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The worldwide energy drinks market grew 17% last year to 3,431 million litres, according to the latest report from global food and beverage consultancy Zenith International.

Although per capita consumption is still highest in Thailand, home of the energy drinks concept, the US now has the highest overall volume sales, driven by five top brands: Red Bull, Monster, Rockstar, Full Throttle from Coca-Cola and SoBe No Fear from PepsiCo.

US consumers drank 990 million litres of energy drinks in 2006, 47% more than in 2005 and 200 million litres more than their Thai counterparts.

“If the level of activity and product development in the US continues, it could represent 45% of worldwide volume in five years,” commented Zenith Research Director Gary Roethenbaugh. “We also expect to see double digit growth in East Europe and the Middle East, with Latin America, Australasia and West Europe making good gains too.”

The increasing popularity of energy drinks, coupled with a widening choice of products, could raise Americans’ average consumption from the current 3 litres per person to 8 litres by 2011. However, this would still be less than Thailand, where consumption has remained about 11.5 litres per person for some years.

Other nations in contention for a place among the top five energy drink consumers include Austria, Ireland, New Zealand, Slovenia and Kuwait.

“Although US growth has been dominated by male-oriented energy drinks, manufacturers there are successfully tapping into a wider trend towards healthier products, and consumers are enjoying a new wave of all-natural energy drinks with multiple health benefits,” added Roethenbaugh. “Manufacturers are also extending their brands to appeal to a wider range of consumers.”

Zenith expects each global region to generate growth over the coming years, with total volume increasing almost 15% annually to top 5,700 million litres in 2011. North American is likely to account for almost half this growth.

Zenith’s report, Global Energy Drinks 2007, notes that the world’s energy drinks markets are at greatly varying stages of development. Asia Pacific, for example, reveals a very diverse picture that includes the mature markets of Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Taiwan alongside the emerging markets of China and India.

For the purposes of the study, Zenith’s definition of energy drinks excluded glucose-based products and sports drinks.