A better you is just a small packet of powder away.

It’s a sales pitch that has worked well for diet shakes and drug dealers, now the billion-dollar hydration and supplements markets are embracing it with open, well-toned arms.

Analysts project that the global electrolyte mix market will reach almost $25 billion by 2030. What started with consumers foregoing Gatorade for lower-sugar options converged with the growth of nootropics and alternative supplements to change the hydration category, creating opportunity for everyone from Pedialyte to BodyArmor and eventually Prime. Add in a younger consumer set that has been quick to embrace new delivery mechanisms (from gummies to vapes and Zyn) and you can see how we arrived on the powdery slopes of 2024.

This week, the founder of Everlane (The Gap for slightly-wealthier white people) introduced his new business: Magna, an electrolyte beverage brand with an emphasis on magnesium.

Magna joins a growing list of competitors that includes Liquid I.V. (acquired by Unilever in 2020) and LMNT, which has built their brand on the contrarian assertion that salt–the most common form of electrolyte–is actually good for you.

The past year has already brought offerings from beverage brands like Liquid Death, Prime, Ghost, and Four Loko (marketed under the street name ‘angel dust’). You can expect just about every hydration and energy drink brand to follow suit within the next year.

Do they work? Each has their own formula, surely some deliver on more of their claims than others. There are surely more natural ways to get your nutrients than a pack of magic dust from a factory. But, if the alternative is an energy drink you’d pull out of a store cooler, then chances are the powder pack is at worst a push, if not an upgrade. They’re also easier to store, reduce your waste footprint and plastic usage, and are (usually) cheaper than the comparable bottled or canned alternative.

Beyond the individual benefit, the potential collective upside is huge: They don’t spoil quickly, limiting food waste. They remove the need for bottles and cans and packing, meaning the scale of their adoption has a direct and sizable impact on plastic usage. They reduce costs related to shipping and stocking heavy liquids.

The future may just be powdered Brawndo. All we are is salty dust in the wind.

Editor’s Note: Lime LMNT and some tequila makes a killer margarita. Thank you Dr. Chief for the tip.