Dive Brief:
- Energy drinks have become the primary growth driver in Casey’s General Stores’ grocery and general merchandise business, President and CEO Darren Rebelez said during the convenience retailer’s third-quarter earnings call on Tuesday.
- Grocery and general merchandise same-store sales grew 4% year-over-year in Q3 and have improved by over 3% in the first nine months of the fiscal year, according to Casey’s latest earnings report. Nonalcoholic beverages are the top-performing subcategory in that segment, primarily due to energy drinks, which surged 14% in Q3, Rebelez said.
- Energy drinks saw extremely strong sales in convenience retailing in 2025. Casey’s results suggest the category may be headed for another solid year.
Dive Insight:
Energy drinks have become one of the more reliable products in driving on-the-go c-store sales. C-store energy drink dollar sales soared 10% year over year in 2025, to more than $16 billion while unit sales grew 8%, according to Circana data. They also reached an all-time high in market share, growing steadily from 1.3% in c-store sales in 2019 to 2.4% by the third quarter of 2025, according to Datassential.
This isn’t Casey’s first time seeing strong growth from energy drinks. During Casey’s Q1 earnings call in September, Rebelez said energy drinks were the “strongest contributor" to growth in nonalcoholic beverages, which was at that time already the top-performing subcategory in Casey's grocery and general merchandise business.
The company’s lineup of energy drinks includes dozens of flavor varieties from several brands, including C4, Monster, Red Bull, Rockstar, NOS, Full Throttle, Reign, Ghost, Celsius and Alani Nu. Besides strong performances from energy drinks, Rebelez said that “flavor-enhanced waters also delivered solid growth in nonalcoholic beverages.
Casey’s broader inside sales grew nearly 6% compared to this time last year, according to its latest earnings report. Other strong performers in this segment came from prepared foods, notably Casey’s increasing investment in chicken wings.
