your body loses about 900 to 1400 milligrams of sodium per liter of sweat (Shirreffs & Maughan, 2000). Sodium plays an important role in human’s blood; sufficient sodium in the blood helps keep a sufficient balance of water in the blood. It is very important to replace the sodium and water lost when sweating. The sodium content in Gatorade is on average 450 milligrams per liter; however, Powerade only has 225 milligrams per liter, just half of Gatorade’s. Thus, in consumers’ point of view, Gatorade will do a better job to replace sodium lost in sweat compared to Powerade. This is one of the main reasons that consumers buy Gatorade not Powerade. Gatorade contains 6% of sugar, whereas Powerade contains 8% of sugar; Gatorade has a simple sugar compound, whereas Powerade’s sugar comes from high fructose corn syrup. This 2% difference makes Gatorade more attractive since many Americans have obesity issues, thus they prefer Gatorade which has lower calories. Consumers may also prefer simple sugar compound other than sugar comes from high fructose corn syrup, this in one reason that consumer like Gatorade better. Many people choose Gatorade over other sports drinks because