Hydration still going strong but will its trajectory last?

Photo © AdobeStock.com/LIPO@SEXTAO22

For full Ingredients to Watch coverage and sales data from SPINS, click here.

Hydration has once again made our list of categories to watch. In the mainstream multi-outlet channel, based on the 52 weeks ending October 6, 2024, hydration was a top selling category, growing 32.8% compared to the previous year to reach $639,142,984. Within the hydration category, potassium and taurine are among the fastest growing ingredients. Potassium saw 414.8% sales growth compared to the previous year and taurine saw 179.2% sales growth.

“The depth of the growth is surprising to me just because it’s such a large category right now and usually you just don’t see those kinds of numbers for large categories like that,” says Scott Dicker, market insights director for SPINS LLC. “And then on top of that, over the past couple of years, we saw sports drinks, which is pretty much the ready-to-drink version of these, having huge growth. That has softened a little bit. So, I’m starting to think that maybe that was kind of a leading indicator and this year we might see hydration soften a bit, but again, softening could still mean having a very strong year.”

A common theme for many trending ingredients and categories is that manufacturers are finding and consumers are responding to new use cases. “It’s not just people who are doing intense bike rides in the mountains or doing jiujitsu. It’s people going through their ‘daily hydration regimen,’” says Dicker. “There’s new expansion beyond that core and this is another example of starting from active nutrition, going into other health focuses and finding a lot of success. It should also be worth mentioning that there’s a lot of players coming to this category. So, a lot of new exciting SKUs, different flavors, things like that that give this category continued innovation.”

Given their importance in formulating hydration products, it’s no surprise that potassium and taurine seeing this much growth. Potassium plays a particularly important role in hydration, says Irfan Qureshi, ND, Global Head of Product Development at Metagenics.

“[Potassium] acts as an electrolyte to help maintain fluid balance across cell membranes,” explains Qureshi. “Potassium is especially important as it is the most abundant positively charged ion in cellular fluid. It functions to ensure adequate water enters and stays inside cells, keeping them hydrated. It works together with sodium, the most abundant positively charged ion outside cells to maintain fluid balance across cell membranes.”

He adds that, “During exertion when we sweat, in addition to losing fluids, the body also loses electrolytes including potassium. Replenishing potassium levels can help restore fluid balance in cells supporting their proper hydration.”

Minerals like potassium, sodium, and chloride, otherwise known as electrolytes, are crucial for hydration. According to data from SPINS, multi-minerals was the top selling ingredient in the hydration category of the multi-outlet channel, and it grew 42.9% from the previous year. These minerals “work together to achieve proper fluid balance inside and outside of cells,” says Qureshi. “Their function also creates the membrane potential, which is an electrical and chemical gradient across cells. The membrane potential facilitates nerve transmission and muscle function in addition to ensuring optimal hydration status. It also facilitates the transport of nutrients into cells and the removal of toxins from cells.”

Taurine is an important complement to these minerals. An amino acid that is involved in a range of physiological processes including cardiovascular health and the central nervous system, taurine interacts with sodium, potassium, and magnesium ions to contain potassium and magnesium inside the cell and prevent excessive sodium entry.¹ This essentially balances the electrolytes in the body. There is also some evidence that taurine may help manage inflammation and oxidative stress during exercise, promoting recovery.² Of course, even for those who are not highly active, the addition of taurine does have an impact on important aspects of health such as cardiovascular health. For example, taurine accounts for about 50% of the total free amino acids in the heart, and may support cardiac contractability and improve heart function, based on both human and animal studies.³ The ingredient may also support endothelial function by promoting nitric oxide production. So, taurine is an ingredient that has utility across multiple health focuses.

While Dicker does say that the softening of ready-to-drink formats could indicate a potential softening of hydration supplements, that doesn’t mean there will be some kind of bust. More than likely, growth may continue just on a smaller scale. There is still a great deal of room for innovation in hydration through a number of avenues such as flavor and the inclusion of new functional ingredients. Given that hydration is standing on its own outside of active nutrition, the inclusion of ingredients that expand the health benefits of hydration products to things like brain health or heart health could continue to move the hydration category forward.

References

1. Smith, Y. Taurine Physiological Functions. News Medical Life Sciences. June 19, 2023. https://www.news-medical.net/health/Taurine-Physiological-Functions.aspx (accessed 2025-01-22)
2. Kurtz, J.A.; VanDusseldorp, T.A.; Doyle, J.A.; Otis, J.S. Taurine in sports and exercise. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2021, 18, 39. DOI: 10.1186/s12970-021-00438-0
3. Santulli, G.; Kansakar, U.; Varzideh, F.; Mone, P.; Jankauskas, S.S.; Lombardi, A.Functional Role of Taurine in Aging and Cardiovascular Health: An Updated Overview. Nutrients. 2023, 15 (19), 4236. DOI: 10.3390/nu15194236