Rethinking Hydration in Sport — Aqvita x EXO
We are pleased to announce Aqvita’s collaboration with EXO, a sports engagement platform connecting more than 300,000 active users across 1,000 sports centers in France and Belgium.
EXO rewards consistency in physical activity. Our collaboration extends that philosophy to hydration — because performance is not only about training intensity, but also about the physiological environment that supports adaptation.
Hydration is part of that environment.
Hydration Is Not Only About Fluid Replacement
In sport, hydration is often reduced to replacing sweat losses. The dominant approach has barely changed in decades: chloride-based electrolyte mixes, often combined with flavor systems and sweeteners.
The model is simple:
replace salt → mask taste → make it drinkable.
Many products are built around high chloride loads. The resulting mineral intensity is frequently softened with sweeteners — sometimes in substantial quantities — including stevia or other high-intensity compounds.
Chemically, this is not innovation.
It is formulation management.
The underlying mineral architecture remains dominated by salt.
Magnesium and the Missing Conversation
Magnesium rarely receives the same attention as sodium in sports hydration, despite contributing to:
Normal muscle function
Electrolyte balance
Energy-yielding metabolism
Reduction of fatigue
(Approved EU health claims.)
Human isotope studies show that magnesium delivered through mineral water is well absorbed and retained¹ ².
More interestingly, research demonstrates that intake pattern matters.
In a controlled study, the same total magnesium dose was consumed either in two large servings or distributed across seven smaller servings during the day³.
Absorption and retention were significantly higher when intake was distributed.
This aligns naturally with how people drink water during training and throughout the day.
Hydration is not a bolus event.
It is a distributed physiological input.
Why Bicarbonate Changes the Equation
There is also a structural difference in mineral form.
Most electrolyte powders are rich in sodium chloride. Aqvita works with magnesium in bicarbonate form — inspired by naturally occurring mineral waters.
Bicarbonate is not just a counter-ion. It participates in systemic buffering.
Human intervention studies on bicarbonate-rich mineral waters have shown reductions in bone resorption markers and changes in calcium balance compared with more acidic mineral waters⁴ ⁵. Randomized trials of potassium bicarbonate demonstrate similar effects on mineral metabolism markers⁶.
While these studies are not sports trials, they reinforce a broader physiological principle: bicarbonate chemistry influences mineral handling in the body.
From a taste perspective, bicarbonate-rich formulations are also less aggressively saline. They do not require heavy masking with sweeteners to become palatable.
Water remains water.
Mineral-enhanced — not flavor-engineered.
Innovation Should Happen at the Chemistry Level
Sports hydration has become louder over the years: more flavors, more colors, more claims.
But at the mineral level, little has fundamentally changed.
Aqvita’s approach is different.
Instead of concentrating on salt replacement, we reconstruct mineral-rich water based on bicarbonate chemistry and distributed intake patterns.
The objective is not to create a high-intensity beverage.
It is to improve the baseline.
For athletes working with EXO, this means thinking about hydration not as a quick intervention, but as a consistent daily foundation.
Training builds performance.
Hydration builds the environment in which performance is sustained.
References
Sabatier M et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002.
Verhas M et al. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2002.
Sabatier M et al. Br J Nutr. 2011.
Roux S et al. J Bone Miner Res. 2004.
Wynn E et al. Osteoporos Int. 2009.
Randomized potassium bicarbonate trials on mineral metabolism and calcium balance.