Science backed consumer insights
Proprietary insights tools that build consumer trust.
Time to Hydrate!
Hydrate your day, your way
Hydration: From Necessity to Lifestyle
Hydration is no longer just about satisfying thirst - it’s a lifestyle choice.
Across Europe, consumers are demanding more from their drinks: refreshment that energizes, restores, and delivers real functional benefits. From sports drinks to enhanced waters, a new generation of smart hydration is redefining how we fuel our bodies and live well.
Time to Hydrate: Because Hydration Needs Change by Occasion
Today, hydration is about more than just replenishing fluids. From workouts to workdays, European consumers expect beverages that do more - supporting endurance, recovery, cognitive clarity, and overall well-being. Drinks that help them stay sharp, energized, and resilient throughout the day are in demand. Sports drinks, enhanced waters, and functional electrolyte blends are reshaping the beverage landscape, blurring the line between performance, wellness, and everyday lifestyle.
For brand owners, this presents a clear opportunity: develop smarter hydration solutions that meet evolving consumer expectations. By combining science-backed ingredients, clean labels, and natural positioning, brands can create beverages that resonate with a new generation of health-conscious consumers - one that values function, flavor, and sustainability in every sip.
The challenge lies in crafting the right formulation: balancing taste and cost-efficiency while keeping pace with shifting consumer preferences across Europe. Success requires smart innovation, transparent communication, and deep regional insights, essential tools for shaping the next wave of hydration innovation and capturing market growth in this dynamic category.
Consumer Trends Driving Hydration
Hydration is evolving from a basic need to a wellness priority. Global beverage launches with hydration claims have doubled in the past five years, rising from 12.6% in 2020 to 22.4% in 2024, and already reaching 19.2% by mid-2025 (Mintel/GNPD).
Consumers are embracing hybrid drinks that combine hydration with added benefits like immunity, gut health, relaxation, focus, and energy. At the same time, demand for natural, less sweet, and clean-label options continues to grow, shaping the next wave of innovation.
dsm-firmenich’s solution
At dsm-firmenich, our industry leading team of experts are here to help you achieve all this and more. We’ll unlock possibilities so that your brand can deliver uniquely delicious and healthier hydration beverages that win in the market. In fact, we’ve brought it all together for you.
Comprehensive product portfolio
Extensive portfolio of flavors, colors and nutritional premixes.
Flavor expertise
Flavor solutions, masking techniques and sugar-reduction solutions.
Application Specialists and Flavorists
Application experts and Flavorists with decades of experience.
Regulatory expertise
Expert knowledge of regulations, ingredient claims and usage.
End-to-End Partnership
From ideation to launch, we provide full support - science, insights, formulation, and scale-up.
Hydration for Every Occasion: Discover Our 5 Unique Concepts
Our European team has developed five innovative hydration concepts, each designed to suit different consumption moments and the benefits consumers are looking for. Whether you’re targeting busy professionals, active adventurers, or wellness-focused individuals, we can collaborate with you to create tailored solutions that resonate with your audience, helping you meet the hydration needs of every consumer.
Hydra Wake
Rebalance in the morning with grapefruit flavored hydration plus muscle and gut health support.
Hydra Focus
Stay sharp with pineapple-mint flavor and a boost of B vitamins and minerals
Hydra Go
Refresh on-the-go with watermelon-peach water and mobility enhancing nutrients.
Hydra Isotonic
Rehydrate fast with refreshing lemon-lime flavor profile reinforced by a cooling mix flavor.
Hydra Social
Unwind and recharge with sparkling blood orange-passionfruit and relaxation botanicals.
“Taste, natural ingredients, vitamins & minerals, and low sugar are the top factors driving consumer choice in hydrating ”
Source: dsm-firmenich proprietary research on hydration
Previous
Next
Ready for captivating consumer insights into hydration?
Our industry-leading application experts and flavorists know how to seamlessly integrate our ingredient solutions into your products, creating perfectly balanced functional beverages — all supported by science-backed benefits and regulatory guidance.
If you’re ready to go beyond basic hydration, so are we. Discover how our solutions can help your drinks stand out on the shelf in the competitive European hydration market.