It’s time to take a sip of TikTok‘s hottest recent trend: sexy water.

In 2020, content creator Kelly Grace Mae was listening to The Skinny Confidential podcast and heard Lauryn Bosstick speak about sex-ing up her coffee. The phrase stuck and he or she quickly created her own version: sexy water, which may be achieved by mixing water with fun and functional ingredients — electrolyte powders, mineral tinctures, lemon, etc — likely in a cute glass with a fun straw.  

“Sexy water became this romanticized time for me to, within the morning, drink my water and make it more fun,” Mae said. “It felt like less of a chore and more of this self care ritual that I got to do while also habit stacking.”

While Mae gave the trend a reputation and still posts her concoctions on social media, it goes far beyond sexy water, as functional hydration has continued to grow with prebiotic sodas like Poppi hitting retail shelves nationwide, electrolyte powders like Liquid I.V. becoming commonplace and recent beverage corporations like Liquid Death disrupting with edgy branding. 

“When Liquid I.V. entered the market, it revolutionized the concept of hydration, rendering it each enjoyable and hip,” said Rachel Hirsch, founding father of Wellness Growth Ventures, a seed fund focused on female-founded wellness corporations. “Liquid I.V.’s financial success, in turn, catalyzed the expansion of the hydration powder and product category, enlarging the proverbial pie and attracting quite a few competitors.”

Along with Liquid I.V., which was acquired by Unilever in 2020, Liquid Death, known for its beer-like water cans, has experienced growth and expanded its hydration offering with an electrolyte powder Death Dust, $11. Most recently, the corporate closed a $67 million financing round and was valued at $1.4 billion.

Along with the expansion of the hydration category, other trends just like the sleepy girl mocktail and nonalcoholic alternatives have also boosted functional beverages.

“Alcohol and soda consumption are each down, especially with Millennials and Gen Z,” said Liquid Death founder and chief executive officer Mike Cessario. “Our tallboy cans appear to be beer, which individuals love because they’ll have a healthier alternative at a bar, party or music festival without getting asked why they aren’t drinking.”

Hirsch, who has invested in Cure Hydration and BelliWelli which each have powders for water, expects to see growth across women’s health, kids and soda alternatives relating to the functional beverage space.

While there are other drinks to be made — lattes, smoothies, juices — it seems people similar to water. Blume, an ingestible brand known for its superfood latte powders available at Goal, specifically has recognized this. It recently launched its SuperBelly Gut-Constructing Hydration Powder, $32, which features prebiotics, trace minerals, fermented apple cider vinegar and probiotics to hydrate and support a healthy microbiome. 

“People were making our lattes just with hot water, which is definitely not the intended use case. [They’re] intended to be made with milk,” said Blume cofounder and chief executive officer Karen Danudjaja. “People were…wanting this on-the-go format and in order that was why we decided to have SuperBelly be a water-first format, just [to] make it easier for people to devour.” 

While flavored water isn’t a recent concept, as brands like Crystal Light and Mio have been on shelves for years, the taste isn’t enough anymore, as persons are searching for functionality. 

“You will have to see the outcomes. For those who’re actually investing in that sexy water, there needs to be some tangible results,” said Amanda Chantal Bacon, founding father of Moon Juice, which has an array of cellular waters including Magnesi-Om, $42, the important thing ingredient of the sleepy girl mocktail. The brand’s cellular waters category grew 243 percent between 2022 and 2023.

With functionality top of mind, key advantages have turn into popular, including energy, gut health and after all sleep. Nonetheless, irrespective of the additional advantage, hydration is all the time primary as a lot of these formulas include minerals typically lost through water filtration and soil depletion.

While function is leading the category, it’s also in regards to the overall ritual: making the beverage, choosing a cool glass and topping with a glass straw.

“I’m not like certainly one of those girls who the whole lot is aesthetic,” Mae said. “If I can have this one thing — and I actually have an entire cup section on my Amazon storefront because I actually think it is a component of the ritual and the vibe — it just makes me feel like I actually have my life together.”

Brands recognize this and are bringing the approach to life component into their offerings — for instance, Blume sells a Bubble Cup, $16, and Cloud Mug, $24. Danudjaja attributes the interest in accessories to the extensive coffee routines people established during work-from-home, which has carried over into all functional beverages — sexy water, mocktails and low alternatives. 

“It’s bringing personality to [the] space,” she said, adding that this trend resonates with women. “There may be space in wellness to give attention to women, to give attention to women who care about their lifestyle, that care about their aesthetic, to rejoice with it.” 

Hirsch added: “Over 85 percent of buying power on this sector lies with women, signaling a major opportunity for brands to shift their focus accordingly.”

Not only is it fun, but in accordance with ingestible wellness brand Apothékary founder Shizu Okusa and Danudjaja, imagery with a fun glass and drink accessories performs well online and prompts social sharing. 

“The visual aspect is so necessary: colours or using a fun glass or straw,” Okusa said. “The preferred ads that we’ve on our paid search…are the droppers of the tinctures going right into a glass.…It shows this super sexy drop effect in slow motion, they usually really capture someone’s eyes.”

For Mae and lots of sexy water users, the trend has turn into a each day habit that only continues to grow as brands expand their offerings.

“We have gotten those who have emotional support beverages,” said Chantal Bacon. “Once you begin hydrating, it feels so good that you should hydrate in some ways.” 

Kelly’s favorites: 

While Mae often adds easy ingredients like lemon or cucumber to her sexy water, listed below are a few of her favorite products to “sex” it up even further. 

Moon Juice Mini Dew, $44

Moon Juice’s Mini Dew, which is available in watermelon or pomelo, combines electrolytes and minerals to hydrate the body and boost brain health. Mini Dew is Moon Juice’s fourth hottest product when it comes to revenue on the brand’s site.

Rainbo 11:11, $49

Rainbo’s 11:11 tincture is a combination of mushrooms, including reishi, lion’s mane and turkey tail, to support overall immunity.

Kroma Cranberry Hydration Elixir Jar, $35

Also a favourite of Lauryn Bosstick’s, Kroma’s Cranberry Hydration Elixir features electrolytes and minerals for hydration, energy and overall health.

Sakara Life Beauty Water and Detox Water Drops, $39

Sakara Life’s Beauty Water employs trace ionic minerals to spice up cellular hydration and support collagen, while the Detox Water Drops feature chlorophyll to flush out toxins.