Gatorade, the sports drink that spawned the category, will soon be flanked by uniquely positioned support beverages. The new products, along with new packaging, athlete tie-ins and a finely tuned marketing campaign are all parts of a carefully crafted plan bearing a reported $30 million price tag that the company hopes will pull the brand out of a sales slump.

The company has retooled its marketing approach to cover three stages of hydration—before, during and after exercise. Two new beverages—Prime 01 and Recover 03—are intended to bookend exercise activity.

Prior to exercise, Gatorade Prime 01, sold in a four ounce pouch and available in three flavors, contains niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5) and vitamin B6, as well as carbohydrates and electrolytes. It was formulated for use within 15 minutes before a workout or competition and provides “pre-game fuel” for athletes who “don’t want to feel too full.” The product is said to provide “real carbohydrate energy, not the perceived energy that comes from highly caffeinated beverages.” Because of the product’s higher carbohydrate concentration it has a slightly thicker consistency than traditional Gatorade.

The existing Thirst Quencher and G2 beverage lines, both bearing “Perform 02” on their labels, continue to be positioned to be consumed during exercise. Both lines will also be getting fresh, “functional” new packaging with retooled graphics. The G2 packaging will also feature a new message letting consumers know that the product’s per serving calorie count has been reduced from 25 to 20 calories per eight-ounce serving.

Recover 03 is a post exercise beverage available in three flavors and sold in a 16.9-oz. bottle. It contains 16 grams of whey protein to help promote muscle recovery, as well as 14 grams of carbohydrate (130 calories), 250 mg of sodium, and 95 mg of potassium to help athletes fully replace electrolytes lost during training and competition. It is formulated for use within 30-60 minutes after athletic activity, to help promote muscle recovery to help athletes get ready for their next workout or competition.

The company said research led them to choose whey protein over other types of protein.“Milk proteins such as whey and casein are high quality proteins that have been shown numerous times through research to deliver a muscle recovery benefit,” the company said. “We selected the specific whey protein in Gatorade Recover 03 because it is a high quality protein, capable of delivering the muscle recovery benefit and because it allowed us to deliver a refreshing, great-tasting beverage.”

Massimo d’Amore, CEO of PepsiCo’s Americas Beverages group, told attendees at a recent Beverage Digest Future Smarts conference that the overhaul and new product introductions were the company’s effort to “reset the clock” and “get back to meaningful innovation for the category.”

The innovation couldn’t come at a better time, considering both the company’s sales and market share volumes for last year experienced a disappointing drop, presumably because consumers sought out cheaper hydration alternatives, like bottled water. Although the company pushed hard with its “What is G?” marketing campaign, designed to appeal to the everyday consumer, the product line now seems to be more targeted toward athletes. The company said it will support its new products with marketing campaigns that will include a broad range of athletes such as Derek Jeter, Dwyane Wade, Usain Bolt and Peyton Manning, showcasing famous and average athletes alike. The new missiong.com website also features social networking and game tie-ins to promote the brand.

During a presentation at the Future Smarts conference, Bill Pecoriello, CEO of Consumer Edge Research, said that the sports drink category is poised to experience 3% growth in 2010, on the heels of a year characterized by double-digit declines. “We think sports drinks are up next year behind the relaunch of Gatorade and all of the spending that’s going to happen in that category,” he said.

The new Gatorade products began rolling out last month.