The next wave of hydration innovation

What does the next wave of hydration innovation look like? And just how are brands innovating beyond the conventional category realms and shifting towards modern hydration solutions? To us, it feels like brands are starting to ask the bigger questions around hydration, and in doing so are broadening the identity of the category, and the experiential lens attached to it.

For years, coconut water has largely owned the natural hydration conversation, becoming the benchmark natural hydration source, however we’re beginning to see challenger sources emerge.

Take OOZ, a brand that has built its entire proposition around 100% organic birch water, tapped directly from birch trees. Rather than competing on electrolyte fortification, the brand leans into rarity, minimal processing and purity, positioning birch water as a naturally functional "living tonic". It likens to Ample Hydration’s pure maple water sourced directly from the tree itself, as these two propositions seek to challenge coconut water’s dominance through simplified hydration.  

Meanwhile, Woodstock Foods takes the conversation somewhere entirely unexpected. Its Organic Banana Water is positioned as an alternative to both coconut water and traditional sports drinks, built from organically grown heirloom bananas and naturally delivering 765mg electrolytes alongside vitamins A, B6 and C.

The messaging is deliberately provocative: “coconut water is out, banana water is in” and “say YELLOW to plant powdered hydration”. Whether banana water replaces coconut water remains to be seen, but the proposition reflects a wider movement towards discovering entirely new sources and broadening the identity of hydration.

At the same time, hydration is…

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