Electrolytes — Traced

Before You Buy

What to Look For in Electrolytes

🧂 Sodium content is the number that matters most — and most brands hide it

Sweat losses run 500–1,000mg sodium per hour of hard exercise
Most mainstream products contain 50–250mg per serving — a fraction of what you need — because high-sodium tastes medicinal
LMNT (1,000mg) and DripDrop (330mg) are the exceptions. Check the sodium number first.

Red flag — Under 300mg sodium per serving for active use

🍬 Sugar vs. sweetener — the tradeoff most brands skip

Glucose genuinely aids sodium absorption via the SGLT1 co-transporter — real science behind sugar in oral rehydration
Most brands use sugar for taste, not physiology, at levels (10–14g) that add caloric load without meaningful absorption benefit
Stevia/monk fruit avoids this but tastes different — neither is universally better, depends on use case

Ask — is the sugar for absorption or for taste?

💊 "Clinical" and "medical-grade" claims are almost never regulated

DripDrop holds an FDA ORS Monograph — a real regulatory designation for oral rehydration solutions meeting WHO/UNICEF standards
Liquid IV, Pedialyte Sport, and most others use "clinical" language that refers to general electrolyte research, not their specific formula
These are marketing claims, not certifications

Red flag — "Clinical" without citing specific regulatory clearance

💧 "Hydrates 2–3x more than water" exploits a misunderstanding

These claims reference sodium + glucose creating a hypotonic solution that aids intestinal absorption — real science, misleadingly applied
The comparison baseline is plain water, not what you drink during exercise
For normal daily hydration, water is not inadequate. The claim implies otherwise.

Red flag — Hydration multiplier language without osmolarity data

🏥 Wellness positioning vs. rehydration positioning — different products

Liquid IV and Pedialyte Sport: positioned for general wellness hydration
LMNT and DripDrop: formulated for active exercise and clinical rehydration
The product that looks better in a lifestyle photo is not necessarily the product that performs better during a hard workout

Ask — what is this product actually formulated for?

🏢 Most "clean" electrolyte brands are owned by the conglomerates they market against

Liquid IV → Unilever. Nuun → Nestlé (then Edgewell). Pedialyte → Abbott Labs.
The "clean sports hydration" positioning exists inside the same conglomerate infrastructure that makes Gatorade
Check the parent company before the label

Red flag — "Independent" brand owned by beverage conglomerate

Brand	Ownership	Sodium / Serving	Added Sugar	3rd-Party Certified	Batch COAs	Influencer Equity	Price / Serving	Overall
LMNT Zero-Sugar Electrolyte Drink Mix Drink LMNT, Inc. — Robb Wolf, co-founder (active)	Independent	1,000mg 43% FDA daily value	✓ None (stevia)	~ Informed Choice	✗	~ Undisclosed	~$1.50 per packet	Yellow
Formula 1,000mg Na · 200mg K · 60mg Mg No proprietary blend. All amounts disclosed. Stevia-sweetened, no added sugar, no artificial flavors. Owner Drink LMNT, Inc. Co-founded by Robb Wolf (still active). Bootstrapped. No PE or conglomerate parent. No Series A disclosed. Key Gaps ✓ Full ingredient disclosure ✓ Informed Choice certified ✗ Batch COAs not published ○ Huberman/Attia equity: undisclosed ○ Montana class action filed (fillers claim) Key Finding The sodium dosing is legitimate for its stated use case. The transparency gap is influencer economics — podcast sponsorships involving equity create undisclosed conflicts that affect how the science is presented to consumers. Full Report →
Ultima Electrolyte Powder Drink Mix WM Partners (PE) — acquired July 2019	PE-Owned	55mg 2% FDA daily value	✓ None (stevia)	✗ Non-GMO only	✗	✓ None apparent	~$0.55 per serving	Yellow
Formula 55mg Na · 250mg K · 100mg Mg 6 electrolytes + Vitamin C + zinc. Stevia-sweetened. Clean label, plant-based colors. No artificial anything. Owner WM Partners (FL-based PE) Acquired July 2019. Firmament Group debt investment Dec 2020. Founded 1996 — long pre-acquisition history. No formulation changes documented post-PE. Key Gaps ✓ Fully clean label ✓ No influencer equity concerns ✗ 55mg sodium: insufficient for exercise replenishment ✗ No batch COAs published ○ "Replenisher" name overstates Na dose for athletes Key Finding A genuinely clean product positioned in the wrong use case. 55mg sodium cannot replenish meaningful sweat losses — the "Replenisher" brand name implies function the formula doesn't deliver during exercise. Best read as a daily flavoring supplement, not a sports hydration product. Full Report →
Nuun Sport Electrolyte Tablets Nestlé Health Science — acquired July 2021	Conglomerate	300mg 13% FDA daily value	✓ 1g sugar (dextrose)	✗ No NSF cert	✓ B-Corp certified	✓	~$0.75 per tablet	Yellow
Formula 300mg Na · 150mg K · 25mg Mg · 13mg Ca · 40mg Cl 5 electrolytes, 1g dextrose, stevia sweetened. All amounts fully disclosed. Effervescent tablet format — distinctive and portable. Owner Nestlé Health Science (CHF 100B+ parent) Founded Seattle 2004. TSG Consumer Partners took minority PE stake in 2017. Nestlé Health Science acquired fully July 1, 2021. Now sits alongside Garden of Life, Vital Proteins, Boost in the Nestlé nutrition portfolio. Key Gaps ✗ Nestlé-owned since 2021 ✗ No NSF Certified for Sport ✗ No publicly available batch COAs ✓ Certified B-Corp (pre-acquisition, maintained) ✓ Non-GMO Project Verified ✓ 100% dose-disclosed formula Key Finding The formula is genuinely transparent — every electrolyte amount disclosed, clean ingredient list, stevia-sweetened. The ownership is the watch condition: Nestlé is one of the world's largest food conglomerates. B-Corp certification maintained post-acquisition, but no independent testing certification (NSF) and no public batch COAs limit verification for athletes subject to drug testing. Full Report →
DripDrop ORS Electrolyte Powder Public Benefit Corp — founded 2008, independent	Ind. PBC	330mg 14% FDA daily value	✗ 7g sugar (ORS-required)	✓ NSF Content + Sport (16oz)	✓	✓	~$1.12 per packet	High Transparency
Formula 330mg Na · 185mg K · 39mg Mg · 7g sugar · Zinc + Vitamin C Sugar is structurally required for the sodium-glucose cotransport mechanism — not incidental sweetening. DripDrop's own FAQ explains this explicitly. Patented formula (US #8557301). Origin Dr. Eduardo Dolhun, MD — humanitarian aid physician Founded 2008 after Dolhun witnessed cholera outbreaks in Guatemala in 1993. Structured as a Public Benefit Corporation. Over 10M servings donated to disaster relief globally. Mayo Clinic Humanitarian Award recipient. No conglomerate acquisition. Certifications ✓ NSF Content Certified (16oz sticks) ✓ NSF Certified for Sport (16oz sticks) ✓ Non-GMO, Gluten-Free, Vegan, Kosher ✓ Public Benefit Corporation — mission-locked ○ Sugar required for ORS mechanism — transparent about why ✗ NSF sport cert limited to 16oz stick format only Key Finding The most transparent ownership and science story in the category. Physician-founded, Public Benefit Corporation, NSF Sport certified, formula rationale publicly documented. The sugar is ORS-mechanism-required and DripDrop explains it clearly — unlike Liquid IV which obscures the same science behind a trademark. Watch condition: NSF sport cert applies to 16oz format only; smaller sticks are NSF Content only. Full Report →
Pedialyte Classic Oral Electrolyte Solution Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) — since 1966	Conglomerate	370mg per 12oz serving	✗ 5–9g sugar + artificial dyes	✓ #1 doctor-recommended	✗	✓	~$0.50 per 12oz serving	Yellow
Formula 370mg Na · 280mg K · 440mg Cl · 5–9g sugar · Zinc Flavored versions contain sucralose, acesulfame potassium, and artificial dyes (Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 6). Classic unflavored avoids synthetic dyes. Formulation unchanged since 1966 — it works, and it's the medical gold standard for pediatric rehydration. Owner Abbott Laboratories — $190B+ NYSE-listed pharmaceutical conglomerate Pedialyte invented 1966, hospital distribution began 1966, consumer sales 1969. Abbott has owned it since inception. #1 doctor-recommended ORS in the US. 2015 adult marketing pivot explicitly targeted hangover recovery — "See the Lyte" campaign — without FDA indication change. Key Gaps ✗ Abbott is a $190B pharmaceutical conglomerate ✗ Flavored versions contain Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 6 artificial dyes ✗ Adult hangover marketing campaign (2015+) without clinical evidence hangovers are improved beyond basic rehydration ✗ No batch COAs publicly available ✓ Most studied ORS formula in the world ✓ Formulation transparently disclosed, no proprietary blends Key Finding The formula is legitimate and well-established — 50+ years of clinical use, backed by WHO ORS science. The transparency concern is the marketing repositioning: a pediatric clinical formula rebranded for adult hangovers via influencer seeding (#TeamPedialyte), without changing the formulation or obtaining an FDA indication for hangover recovery. Flavored versions' artificial dyes are a secondary concern for health-conscious consumers. Unflavored Classic is the cleanest option. Full Report →
Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier Unilever — acquired October 2020	Conglomerate	510mg 22% FDA daily value	✗ 11g added sugar	✗ Non-NSF	✗	✗ Pre-acquisition equity	~$1.56 per packet	Red
Formula 510mg Na · 370mg K · 11g sugar Sugar is structurally required for CTT mechanism. Sugar-free version swaps to allulose — but the CTT mechanism no longer functions as described. Owner Unilever (Dove, Vaseline, Axe) Acquired Oct 2020 (~$500M reported). Now the largest brand in Unilever's €1.9B Health & Wellbeing division. Quadrupled in size post-acquisition. Key Gaps ✗ Unilever-owned since 2020 ✗ CTT is a proprietary name for standard ORS science ✗ 11g sugar: marketed as "daily" — problematic for diabetics ✗ No NSF cert, no batch COAs ○ Sugar-free version undermines the CTT claim it was built on Key Finding CTT is the WHO oral rehydration solution renamed. The science is real — but it's not proprietary and it's not new. Unilever now owns a product whose core claim is a trademarked name for 1970s WHO science. No independent testing transparency. Full Report →
ROAR Organic Complete Hydration™ Factory LLC (CPG equity) — stake 2020, $10M add 2024	PE-Backed	~80mg 3% FDA daily value	~ 2–3g sugar + erythritol	✗ USDA Organic ✓	✗	✓ Founder-led	~$2.50 per 18oz bottle	Yellow
Formula ~80mg Na · ~150mg K · 2–3g sugar · B vitamins · coconut water base Magnesium and calcium not quantified on label. "Complete Hydration" claim unsupported by clinical electrolyte thresholds — ~80mg sodium is 12× lower than LMNT and 6× lower than Liquid IV per bottle. Owner Factory LLC (CPG equity fund) Took equity stake 2020, deployed $10M add-on March 2024 after record 2023. Founder Roly Nesi still CEO. Factory positions brands for acquisition. Total funding ~$36.3M across 9 rounds. Key Gaps ✗ "Complete Hydration" — sodium ~80mg total; trace level for athletic rehydration ✗ "Proprietary electrolyte blend" = coconut water concentrate + sea salt, not novel science ✗ No NSF cert, no batch COAs published ○ USDA Organic, Non-GMO, Vegan — certifications are real and verified ✓ No artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners; clean label Key Finding ROAR is the Bloom of the electrolyte category — aesthetic-lifestyle positioning, strong USDA Organic credentials, but electrolyte payload too light to justify "Complete Hydration" marketing. Factory LLC backing signals a brand being built for acquisition, not long-term independence. Full Report →

What We Found

The electrolyte category has a problem that protein doesn't: the core science is genuinely simple and genuinely settled, but the marketing infrastructure built around it implies complexity that justifies premium pricing. Sodium, potassium, and magnesium in appropriate ratios replace what sweat removes. That's been known since at least the 1970s WHO cholera research. What the category sells is a branded version of that knowledge — and the brands differ mainly in which aspect of the science they emphasize and whether their financial relationships with the people presenting it to you are disclosed.

The sodium dosing debate is the clearest example. LMNT's 1,000mg sodium is legitimate for its stated use case — endurance athletes, heavy sweaters, people on ketogenic diets that increase sodium excretion. The problem is that this specific use case was communicated to a mass audience through podcast sponsorships where the economic relationships between brand and host were either undisclosed or incompletely disclosed. That changes how the "evidence" reads.

Liquid IV's CTT is the most flagrant example of trademarking public domain science. Oral rehydration therapy using a sodium-glucose cotransport mechanism is how every pediatric rehydration packet works — including Pedialyte since 1966 and DripDrop since 2010. Liquid IV did not invent it. They named it, branded it, and sold it to Unilever for a reported $500M. DripDrop uses the same mechanism and explains it plainly on their FAQ page. The science is identical; the transparency is not.

Pedialyte is the category's most interesting case study in use-case drift. A clinical formula that's been working for 60 years — unchanged, validated, legitimate — repositioned for adult hangovers through influencer seeding (#TeamPedialyte, beer koozies, festival sampling) without a new FDA indication and without clinical evidence of superiority to water for hangover beyond basic rehydration. The product didn't change. The marketing premise did.

How to Read This Category

Sodium dose matters and is use-case specific. 55mg (Ultima) is appropriate for people already getting sodium from food who want casual hydration. 300–370mg (Nuun, DripDrop, Pedialyte) aligns with moderate exercise. 1,000mg (LMNT) is appropriate for endurance exercise or keto. Neither is the "correct" daily dose for everyone.
CTT, Cellular Transport Technology, Hydration Multiplier — these are marketing names for the sodium-glucose cotransport mechanism described in WHO oral rehydration guidelines since the 1970s. The mechanism is real. The trademark is not science. DripDrop uses the same mechanism and calls it ORS science. Pedialyte has used it since 1966 and calls it what it is.
Sugar in ORS-based products is functional, not incidental. A sugar-free version of Liquid IV cannot deliver the same absorption speed the CTT claim implies — their own science acknowledges this. DripDrop's zero-sugar version uses a different transport mechanism (sodium-amino acid co-transport) and is transparent about the difference.
Influencer economics in this category are systematically underreported. The FTC requires disclosure of material connections — but enforcement is weak and compliance is inconsistent. Pedialyte's #TeamPedialyte program sent free merchandise in exchange for posts. Treat undisclosed sponsorships involving nutrition claims as a transparency flag regardless of which direction the relationship runs.
Conglomerate ownership creates cost-pressure incentives. Nestlé owns Nuun, Unilever owns Liquid IV, Abbott has owned Pedialyte since 1966. DripDrop is the only top-tier brand in this category that has never been acquired. That's unusual. It doesn't make the others untrustworthy — but watch for reformulations and certifications that lapse post-acquisition.
NSF Certified for Sport ≠ formula quality. NSF sport cert confirms that what's listed on the label is present and no banned substances are included. It does not evaluate sodium adequacy, ingredient quality, or whether the science claims are accurate. DripDrop (16oz sticks) has it. Nuun, Pedialyte, Liquid IV, Ultima, and LMNT do not.
ROAR Organic introduced a new pattern: lifestyle brand with trace electrolytes. ~80mg sodium per 18oz bottle is not an electrolyte product by any clinical threshold. It's a flavored organic water with B vitamins. "Complete Hydration" on the label is marketing for everyday casual consumption — but the branding reads like athletic recovery. USDA Organic is real. The functional claim is not.
Deep Dives

Electro-lytes

What to Look For in Electrolytes

Electro-
lytes