Milk may be one of the overall most versatile and nutritious beverages on the market — but it’s not exactly the first thing that comes to mind as a sports drink.
Chicago-based startup GoodSport Nutrition is seeking to change that narrative, though not in the way you might think. Through its use of ultra-filtered milk permeate as a nutrient-rich base, the company brand is aiming to position its debut product — a four-SKU line of sports drinks in 16.9 oz. bottles — as delivering electrolytes and vitamins “from the goodness of milk.
Milk, and chocolate milk in particular, has been part of athletes diets for decades, a message that the U.S. dairy industry continues to cultivate through spokespeople such as NBA star Klay Thompson and tennis pro Sloane Stephens in its “Built With Chocolate Milk” campaign. But the characteristics that make it good for post-workout recovery — high-quality protein and calories, not to mention the viscous consistency which contributes to mucus buildup — are exactly the opposite of what athletes need before or during exercise.
GoodSport founder Michelle McBride knew this when she came up with the brand’s concept: chocolate milk was already her son’s go-to post-workout beverage after baseball games, but obviously not a suitable alternative to the isotonic sports drinks, both natural and artificial, typically on offer as pre- and mid-game hydration options. As she explored other potential ingredients, McBride came across studies that showed milk to be significantly more hydrating than water due to its high electrolyte and vitamin content. According to a 2016 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, full-fat and semi-skimmed milk can keep the body hydrated longer than water alone because the combination of fat, protein and lactose slows emptying of fluid from the stomach.
“When I saw that, I thought ‘I’m onto something.’ We really could use milk as a hydrator,” she said.
Her interest eventually led her to Dr. Bob Murray, Ph.D., GoodSport’s Chief Hydration Officer and former founder and director of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute. Having spent over two decades working in the science of sports nutrition at the category’s leading brand, Murray was well aware of the research McBride found supporting milk’s credentials as a strong source of natural hydration. With a clear target in mind, they began working to crack the code.
“The real challenge and magic of this proposition is to try and find a way to take advantage of the long-lasting natural hydration characteristics of milk and still not be dragged down by the fat and protein content,” said Murray.
Working with further collaborators, including Kimberlee Burrington at the Center for Dairy Research at the University of Wisconsin, they eventually found a solution: milk permeate, a byproduct of the ultrafiltration process used by Fairlife and other dairy manufacturers to separate protein and fat from fluid milk. The resulting liquid — “ultra-filtered deproteinized milk,” as it is listed in the ingredients panel — is clear and contains a range of electrolytes, vitamins and minerals that serves as GoodSport’s base. Using the permeate, which is otherwise dumped or sent back to farms as feed, also gives the company a sustainable ingredient source and a way to mitigate some of dairy’s environmental impact. McBride said the company has partnered with a co-packer in the Midwest which has “capacity to expand” as GoodSport scales.
The final product — which features familiar flavor profiles like Fruit Punch, Wild Berry, Lemon Lime and Citrus — contains 90 calories per serving, along with 19 grams of sugar (none added) plus monkfruit and erythritol. Each 16.9 oz. bottle contains 1600mg of total electrolytes, which the company says is three times the amount typically found in sports drinks. The product is now available for order via its website and on Amazon for a suggested retail price of $2.79 per bottle and will begin rolling out to natural and conventional retail stores in the Chicagoland area in the months ahead.
For consumers accustomed to brands like Gatorade and BodyArmor, the idea of reaching for a milk-powered sports drink during their next workout may feel strange. But McBride said the nutritional story that milk has told for decades, combined with recent efforts to connect it specifically with post-workout recovery, has given her brand a strong platform with which to begin building its own identity. The company’s scientific advisory council — which includes Burrington and Murray, as well as Gregory D. Miller, Ph.D., Global Science Officer at the National Dairy Council, and others — is one part of that plan.
“There’s a believability in the goodness of milk, and so once we explain why we started with milk and what we do with milk to make it a more refreshing beverage, people get it and they’re excited about it,” she said.