“Do you have it in you?” Michael Jordan asks, face beaming with neon sweat, in a classic new Gatorade commercial.
If you’ve ever looked closely at the label on a bottle of Midnight Ice or Citrus Cooler, you might be wondering: what exactly is “it” and does it really have to contain something called maltodextrin?
“The real conservative response is, let’s make artisanal stuff, let’s make authentic stuff.”
For Josh Rekach, one of a recent wave of entrepreneurs questioning conventional, corporate-driven wisdom about health and nutrition, the answer is no.
Keep it clean
Rekach’s Sports Drink, a clean, powdered electrolyte alternative to Gatorade and other chemical thirst-quenching confections, was launched on Aug. 1, about a year after the product was conceived by Josh Rekach, Josh Kay (Healthy Home Josh) and the company’s third owner, who asked not to be named.
The drink mix for athletes is currently available in two varieties: the original unflavored blend, “No Flavor with Sugar,” and a sparkling citrus flavored blend, “No Yellow 5 Lemon Lime.” Both blends contain the same electrolyte mix, including Dead Sea salts, potassium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, and magnesium sulfate. Organic cane sugar is used for carbohydrate supplementation.
Recach, 37, co-owner of the startup brand, spoke virtually about his company, which has real ingredients and real hydration, on a sunny balcony in Costa Rica, holding a bottle of water mixed with No Yellow 5 lemon-lime sports drink. His current bottle is nearly empty, and his wife is upset that it’s running out so quickly.
Rekach noted that his outspoken family loves the drink, and a quick look online suggests the lemon-lime mix is sold out.
Not bad for a business started on a whim.
Do it right
About a year ago, Rekach said, he posted on Instagram about how it’s now easier than ever to start a brand: “Just pick a product you love, find out how it’s made, and make it healthy and homemade.”
He had originally intended to use Gatorade as an example, but Kaye messaged him and suggested they go ahead and run with the idea. Lekacz was convinced, and the sports drink was born.
While the turnaround from concept to market was seemingly quick, creating a sports drink without common additives took six months of manufacturing time and cost at least several thousand dollars. At the time of this interview, Lekacz was still taking an overnight flight to Los Angeles to hand-pack the bottles when they needed refilling. The company is looking for manufacturers who can package the product exactly as it was formulated.
“If I started out the wrong way and lied, I would feel bad and I wouldn’t drink it myself,” Rekach said when asked about the business sacrifices that come with making a cleaner product.
One particular manufacturing challenge, Rekacci says, was avoiding the use of maltodextrin, an additive often used in beverages to extend shelf life. The ingredient is known to spike blood sugar more than real sugar. Rekacci says the sports drink owners opted to take more time to perfect the formula rather than using chemical shortcuts.
A “sad” story
Sports drinks aren’t Lekacz’s first foray into the beverage industry; he launched his own brand, Sad Water, as a meme. Coca-Cola soon showed interest, but Lekacz’s increasingly outspoken political commentary eventually led the conglomerate to back out. Lekacz then pivoted to podcasts.
Vimeo and Patreon banned Lekach’s show, “Wrong Opinion,” which then found its current home on Censored.TV.
While Rekach is happy to continue with the show, he said he wants to do more for his family, including creating a sports drink-like product.
While many give up on pursuing an idea, abandoning market research, “I just follow my instincts,” says Rekach.
He said he’s also keeping an eye on other niche brands emerging in right-wing neighborhoods, such as wellness influencer Sol Bra and Hestia Cigarettes.
Like these brands, politics permeates the marketing of sports drinks. Website The depiction of Dead Sea salt references both biblical history and US-sponsored terrorist groups. For Rekach, this is not cosmetic gimmickry, but an inherent conservatism.
“The real conservative response is, let’s make something artisanal, let’s make something authentic,” Lekach says. “A product like ours is conservative because it takes people back to the old days when they just wanted to put out a good product.”
Rekach added that his humbling experiences navigating the 2008 perfume industry collapse, as well as raising around $500,000 for a tech startup, taught him valuable lessons about figuring things out for himself and cutting through bureaucracy.
While Rekacz acknowledges that electrolyte products containing artificial sweeteners, colors and chemical additives are mainstream, he believes it only takes a small percentage of consumers to bring about change in the market, citing the widespread availability of kosher products as an example.
“Big brands are starting to take notice,” Rekach said, noting that online discussion about the dangers of seed oils has prompted food manufacturers to offer healthier options.
Sugar is not the enemy
To win over consumers, Mr Rekacz must reinstate the notoriously maligned sweetener. “It’s not sugar that’s killing you,” he says.
“The main hurdle is educating consumers that sugar isn’t bad for us. We’ve been tricked into believing that unnatural alternatives are healthier, but all the alternatives they’ve been selling us are unhealthy,” Rekach said.
He cited stories of indigenous peoples using stevia, a popular plant-based sweetener, as a contraceptive, and noted that for those living a healthy lifestyle, real sugar gives the body the energy it needs.
For consumers who want to start shopping cleaner brands, the key is to focus on products that use fewer, more familiar ingredients, Rekach said.
Rekacci’s next priority is to streamline production without sacrificing quality, and he plans to offer more flavors in the coming months. And what next? His answer echoes his competitors’ inspiring message: “The possibilities are endless.”
Sports drinks available for purchase online.
The political commentator taking on Gatorade
“Do you have it in you?” Michael Jordan asks, face beaming with neon sweat, in a classic new Gatorade commercial.
If you’ve ever looked closely at the label on a bottle of Midnight Ice or Citrus Cooler, you might be wondering: what exactly is “it” and does it really have to contain something called maltodextrin?
“The real conservative response is, let’s make artisanal stuff, let’s make authentic stuff.”
For Josh Rekach, one of a recent wave of entrepreneurs questioning conventional, corporate-driven wisdom about health and nutrition, the answer is no.
Keep it clean
Rekach’s Sports Drink, a clean, powdered electrolyte alternative to Gatorade and other chemical thirst-quenching confections, was launched on Aug. 1, about a year after the product was conceived by Josh Rekach, Josh Kay (Healthy Home Josh) and the company’s third owner, who asked not to be named.
The drink mix for athletes is currently available in two varieties: the original unflavored blend, “No Flavor with Sugar,” and a sparkling citrus flavored blend, “No Yellow 5 Lemon Lime.” Both blends contain the same electrolyte mix, including Dead Sea salts, potassium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, and magnesium sulfate. Organic cane sugar is used for carbohydrate supplementation.
Recach, 37, co-owner of the startup brand, spoke virtually about his company, which has real ingredients and real hydration, on a sunny balcony in Costa Rica, holding a bottle of water mixed with No Yellow 5 lemon-lime sports drink. His current bottle is nearly empty, and his wife is upset that it’s running out so quickly.
Rekach noted that his outspoken family loves the drink, and a quick look online suggests the lemon-lime mix is sold out.
Not bad for a business started on a whim.
Do it right
About a year ago, Rekach said, he posted on Instagram about how it’s now easier than ever to start a brand: “Just pick a product you love, find out how it’s made, and make it healthy and homemade.”
He had originally intended to use Gatorade as an example, but Kaye messaged him and suggested they go ahead and run with the idea. Lekacz was convinced, and the sports drink was born.
While the turnaround from concept to market was seemingly quick, creating a sports drink without common additives took six months of manufacturing time and cost at least several thousand dollars. At the time of this interview, Lekacz was still taking an overnight flight to Los Angeles to hand-pack the bottles when they needed refilling. The company is looking for manufacturers who can package the product exactly as it was formulated.
“If I started out the wrong way and lied, I would feel bad and I wouldn’t drink it myself,” Rekach said when asked about the business sacrifices that come with making a cleaner product.
One particular manufacturing challenge, Rekacci says, was avoiding the use of maltodextrin, an additive often used in beverages to extend shelf life. The ingredient is known to spike blood sugar more than real sugar. Rekacci says the sports drink owners opted to take more time to perfect the formula rather than using chemical shortcuts.
A “sad” story
Sports drinks aren’t Lekacz’s first foray into the beverage industry; he launched his own brand, Sad Water, as a meme. Coca-Cola soon showed interest, but Lekacz’s increasingly outspoken political commentary eventually led the conglomerate to back out. Lekacz then pivoted to podcasts.
Vimeo and Patreon banned Lekach’s show, “Wrong Opinion,” which then found its current home on Censored.TV.
While Rekach is happy to continue with the show, he said he wants to do more for his family, including creating a sports drink-like product.
While many give up on pursuing an idea, abandoning market research, “I just follow my instincts,” says Rekach.
He said he’s also keeping an eye on other niche brands emerging in right-wing neighborhoods, such as wellness influencer Sol Bra and Hestia Cigarettes.
Like these brands, politics permeates the marketing of sports drinks. Website The depiction of Dead Sea salt references both biblical history and US-sponsored terrorist groups. For Rekach, this is not cosmetic gimmickry, but an inherent conservatism.
“The real conservative response is, let’s make something artisanal, let’s make something authentic,” Lekach says. “A product like ours is conservative because it takes people back to the old days when they just wanted to put out a good product.”
Rekach added that his humbling experiences navigating the 2008 perfume industry collapse, as well as raising around $500,000 for a tech startup, taught him valuable lessons about figuring things out for himself and cutting through bureaucracy.
While Rekacz acknowledges that electrolyte products containing artificial sweeteners, colors and chemical additives are mainstream, he believes it only takes a small percentage of consumers to bring about change in the market, citing the widespread availability of kosher products as an example.
“Big brands are starting to take notice,” Rekach said, noting that online discussion about the dangers of seed oils has prompted food manufacturers to offer healthier options.
Sugar is not the enemy
To win over consumers, Mr Rekacz must reinstate the notoriously maligned sweetener. “It’s not sugar that’s killing you,” he says.
“The main hurdle is educating consumers that sugar isn’t bad for us. We’ve been tricked into believing that unnatural alternatives are healthier, but all the alternatives they’ve been selling us are unhealthy,” Rekach said.
He cited stories of indigenous peoples using stevia, a popular plant-based sweetener, as a contraceptive, and noted that for those living a healthy lifestyle, real sugar gives the body the energy it needs.
For consumers who want to start shopping cleaner brands, the key is to focus on products that use fewer, more familiar ingredients, Rekach said.
Rekacci’s next priority is to streamline production without sacrificing quality, and he plans to offer more flavors in the coming months. And what next? His answer echoes his competitors’ inspiring message: “The possibilities are endless.”
Sports drinks available for purchase online.
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