Can Alani Nu's Female-Centric Brand Help CELH Win the Energy Category?

Celsius Holdings, Inc. CELH is expanding beyond its core fitness-focused energy drinks with the addition of Alani Nu, a brand that directly appeals to female consumers. On April 1, 2025, CELH officially closed the acquisition of Alani Nu, bringing a second billion-dollar brand into its growing functional beverage portfolio. This move aligns with a broader shift in the energy drink category toward wellness-driven consumption, where female consumers represent an increasingly important growth segment.

In the first quarter of 2025, Alani Nu’s retail sales rose 88% year over year, lifting its market share by 221 basis points (bps) to 5.3%. The brand also crossed $1 billion in trailing 12-month retail sales, a milestone that underscores its connection with consumers and role in the accelerating better-for-you beverage trend. Celsius and Alani Nu’s combined portfolio captured a 16.2% dollar share in the energy drink category, an 81-bps gain compared with the prior year. Together, the two brands contributed approximately 20% of total category dollar growth in the first quarter, following a 50% contribution in 2024.

While the acquisition adds significant scale, integration will be the key. On its last earnings call, management indicated that the overlap between Celsius and Alani Nu consumers is just 15%, indicating the potential for complementary growth. As competition intensifies in functional energy, CELH’s ability to leverage Alani Nu’s female-focused brand could play a pivotal role in shaping its category position.

CELH vs. PEP & KO: Competing Paths in Functional Beverages

PepsiCo PEP highlighted continued strength in the functional beverage portfolio, with Pepsi Zero Sugar gaining share and Gatorade maintaining leadership in sports hydration. PepsiCo also emphasized margin expansion and ongoing investment in category transformation. On the first quarter 2025 earnings call, PepsiCo confirmed the pending acquisition of Poppi, a rising prebiotic soda brand, further signaling its intent to scale within health-forward and functional beverage spaces.

The Coca-Cola Company KO reported solid first-quarter of 2025 momentum for Fairlife, positioning this as key growth driver in its better-for-you beverage strategy. Reinforcing its shift toward health-conscious consumption, Coca-Cola Company noted that 30% of volume now comes from low or no-calorie beverages. Coca-Cola Company remains committed to leveraging its global scale and local agility to build value across the total beverage portfolio.

CELH’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Celsius’ shares have gained 3.1% in a month compared with the industry’s 1.8% growth.

From a valuation standpoint, CELH trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 45.27X compared with the industry’s average of 16.07X.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CELH’s 2025 and 2026 EPS indicates year-over-year growth of 17.1% and 41.5%, respectively. 

Celsius carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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