How to innovate in eSports | So Good News
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Synergy Flavors, a global manufacturer and supplier of flavors, extracts and essences, has released a report. “Energizing the Future of Esports” where its industry experts discuss the fast-growing sports and video game markets and the opportunities therein.
According to his report, the global gaming market is now around $152 billion, but continues to grow significantly (9.6%). Not only that, the game has near global appeal with huge markets in many parts of the world.
Unsurprisingly, the largest market share is in Asia Pacific ($72.2 billion), but $34.7 billion of the market comes from Europe and Africa, with an impressive 11.5% annual growth (Nutrition Integrated).
Despite the significant number of launches in this space, Synergy says that innovation in one product type – energy drinks – accounted for 48% of these launches.
That’s why the firm conducted its own research to understand the different groups in the gaming community and how their needs differ, in order to come up with recommendations for innovations that can take the category to the next level.
The Motley Crue
“The first thing to understand is that gaming groups are not homogenous, and many media analyzes often try to portray them as such,” report explains.
Gaming data analytics firm NewZoo divided the gaming market into six broad demographics based primarily on frequency of play: professional gamer (esports athlete), mega-influencer (streamer), micro-influencer (content creator) and gaming enthusiast (gamer).
The spectrum between the elite eSports athlete and the casual mobile phone gamer is wide, and across that spectrum there is a large market of consumers who may be open to investing in targeted food, beverage and nutrition products.
Additionally, the age of gamers varies greatly, with Synergy data showing that 21% of gamers are under 18, 38% are 18-34 and 26% are 35-54. The most surprising thing is that 15% are over 55 years old.
Looking at the average age of a player for each game, Synergy’s data shows that the average age of Call of Duty players is more than 28, compared to the average age of Fortnite players of 19.
The goal of the game
Synergy says there will be brands that can achieve long-term success in this space “truly understand the diverse range of consumer groups in gaming and recognize their needs and unique requirements.”.
He adds that a consumer’s need state is influenced by the game they play.
If they’re playing a first-person shooter game like Call of Duty, the typical game length is 10-20 minutes, and it requires focus and quick reaction time. Online multiplayer games like World of Warcraft can last for over an hour and require sustained attention.
As many gamers tend to focus on and master one or two games, Chris Whiting, European Business Development Manager at Synergy Flavors, suggests that there is an opportunity for brands to target players of specific games through product format or general branding. and messaging.
“It’s a very white space, not something we’re going to see a lot of innovation in.” Whiting told N.I. “We see some brands collaborating with games, but it’s a general collaboration that allows them to engage their own audience.”.
To further help brands target players of specific games, Synergy commissioned several reports that used social listening tools to build average persona profiles for players of various games based on social media activity.
The data shows that Fortnite and First Person Shooter players are relatively similar, as indicated by their “fierce” behavior. And multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA, eg, League of Legends) players were quite different, many of them fiery and prone to stress and self-consciousness, and relatively imaginative and appreciative of art.
The report explains that this knowledge directly contributes to the product’s health functions and branding: .
“If MOBA players are the target demographic, the relatively high propensity for imagination and art appreciation may give brands some freedom in design, perhaps going for bold artwork and even using the atmospheric and stylized graphics of some popular MOBA titles. ».
Reinforcement
Whiting says despite the well-fed category, energy drinks still have room for innovation.
“We’re seeing a lot of interest in alternative flavors in the energy drink sector. .
“Like whey protein, people like to try different flavors because people use these products so often. But it’s a balancing act between overfilling your personal portfolio!”.
He added: “New opportunity in energy drinks lies in additional functions such as cognitive benefits.”.
Shut down
The Synergy Report presents a huge opportunity for products that address alternative health needs.
When casual users were asked what attributes they wanted in a gaming-targeted nutrition product, the most requested product types were healthy snacks (92.71%) and products offering improved energy and improved focus (both 87.5%).
Further down the list (80.21% of respondents), however, products that help with post-game relaxation are still of interest.
“Some game formats can be very high stress, so products that help alleviate some of that can be helpful,” report warns.
Whiting goes on to explain that snacks are an ideal category to offer such benefits.
“It’s about creating some additional functional benefits, like cognitive health, with ingredients like Ashwagandha and functional mushrooms like Cordyceps and Lion’s Mane.”.
He says these types of ingredients in a convenient gummy format are a great way to go.
“One of those comfort foods [as opposed to drinks] Can’t you just spill the product on expensive electronics?’.
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