The energy drink market will be shifting its focus away from younger demographics to senior citizens in 2012

The energy drink market will experience a significant change in 2012, with beverage makers shifting their focus away from younger demographics to senior citizens, and consumers seeking out natural sources of liquid energy over sugar-loaded, canned beverages, predicts a consumer research institute.

Traditionally marketed towards younger consumers, the energy drink market will slowly wake up to the fact that it has been neglecting an even bigger consumer market in the over-60, retired crowd and become increasingly popular among seniors, predicts The Values Institute at DGWB in California.

Take for instance 5-Hour Energy’s partnership with actor John Ratzenberger, best known for his role as Cliff Clavin in the 1980s  sitcom Cheers, the report points out.

At the beginning of 2011, the company which produces pocket-sized energy drinks enlisted Ratzenberger to hawk the product as a restorative pick-me-up for a senior citizen crowd keen to maintain an active lifestyle.

Unlike energy drinks, energy shots come in portable 2-ounce or 50 ml bottles that deliver a powerful shot of caffeine in a few sips. Brands like 5-Hour, Rockstar, 6 Hour Power and NOS Power contain as much caffeine as their larger counterparts like Red Bull, Monster and Lucozade, only in concentrated formulas and less calories.

Common ingredients include stimulants like caffeine and herbs like guarana, ginseng or gingko biloba.

Meanwhile, the energy drink market also has the potential to swing the other way, says the same report, with more and more consumers seeking out energy boosts the all-natural way through foods and ingredients like green tea extract, vitamins, whole grains and fresh fruit.

Juice bars like Jamba Juice and Booster Juice, for instance, sell natural, fruit-based energy shots and are enjoying rising popularity, while Starbucks recently announced plans to move from java to juice after acquiring juicery Evolution Fresh, based in California.

More consumers will also adopt the “Flexitarian” lifestyle in 2012, the report says, as they voluntarily reduce their meat intake for health reasons. The rising popularity of Meatless Mondays, an initiative developed in association with John Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health, is offered as a prime example of the rise of the part-time vegetarian.