"The sports drink category has been on fire the past year, and Ghost couldn't be more excited to bring additional efficacy and some of our authentic flavor collaborations to the shelf," said Dan Lourenco, co-founder and CEO of Ghost. "Expanding on the success of our powdered hydration product, we can't wait for the legends out there to get their hands on our RTD hydration product.”
The company sets Ghost Hydration apart from others on the market it says by opting to fully disclose how much of each active ingredient is in the formulation rather than hiding behind a proprietary blend. This ‘Ghost Full Disclosure Label’ can be found throughout its portfolio of sports nutrition products, energy drinks and dietary supplements.
For the hydration line, disclosed ingredients include 996 mg total electrolytes (potassium, magnesium, chloride, calcium and sodium), the recommended daily allowance of vitamins B6, B12 and vitamin C, 500 mg of Aquamin seaweed-derived calcium citrate malate (NuLiv Science USA, Inc.) and 50 mg of Senactiv Panax notoginseng and Rosa roxburghii (Marigot Ltd) extracts.
The new RTD is sold online at drinkghost.com, Amazon, GNC and The Vitamin Shoppe by the dozen and is available at convenience stores and groceries including 7-Eleven, Kroger, Walmart and Target in Orange Squeeze, Lemon Lime, Kiwi Strawberry and Sour Patch Kids “Redberry” flavors.
The hydration boom
Ghost’s ready-to-drink hydration line enters a market already high on hydration. According to The Vitamin Shoppe’s Health & Wellness Trend Report 2023, the category experienced a 200% surge in website searches from one year prior and a considerable spike in sales.
Market research firm SPINS saw dollar sales across the hydration and electrolyte category peak at nearly $58 million in August 2023 (up 75% year-on-year) and remain elevated through the winter months, rounding out the year with nearly $43 million in December (up 53% year-on-year).
The Vitamin Shoppe report also noted that although these functional beverages have traditionally targeted “exceptionally active individuals like athletes and people with medical conditions,” a new demographic of younger consumers is driving the market beyond the sports nutrition category (as seen by the droves of school-age children latching onto the Prime hydration hype).
Speaking at the NutraIngredients-USA Sports & Active Nutrition Summit (SANS) last year, Ken Huntly, senior director of merchandising at GNC, also noted that hydration has gone mainstream and all-season as a broader range of consumers increasingly understand the benefits and complexities of staying well hydrated throughout the year.
“It’s really grown exponentially in terms of the number of brands, the number of products and the end-use benefits of those products related to hydration and what they’re targeted to solve for,” he said.
Ghost at SANS 2024
Ghost’s Dan Lourenco will join NutraIngredients-USA at the upcoming Sports & Active Nutrition Summit to share insights on the company’s rapid rise from a disruptive breakthrough sports nutrition brand to Red Bull, Monster and Prime competitor.
Launched in 2016 alongside co-founder and former professional bodybuilder Ryan Hughes, Ghost has focused on finding success through fun, innovation and authenticity across the increasingly competitive sports nutrition, esports and energy beverage categories. It is also known for differentiating itself by tapping into throwback flavor collaborations with the likes of OREO, Chips Ahoy!, Sour Patch Kids, Sonic Drive-In, Warheads, Swedish Fish and Welch's.
Held from Feb. 12 to 14 at the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Hotel in San Diego, this year's Sports & Active Nutrition Summit gathers some of the biggest names in the industry to discuss topics including the state of the market, the changing regulatory landscape, disruptive tech, women’s health and the latest in science and innovative ingredients.