    G: Gigi, R: Respondent The key questions and answers are bold. The answers underlined are some interesting findings.  Interviewee 1 (Female, 20) G: Please tell me which faculty you are in. R: Okay. I am in the faculty of business and economics.  G: Have you ever had any sports drinks? R: Yes, I had.  G: How often do you have sports drinks? R: Not very often. I have plenty of choices for drinks.  G: On what occasions do you have sports drinks? R: Well… There’re no particular occasions that I would have sports drinks. I’ll have them whenever they come to my mind…like, when I’m studying or merely when I’m thirsty.  G: Why do you think you would have sports drinks on those occasions, say when you are studying or when you are thirsty? R: I have sports drinks when I’m studying, because I believe that they could help to keep my spirits, so that I could concentrate on my studies. You know, your mind doesn’t function after reading the boring textbooks for a period of time. Having some sports drinks could get you freshen up.  G: Please tell me the brands of sports drinks that you know. Name as many as possible. R: Pocari, Gatorade… I don’t know… Is Redbull a kind of sports drinks? G: No, it isn’t. Sports drinks are beverages that are intended to replenish nutrients, water, sugars and so on. Redbull is classified as an energy drink, as it is rich in sugars and caffeine. R: Oh, I see. So… what I know are Pocari and Gatorade.  G: Okay. When talking about sports drinks, what can you think of? It might be an object or a person. R: Well…Sports drinks make me think of a charger. When your mobile phone or other electronic devices are out of battery, you got to use a charger and plug the devices to the socket. Sports drinks are like a charger for humans!  G: Nice metaphor. Let’s come to the next question. What are the important criteria for selecting sports drinks? R: Well… I usually choose the brand I like. Favour is another criterion that I can think of. I usually choose the sports drinks with mints. Price is also something that I’ll pay attention to. You know. It’s just a drink and I don’t expect that it’s too expensive.   G: Which brand do you purchase most frequently? R: Pocari, I guess.  G: Why do you choose Pocari among all the other brands? R: Well… I already have a feeling that most sports drinks are very alike. Pocari is the first sports drinks that I have ever tried, so I don’t think I am going to switch to other brands very often. Pocari is also available for sale in many places, like the school campus.   G: Think back to the time when you were buying sports drinks. Where did you get the information about sports drinks? R: Mainly from ads. Sometimes, I may also purchase a certain brand of sports drinks because my friends say that it’s good.  G: Where do you usually buy sports drinks? R: In the supermarket or the vending machines in the school campus or shopping malls.  G: Please comment on the overall quality of Pocari. R: It’s quite nice. It’s quite refreshing and the price is reasonable…But it’d better if it has more favours, like Lemon-mint.  G: Can you tell me how your perfect sports drink is? R: Well… A perfect sports drink should be quite nutritious and gives a refreshing feeling. It should have a wide range of favours…The price should also be reasonable.  G: If your friends want to buy sports drinks, what advice would you give him/her? R: Pay attention to the nutritional values. Choose the ones that are more nutritious.   Interviewee 2 (Female, 19) G: Please tell me which faculty you are in. R: I am from the faculty of Social Sciences.  G: Have you ever had any sports drinks? R: Yes, I had.  G: How often do you have sports drinks? R: Not very often. About once or twice per month.  G: On what occasions do you have sports drinks? R: I usually have sports drinks after doing sports.  G: How often do you engage in sports activities? R: About twice per week. I am a member of some sports teams. So, I engage in some regular practices for sports. G: But you said that you only have sports drinks about once or twice per month. So, what do you usually drink after doing sports? R: I usually drink water. You know, water is much cheaper. G: Do you think that sports drinks and water are equally good?  R: Of course not. I suppose sports drinks can quench my thirst better than water. But, it would be quite costly to buy a bottle sports drink every time after doing sports. For water, I can simply get it from the canteen for free!  G: Why do you think you would have sports drinks after doing sports? R: Well… Sports drinks are the best for quenching my thirst after doing sports. And From the ads, sports drinks are supposed to replenish nutrients and water quickly after doing sports activities.  G: Please tell me the brands of sports drinks that you know. Name as many as possible. R: Redbull, Lucozade, Pocari, Gatorade. G: Which Lucozade do you refer to?  R: The orange ones. G: Actually, Redbull and the Lucozade that you mentioned are energy drinks, instead of a sports drink. Sports drinks are beverages that are intended to replenish nutrients, water, sugars and so on. R: I see.   G: When talking about sports drinks, what can you think of? It might be an object or a person. R: What I can think of are athletes, the Olympics and gold medals…that sort of things.  G: What are the important criteria for selecting sports drinks? R: Favour is my main concern. I like some fruity favour, in particular. Price is also something that I will look at.  G: Which brand do you purchase most frequently? R: Catorade.  G: Why do you choose Catorade among all the other brands? R: Most of my friends say Catorade is the best. So, I just believe them and purchase Catorade. Of course, I did try a number of brands personally and find that Catorade is the best.  G: Think back to the time when you were buying sports drinks. Where did you get the information about sports drinks? R: From ads and from friends.   G: Where do you usually buy sports drinks? R: Mostly in supermarkets.  G: Please comment on the overall quality of Catorade. R: It has a wide range of favours. Grapefruit favour is my favourite. Other brands taste more or less the same. And I think Catorade can really quench my thirst efficiently after doing sports activities. In the past, some Catorade bottles got a mouthpiece that fits our mouth. Such design allows me to drink more easily when doing physical exercises. However, products with such bottles are no longer on sale in Hong Kong. I hope Catorade can resume to its old design, as it would suit the needs of athletes better.  G: Can you tell me how your perfect sports drink is? R: It should quench my thirst pretty quickly after doing sports. It should also have good nutritional values…And good designs for the bottle as well…something that makes it easier to grip the bottle with my sweaty hands… Also, I hope the price would go down a little bit.  G: If your friends want to buy sports drinks, what advice would you give him/her? R: Purchase those which are rich in water, nutrients and so on. Don’t just look at the favours.   Interviewee 3 (Male, 20) G: Please tell me which faculty you are in. R: I am from the faculty of Arts  G: Have you ever had any sports drinks? R: Yes, I had.  G: How often do you have sports drinks? R: About 3 times a month.  G: On what occasions do you have sports drinks? R: Well… I have sports drinks when I’m having lunch…Sometimes during lectures.  G: Why do you think you would have sports drinks during lunch or lectures? R: Well…I think sports drinks are a kind of soft drinks…I am used to have some soft drinks when having lunch or lectures. That’s my habit and I don’t know how to explain it.  G: Please tell me the brands of sports drinks that you know. Name as many as possible. R: Gatorade, Pocari, Lucozade. G: Which Lucozade do you refer to?  R: The orange ones.  G: Actually, the orange Lucozade that you mentioned are energy drinks, instead of a sports drink. Sports drinks are beverages that are intended to replenish nutrients, water, sugars and so on. R: Oh, I see. I seldom see the silvery ones.  G: When talking about sports drinks, what can you think of? It might be an object or a person. R: I can think of a nice shower. It’s equally refreshing as having a soft drink in the hot weather. I would also think of my favourite Soccer stars, like Rooney, Gerrard. Their images are consistent with sports drinks.  G: What are the important criteria for selecting sports drinks? R: Favour. It’s the most important criterion for any types of drinks.  G: Which brand do you purchase most frequently? R: Catorade.  G: Why do you choose Catorade among all the other brands? R: Well… I switch to different soft drinks from time to time. I have tried a number of brands, and find that Catorade tastes the best.  G: Think back to the time when you were buying sports drinks. Where did you get the information about sports drinks? R: From ads. I go to supermarket sometimes and check if there’re any new products.   G: Where do you usually buy sports drinks?NEW