Hiyo is a non-alcoholic beverage brand that’s focused on a healthier experience. The company describes itself as the “better-than-alcohol alternative,” and claims to provide “organic adaptogens” and “natural nootropics.”
But does Hiyo provide effective doses of these active ingredients, or are these just marketing claims? What’s actually in Hiyo and is it healthy? Does it have any unhealthy additives? And what was our Product Tester's experience purchasing and trying it?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Hiyo based on medical studies to give our take on whether these drinks are likely to have nootropic and adaptogenic effects, or if these are just marketing claims.
We'll also compare the healthiness of Hiyo to other popular mocktail brands, and share our Product Tester's honest experience trying it.
Key takeaways:
- Mostly healthy active ingredients
- Two inactive ingredients we consider unhealthy
- We do not currently recommend Hiyo
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in the “peach mango” flavor of Hiyo are shown above.
There is more sugar in this drink than any individual fruit juice, because sugar is listed before organic peach juice concentrate as the fourth ingredient.
There is only 3 grams (g) of added sugar in each can, so while sugar in excess is clinically shown to be associated with negative health outcomes, we don’t consider this dose to be concerning in otherwise healthy adults.
Erythritol is a sweetener that's clinically shown to be associated with greater risk of stroke, according to a 2023 medical review.
There are some adaptogens in this drink, but the problem with taking adaptogens in drinks and foods is that the dose is not typically listed (as is the case here).
Without the individual ingredient doses, it’s impossible to determine whether or not the adaptogenic and nootropic ingredients are likely to have an effect.
As an example, Hiyo peach mango contains l-theanine, which is an amino acid shown in a 2008 clinical trial to increase alpha brain wave activity and have a “significant effect” on mental alertness.
But the linked trial used a dose of 50 milligrams (mg). We don’t know how much l-theanine is in Hiyo, so we can’t determine whether or not it’s an effective dose.
Most of the ingredients in Hiyo are nutritious and naturally-derived, like organic cordyceps mushroom extract, organic orange juice and organic ginger extract.
We think that, on balance, this is a healthy drink, and certainly healthier than alcohol (in excess), but we have no reason to believe Hiyo has nootropic or adaptogenic effects until the brand publishes individual ingredient doses.
There is only one inactive ingredient that we consider questionable from a health perspective.
Citric acid is clinically shown to cause whole-body inflammation in some individuals, as we discussed in our article on is White Claw unhealthy.
Overall, we do not currently recommend Hiyo due to the inclusions of erythritol and citric acid.
We Tested Hiyo
One of our product testers named Joshua Martinez tried the Watermelon Lim and Blackberry Lemon flavors of Hiyo. Here's his experience:
Hiyo came in a regular can, similar to an energy drink.
Neither drink sounded like a good mixture just by the flavor names but they did have a "citrusy" after taste. If purchased again, I would much prefer the more subtle Watermelon Lime flavor or the Passion Fruit Tangerine!
This drink is supposed to be a healthy, natural alternative to alcohol and intended to calm the nerves after a difficult day. With that in mind, I did save these drinks for a rough day at work. I felt no different than drinking a brisk, cold soda. I can’t say for myself if this would satisfy my cravings like a cold beer would.
I haven’t tried other alternative alcohol drinks like this but from my experience trying natural drink alternatives I would say Hiyo is nothing special.
There were no side effects from drinking this other than burping a bit more than normal due to the carbonation.
I do not plan to purchase this product again, and I would rate Hiyo 2/10.
Does Hiyo Cause Side Effects?
Hiyo drinks don’t appear to have been studied in any clinical trials, which makes it more challenging to say whether or not they’re likely to cause side effects.
However, we can make an educated guess based on the ingredients in Hiyo.
While citric acid may cause side effects in a small percentage of the population, there are no dangerous ingredients in Hiyo, or ingredients that we consider likely to cause side effects in otherwise healthy adults.
High doses of ashwagandha are clinically shown to cause side effects in some people like nausea and vomiting, as we documented in our Moment Drink reviews article.
While we doubt there is a high dose of ashwagandha in Hiyo, we again urge the brand to publish individual ingredient doses (at least for active ingredients), so consumers can make an informed purchase decision.
Hiyo vs. Popular Mocktail Brands
Here's how Hiyo compares to other popular non-alcoholic brands in terms of healthiness, in our opinion:
Curious Elixirs
Contains nutritious, botanical ingredients, and is free from any ingredients we consider unhealthy.
This is the healthiest mocktail brand we've reviewed on Illuminate Health.
Winner: Curious Elixirs
De Soi
Katy Perry's mocktail brand contains one ingredient we consider unhealthy, as we documented in our De Soi review article.
However, it's free of erythritol, making it the clear winner in terms of overall healthiness.
Winner: De Soi
Ghia
While branded as "not a mocktail," many consumers use it as such.
Healthy botanical ingredients and no harmful additives.
Winner: Ghia
How to Make Healthy Mocktails at Home
It would likely be much cheaper than Hiyo to make healthy non-alcoholic cocktails ("mocktails") at home.
A YouTube video published by Anders Erickson features four homemade mocktail recipes and has over 900,000 views:
Hiyo Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Mostly whole food ingredients
- Relatively low sugar
- Beautiful branding
- Healthy alternative for sober individuals
Cons:
- Active ingredient doses not clearly published
- Expensive
- Contains refined sugar
- Contains citric acid
- We can't find any reason to believe these drinks have effective doses of nootropics and adaptogens
