On consumers' use, brand preference and equity of sports nutrition products

Purpose: While trends of health and well-being have boosted the development of sports nutrition products, consumer research is limited. The purpose of this paper is to profile sports nutrition users and non-users, and to explain users' preference and equity of sports nutrition brands. Design/methodology/approach: A large online survey (n=3,165) was conducted with users and non-users of sports nutrition drinks in Belgium. Profiling was based on socio-demographic and sport related variables. For users, brand preference and equity of three key sports nutrition brands (n=1,075) were measured. Thereby, a three-dimensional consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) model was applied. Findings: Both the socio-demographic (gender, age, education and employment status) and sport profile (frequency, context, reasons and sports nutrition advice) had a significant influence on respondents' likelihood to use sports nutrition products. For brand preference, the effect of sport and socio-demographic profile was only partially confirmed, with advice and frequency of sport participation being most influential. Furthermore, users' brand equity was shown to be positively affected by brand quality and brand loyalty, while the impact of brand awareness/associations was not significant for all brands. Practical implications: Variations in the impact of brand equity dimensions further lend support for the diversification of marketing strategies in the sports nutrition sector. Originality/value: This study is one of the first to examine the customer market of sports nutrition products and brands