International boost

CARSON, Calif. — The energy shot business in the mass market still is dominated by one player — Living Essentials’ 5-Hour Energy has almost 90% dollar share — but Sato Pharmaceutical, which boasts its Yunker Energy as the No. 1 energy shot in Japan, is looking to challenge that domination with the launch and support behind its Yunker Energy product across the United States. The overall category was up 9.3% to $194.5 million across food, drug and mass (excluding Walmart), according to SymphonyIRI Group data.


In April, Sato made a big splash with Yunker Energy at Sakura-Con, an annual consumer trade show around Japanese anime held in Seattle.