In the market for better hydration, Florida-based brand Jovē is hoping its microscopic focus will help it go big.
Jovē (pronounced Joh-Vee) produces a 9.5 pH alkaline water made using a patented “Advanced Cellular Hydration Technology” that involves adding essential minerals and charging the water with electrons in order to help the body absorb it. In addition to improved hydration, the drink also claims to promote healthier skin via cellular absorption and added liquid silica in the mineral blend.
Jovē was founded by Jerry Whitlock, founder of beverage manufacturer Whitlock Packaging, and Dario Echeverry, the founder and Chief Science Officer of Altered Labs and the developer of the brand’s cellular hydration technology.
In charge of day-to-day operations for Jovē is CEO Tammy Hobbs, a beverage manufacturing veteran who has worked with Whitlock on various ventures over the past 17 years. According to Hobbs, Whitlock had long wanted to develop a better-for-you beverage brand and, after selling the manufacturing company to Refresco in 2016, a “fateful” meeting between him and Echeverry led to the idea to create an improved hydration water brand.
“When we presented the fact that we’d like to produce a premium water [to our advisory board], it was like ‘What?’ Because everyone will say ‘Well, water is water, and there’s a lot of water out there,’” Hobbs told BevNET. “So that’s when we dove into the technology and testing and clinical studies, so that we can see actually how well it hydrates at a cellular level. And from that we found the amazing benefits with skin and cellular hydration. So that perked some ears.”
The brand launched its first product, a 1 liter bottle, last year on Amazon and made its retail debut this summer; it is currently available in over 1,200 stores, of which nearly 1,000 are Publix accounts in the Southeast. As well the brand is sold in Earth Fare stores and Giant Foods accounts in the Northeast. The drink retails for $2.49 per bottle or $33.48 per 12-pack online.
Hobbs said Jovē aims to grow quickly with eyes on going deep in the Northeast and Southeast markets before beginning a national expansion. CMO Elizabeth Lucey said the brand is employing a broad marketing strategy using both its internal team and regional agencies to create a multi-channel ad campaign including digital, television and geotargeted retail marketing.
The brand currently works with a co-packer in Pennsylvania and will be opening up additional manufacturing in Florida next year, alongside a larger distribution push, Hobbs said.
Jovē enters a crowded bottled water market where better hydration has been a common selling point for startups; brands like Oxigen and HFactor feature claims around improved absorption from added oxygen and hydrogen, while powdered products such as Liquid I.V. (acquired in 2020 by Unilever) and SOS Hydration tout similar benefits. Premium alkaline water, meanwhile, has remained a growing segment of the bottled water category and beverage strategics have made high profile acquisitions in the category, including Keurig Dr Pepper’s 2018 purchase of CORE Nutrition and Essentia’s sale to Nestlé USA earlier this year.
Although Jovē’s messaging is primarily focused around the hydration occasion, the drink’s call out to skin health is a key point of differentiation. According to Lucey, the product was not intended to have skincare benefits, but it was discovered incidentally after early consumers reported having softer skin over time. Clinical research funded by the company backed up the claims, she added.
While the extra function is a point of differentiation, it also places Jovē adjacent to competing water brands that have embraced skincare in functional line extensions – including VOSS and Flow, which have introduced collagen waters – but without added supplements.
Looking ahead, Hobbs and Lucey said the goal is to establish Jovē as a platform brand that can play in any number of beverage categories. However, immediate innovation remains focused on water – including new pack sizes set to launch next year – and the most important goal for the moment is growing brand awareness and educating consumers.
“Many people think [about hydration] that it’s ‘Oh, just drink water,’” Hobbs said. “But how much water? When should you drink water? We want to continue to educate the consumer on the importance of, particularly, cellular hydration and also the importance of a healthy lifestyle.”