Powerade was rated best in Canstar Blue’s sports drinks review for the SECOND year in a row, earning five stars for taste, perceived effectiveness, variety & range, packaging convenience, and overall satisfaction.
If you’re looking to rehydrate after sweating through a hard day’s work or exercising, sports drinks are a great way to replace your electrolytes quickly and efficiently. Australia agrees, with 25% of those surveyed believing that sports drinks improve their performance in sports, work, or other activities. To find out which sports drinks are worth trying out, Canstar Blue compares the top brands on the market.
Canstar Blue surveyed 579 Australians for their feedback on the sports drink brand(s) they purchased and consumed within the last three months.
Respondents rate their satisfaction with their sports drink brand(s) from zero to ten, where zero is extremely dissatisfied and ten is extremely satisfied. Brand satisfaction was rated by respondents on the following criteria:
The winning brand is the one that receives the highest Overall satisfaction rating once all the scores from the Overall satisfaction criteria are combined and averaged.
Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included, so not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The brands rated in this survey are listed below in order of best overall satisfaction.
Powerade served a strong return with a win for the second year running, scoring five stars for taste, perceived effectiveness, variety and range, packaging convenience, and overall satisfaction. Maximus was the only other brand to earn five stars for value for money.
Find more detailed information on our ratings methodology.
Powerade was created and manufactured by Coca-Cola and is today one of the leading sports drink brands around the world. All Powerade products contain an advanced electrolyte solution called ION4 that helps replace the four electrolytes lost when you sweat (sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium). The Powerade range features three main products including Powerade, Powerade Zero Sugar, and Powerade Power Water. The brand now also offers sports freezer bars to help athletes stay cool and refuel.
Sports drinks, also known as electrolyte drinks, are marketed as functional beverages that help replace glucose, fluids, and electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium) typically lost during high-intensity exercise. Some sports drinks also contain B vitamins to improve energy levels and endurance. Sports drinks are typically marketed toward athletes in recovery. More than half of the Aussies we surveyed (57%) consume sports drinks to replace electrolytes after exercise. Sports drinks are not to be confused with energy drinks which contain caffeine and are designed to increase energy and mental performance.
Sports drinks aren’t healthier than water but they may in some cases replenish your body’s electrolyte stores faster, especially after strenuous exercise or excessive sweating. Just keep in mind that some sports drinks contain sugars, so check the nutritional value on the packaging or opt for sugar-free versions. One in five Aussies we surveyed (21%) prefer sports drinks over water, which isn’t the healthiest outlook, but 27% try to buy the low-sugar variety, which is a good choice if you really need an electrolyte boost.
Megan is Canstar Blue’s Home & Lifestyle Editor, leading the team that focuses on consumer products and services, ranging from supermarkets and groceries to home and personal appliances and retail stores. She interprets Canstar Blue’s bespoke research on the thousands of brands that we compare, rate and review, to help shoppers make better purchasing decisions.
Samantha Howse is Canstar Blue’s Consumer Research Specialist, coordinating the consumer research program behind our customer satisfaction awards across Canstar and Canstar Blue in Australia and New Zealand. Sam has earned a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) from Griffith University and, with seven years in market research and 2 years in marketing, she is experienced in survey design, implementation and analysis, coupled with an understanding of marketing principles and best practice.
Here are the previous winners from Canstar Blue’s sports drinks ratings:
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