HyVIDA
by Hyvida Brands Inc.
Review: HyVIDA Hydrogen Infused Water
Covers Products: Lemon Lime Hydrogen Water, Pure Hydrogen Water, Raspberry Hydrogen Water
HyVIDA is a line of sparkling, hydrogen-infused waters that are currently available in three varieties: Pure, Raspberry, and Lemon Lime. All three of the flavors are unsweetened, contain zero calories, and are packaged in a 250ml can.
Hydrogen infused water is, despite an uptick in product introductions, still a very nascent thing, so education and messaging are are one of our primary concerns for anyone entering the space.
In the case of HyVIDA, the front panel is free from any claims or copy -- aside from the word “Hydrogen” placed alongside the text that describes the flavoring. However, on the back they’ve taken a crack at this with some light toned copy that tries to explain the benefits. In the end, it boils down to “super antioxidant properties,” which is problematic in that most consumers probably don’t have a tangible point of reference for normal antioxidant properties.
As for the rest of the package design, we feel as though the HyVIDA logo needs some help, at least in terms of how “Hy” and “VIDA” are visually treated and connected (which they aren’t right now). Otherwise, we find it hard to quickly pull out the key attributes due to the use of vertical text. Hydrogen, sparkling water, and the flavor name need to be easier to quickly identify. Otherwise, we think it will be easy to miss this product when stacked next to the competition (which includes other sparkling waters) in a cooler or on a shelf.
Moving on to the taste of the product, we think that HyVIDA has done a nice job executing their formulations. They are clean and crisp and the two flavored offerings are light and refreshing. They are slightly more effervescent than some flavored sparkling waters that we’ve sampled, but there’s definitely no compromise when it comes to the addition of the hydrogen to the formulation.
Perhaps the only “compromise” is the size of the can. At 8.4 ounces, it’s definitely on the small side for the category and, given that it’s both an upstart brand and has hydrogen in it, we suspect that it’s going to be more expensive than some of the larger brands. This again points back to our earlier point of needing to make the hydrogen component really stand out and be intuitive to the consumer.
Overall, there’s definitely some room to refine the packaging and messaging, but HyVIDA is a pretty enjoyable product out of the gate.
Editor's Note: Product samples provided by HyVIDA for this review were packaged in 8.4 oz slim cans. However, when the product launches at retail, it will be packaged in 12 oz. slim cans.