Waterdrop is a hydration brand that sells effervescent cubes that dissolve into water. Their products have great branding, and the company’s stated mission is to “encourage you to drink more water.”
But what's actually in Waterdrop? Is it healthier than other popular water flavoring products like MiO? Does it contain any unhealthy ingredients? And what's the healthiest Waterdrop product?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Waterdrop to give our take on whether or not the brand is healthy.
We'll also review other Waterdrop products like "Microlyte" and "Microenergy" to pick our winners, and compare Waterdrop's healthiness to MiO.
Key takeaways:
- Most ingredients are "clean" and healthy
- Contains some inactive ingredients we consider unhealthy
- We do not currently recommend Waterdrop
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in the SNOW flavor of Waterdrop are shown below:
We’ll focus on the good news first.
Vegetable juice is used for natural color, and this is a much healthier alternative to artificial dye.
Blueberry juice powder and apple powder are used as natural sweeteners, and while both are nutritious options, there can't be very much of either ingredient in one serving, because fruit is high in sugar and one serving of this product provides 0 grams (g) of sugar.
Now, we'll share the bad news.
Citric acid is a preservative and flavor enhancer that was documented in the Toxicology Reports journal to cause whole-body inflammation in some individuals.
Natural flavor is a broad, categorical descriptor that fails to identify the specific chemical compound(s) used for the flavor.
As we documented in our Vitapod review article, some flavoring agents may have toxic effects in the body according to at least one medical review.
Overall, we consider Waterdrop to be a better option than something like soda, but we certainly don't think that this product makes water "healthier."
Is Waterdrop Healthier Than MiO?
MiO is another popular drink flavoring brand, so consumers are often curious about which is a better option.
We consider Waterdrop to be a much healthier option than MiO.
As we documented in our article on is MiO bad for you, MiO Original contains artificial sweeteners, synthetic preservatives, questionable flavoring agents and artificial food dye. It also contains citric acid.
The ingredients in the Lemonade flavor of MiO Original are shown below:
Waterdrop is also a more sustainable brand in our opinion. Most of their packaging is plastic-free, and according to the brand’s Sustainability page, they are “Plastic-Positive” because for every Waterdrop pack sold, a plastic bottle is collected from the environment thanks to a partnership with Plastic Bank.
MiO is packaged in plastic, and drinking liquid out of plastic bottles may increase the risk of being exposed to hormone-disrupting chemicals, according to a medical review published in the Environmental Science & Technology journal.
Are Other Waterdrop Products Healthier?
The SNOW product we reviewed in our Ingredient Analysis section is from the brand’s Microdrinks product line. Waterdrops has three other product lines: Microlyte, Microenergy, Microtea. Here’s our quick take on each:
Microlyte: This is Waterdrop’s electrolyte blend. May be useful for athletes to refuel, but contains citric acid, flavoring agents and a blend of added vitamins and minerals so we don’t recommend it.
Microenergy: This is Waterdrop’s energy blend. It contains caffeine but the caffeine dose is not clearly listed on the product pages which is a consumer safety issue.
The “Oro” product for example lists 90 milligrams (mg) of caffeine in the product image (which is around the amount in one cup of coffee), but “23 mg/3.5 oz” in the product details. It’s unclear how many ounces the product is or what leads to this discrepancy, and this is unacceptable given that caffeine is a stimulant.
We recommend avoiding this product line altogether.
Microtea: Naturally colored and contains real tea ingredients like rosehip extract. Free of added vitamins so we would consider this Waterdrop’s cleanest formulation. It still contains citric acid and flavoring agents so we don’t recommend it overall.
Our Clean Water Flavoring Pick
Pique Daily Radiance is our top water flavoring pick.
These packets are naturally flavored with nutritious ingredients like organic elderberry juice concentrate (which is clinically shown to support the immune system) and organic lemon juice concentrate.
Waterdrop Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Healthier than most water flavoring brands
- Sustainable brand
- Beautiful branding & packaging
- Relatively affordable
Cons:
- Products contain citric acid
- Products contain vitamin and mineral additives
- Products contain flavoring agents
- Mediocre reviews on Facebook
- Doesn't appear clinically tested
