Boardroom talks with Liquid I.V. executives to learn how the official hydration partner of Formula 1 keeps everyone hydrated during race weekend.
Formula 1 Grand Prix races are slowly becoming one of the most coveted tickets in sports. Whether new to motorsport via Formula 1: Drive to Survive or a decades-long fan, attending a race means you’ll be exposed to dramatic turns and finishes, plenty of fashion moments, and opulent hospitality. But with long days on the track and endless steps, staying hydrated is key.
That’s where Liquid I.V. comes in, serving as the official hydration partner of F1‘s Miami Grand Prix for the second consecutive year. Liquid I.V. is a hydration multiplier combining glucose and sodium to enhance water absorption, designed to replenish electrolytes lost through sweating, exercise, or other factors like walking around a race campus.
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Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton has previously mentioned how he loses up to 10 pounds during a one-hour and 45-minute race. There could be several factors causing that shift, including high acceleration and gravitational forces. In a separate interview on The Graham Norton Show in 2019, the seven-time world driver champion explained that he loses more weight in hotter cities. For that reason, among many others, Hamilton carefully monitors his weight before and after every race.
“Ten kilos of fuel in the car costs 3/10 of a second every circuit, per lap,” he said. “If I’m one kilogram overweight, I can lose up to two seconds in the race distance. So, my weight is very important.”
While we don’t all have the regimen of an F1 driver, we certainly understand the importance of staying hydrated. During the weekend-long festivities, Liquid I.V. unveiled a limited-edition mystery flavor with custom Formula 1 packaging during its Race House activation. As one of the more prominent fixtures of the race, attendees were provided with the specifics of how their bodies perform when lacking the proper nutrients. Ahead of the race, Boardroom spoke with Dana Ryan, Liquid I.V.’s Sr. Director of Scientific Affairs, and she emphasized the value of science-backed research.
“I think one of the tricky things in today’s society is that there’s so much information out there. If you want to believe it, you can find something that agrees with you,” said Ryan.
So, how do you break through that noise? Well, the El Segundo-based company said it keeps things simple and easy to digest (literally and figuratively) for its audience, but also makes sure all ingredients can perform on their own and when combined.
“Something that’s really important for us is to make sure that everything that we build — everything that we develop — we don’t just look at the ingredients on their own, but we look at it from a product level and we go to those third parties, we go to the universities, and we actually test our products,” Ryan said. “We want to bring that science to the world to help people understand that you know what the ingredients that are in there. So, we have what’s called our Liquid I.V. hydroscience, and that’s an optimized blend of carbohydrates, electrolytes, vitamins, and minerals that really help support that it doesn’t just taste great, but also works.”
Stacey Andrade-Wells, Chief Marketing Officer at Liquid I.V., echoed those sentiments during an exclusive interview with Boardroom at the Miami Autodrome campus. Tasked with leading the messaging surrounding the new mystery flavor, she emphasized the company has been at the forefront of cultures since its inception in 2012, and the warm and somewhat uncomfortable conditions of South Beach allow the electrolyte mix to activate at an instant. Therefore, communicating with the fans and understanding their needs was paramount.
“One thing that we did, even when we were originally deciding on this partnership and entering the broader space of F1, was really try to understand what do their fans look like? What do our consumers look like, and how much overlap is there where we can find some synergies between the two brands?” said Andrade-Wells. “And what we found was that F1 fans are far more likely to care about health and well-being. They are far more likely to purchase functional beverages. They are more invested in sports beverages, in nutrition supplements and fitness supplements. So for us, it was a perfect opportunity.”
Andrade-Wells added that 40% of F1 fans are women, with viewership growing 34% since 2021. Coincidentally, over 50% of Liquid I.V. shoppers are women. The company capitalized on this chance to show up somewhere they knew shoppers had been established, where they’re spending their time, and what they find engaging outside of watching their favorite drivers podium.
When it comes to communicating the brand’s message, Ryan told Boardroom that while their product may not allow everyone o lose 10 pounds throughout a race weekend, fans should take a play from an athlete’s playbook and understand even being dehydrated 1% to 2% from your normal levels can negatively impact performance and mental focus of the everyday person. Complimentary features around the campus to emphasize this mission were two branded hydration stations and an immersive journey to step inside the mind of Ryan and her team.
Bringing this from inception to completion could not have been accomplished without the team of food and scientists at Liquid I.V., and Andrade-Wells credits them for respecting every single touch point of the user experience.
“From the moment that you tear open the stick and the little cloud of product hits your nose, it activates all your senses. First sip, is it chuggable? They are perfecting every single piece of that flavor experience because we know that if something that tastes amazing, you’re going to drink more of it. It’s going to be a critical piece in that hydration process is actually the intake of water.”
The Miami Grand Prix may have been filled with monumental moments featuring the best of the best in food, lifestyle, and everything that encompasses the 305, but Liquid I.V. brought the fuel, and that’s what really won the weekend.
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