- Down with sugar! Let’s make hydration healthy!
- Down with sugar! Let’s make hydration healthy!
- Down with sugar! Let’s make hydration healthy!
- Down with sugar! Let’s make hydration healthy!
- Down with sugar! Let’s make hydration healthy!
- Down with sugar! Let’s make hydration healthy!
- Down with sugar! Let’s make hydration healthy!
- Down with sugar! Let’s make hydration healthy!
- Down with sugar! Let’s make hydration healthy!
- Down with sugar! Let’s make hydration healthy!
- Down with sugar! Let’s make hydration healthy!
- Down with sugar! Let’s make hydration healthy!
- Down with sugar! Let’s make hydration healthy!
- Down with sugar! Let’s make hydration healthy!
- Down with sugar! Let’s make hydration healthy!
- Down with sugar! Let’s make hydration healthy!
- Down with sugar! Let’s make hydration healthy!
- Down with sugar! Let’s make hydration healthy!
- Down with sugar! Let’s make hydration healthy!
- Down with sugar! Let’s make hydration healthy!
Here’s what we’re all about
For far too long, the big drink brands have flooded the world with sugary sodas, juices and other unhealthy drinks targeted to kids. That ain’t cool! It’s time for things to be different, get better, and a whole lot healthier, too.
Here’s what we reckon…Kids deserve a healthy hydration option to fuel their passions and dreams. They (and their parents) deserve transparency about what’s in their drinks and what’s going into their bodies.
Brands should look out for people’s best interests. And not only do good for them, but have a positive impact on the world (which is why a percentage of our profits go to Wateraid Australia, to help hydrate those less fortunate).
Providing kids with healthy hydration helps them grow, be themselves and get out there and do more of what they love.
Pretty simple, right?
You deserve transparency
Our ingredients
No nasties
Low sugar (2.5g/100ml)
No artificial sweeteners
Low sodium (4.8mg/100ml)
No artificial colours
Low calorie (45.3kj/100ml)
No artificial flavours
Vegan
Gluten, dairy, nut & egg free
Spring Water
New Zealand Spring Water: The main ingredient in every can of Aquabud is natural spring water from our mates across the pond in New Zealand. We don’t mind putting aside our trans-Tasman rivalry to admit they have the best water in the world.
Natural Sweeteners
Steviol Glycosides: To understand more about this guy, you need to understand more about the Stevia plant. Stevia sweeteners are derived from the leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) plant, an herbal shrub native to South America. The stevia plant has been used for food and medicinal purposes for hundreds of years, and its leaves and extracts have been used as dietary supplements, and more recently as natural sweeteners. Steviol is short for Steviol Glycosides, which are the molecules found in the stevia leaves that give it its sweet taste, and are extracted from the plant to be used as a sweetener. FUN FACT: Natural stevia sweeteners are 200-350 times sweeter than regular sugar but without the calories.
Apple juice concentrate: This guy is used as a sweetener for our Apple flavour. Did you know natural fruit juices are made of about 90% water? When you remove or evaporate the water from fruit juice, you’re left with what’s known as juice concentrate. Extracting the water reduces bacterial growth, meaning that the concentrate doesn’t spoil as easily as the juice version.
Cane sugar: Yes sugar! We know, we know, sugar is the devil in granulated and powdered form. But when it comes to hydration it is necessary… IN SMALL DOSES. Cane sugar is an ingredient in our Coconut and Berry flavours. In combination with the other ingredients, it helps the other ingredients work harder to get you hydrated quicker. Aquabud contains just 2.5 grams of sugar, which is less than coconut water. So while we do have more sugar than good ol’fashioned water, we have much less sugar than many other hydration options.
Vitamins & Minerals
Vitamin C: AKA Ascorbic Acid AKA a great mate for kids! Vitamin C does so much including helping to maintain body tissue (including their skin); helping to form neurotransmitters; and supporting healthy bone and teeth development. But it’s best function has to be supporting your kids’ immune system. It’s very highly concentrated in your kids' immune cells demonstrating that it's an immune boosting agent. Their bodies don't produce it on their own, so they rely on getting it from foods and drinks - especially colourful fruits and veggies! And… ahem… Aquabud of course.
Potassium Citrate: Potassium is an essential mineral found in the foods we eat. Your body doesn’t produce potassium naturally so it’s important to consume the right balance of potassium-rich foods and beverages. Potassium is also an electrolyte. Electrolytes are GREAT because they assist in a range of essential body functions like digestion, pH balance, blood pressure and… you guessed it… HYDRATION (otherwise known as ensuring your body’s water balance is normalised). Potassium citrate is a compound made up of a combination of citric acid and potassium. It has a higher rate of absorption than regular potassium supplements and is often the best source of potassium for people that generally have problems absorbing it.
Magnesium Phosphate: Superhero Alert! Magnesium is a critical biological element for kids' health; it is the second most abundant electrolyte within the cells after potassium and the fourth most common mineral in the human body after calcium, potassium and sodium! Magnesium phosphate is a quick acting and gentle form of magnesium that helps with muscle spasms. More generally though, Magnesium is essential for a wide range of biological functions in the body such as energy metabolism, nerve conduction, muscle activity, immune function, and DNA synthesis and degradation. Magnesium also plays a structural role in bone strength and aids bone formation.
Calcium Citrate: Calcium is a mineral that basically builds strong bones. It helps in other ways too - like keeping the nerves and muscles working and the heart healthy - but bone health is what it’s most famous for. And look - you’re not building strong bones when you’re in your 30’s - you’re building them when you’re a kid. So calcium is VITAL for growing bodies. Babies get it from breast or formula milk, but as kids grow they need to get it from calcium rich foods and drinks. Aquabud contains a small amount of calcium to help meet their overall daily needs.
Zinc Gluconate: Zinc plays a critical role in kids’ body processes including cell growth and metabolism, and even plays a role in helping them resist infection. In a nutshell though, zinc helps kids grow. It’s a vital part of normal growth and organ development and can help kids achieve a healthy height and weight. While severe zinc deficiencies are rare, mild deficiencies can be quite common and have been linked to decreased growth, increased colds or infections and poor attention span. Aquabud contains a small amount of Zinc Gluconate to help meet their overall daily needs.
Sodium Citrate: This is a mineral that when used in combination with Citric Acid and Potassium Citrate (two of our other ingredients) acts as an alkalinising agent to make the urine less acidic. This combination is often used to prevent gout or kidney stones. In the case of Aquabud, these ingredients are included in very small doses to basically help the kidneys flush out toxins and aid in the hydration process.
Natural Flavours
Natural Flavours: According to the US Food & Drug Administration, natural flavours are: “the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.”
Or in other words: a completely natural way to flavour food and drinks.
Citric Acid
Citric Acid: Citric acid is found naturally in citrus fruits, especially lemons and limes. It’s what gives them their tart, sour taste. Because of its acidic, sour-tasting nature, citric acid is predominantly used as a flavouring and preserving agent in food and drinks. We use it to boost acidity, enhance flavour and preserve ingredients.
Natural Colours
Natural Colours: these originate from a wide variety of sources like fruits and vegetables, plants, minerals and other edible sources. The pigments are extracted from the natural source and impart their colour when added to a food or drink.

We don’t like to brag but…
Drink
Sugar per 100ml
- Aquabud 2.5g
- Apple Juice 10.6g
- Orange Juice 7.9g
- Soda / Soft Drink 10.6g
- Coconut water 4.7g
- Vitamin water drink 4.1g
- Sports performance drink 6g

Healthy hydration is a human right
Right now, millions of women and children around the world don’t have access to clean water and basic sanitation. That’s why we donate a percentage of our profits to Wateraid Australia. They work with the world's poorest and most marginalised communities to set up practical and sustainable water projects, like installing wells and tap systems to provide clean water access and providing sanitation to hospitals and maternity wards.
Children’s lives can be transformed at the turn of a tap. Thanks for helping make that happen.
FAQs
What’s Aquabud made of?
Aquabud is a water-based electrolyte drink.
The main ingredient in every can is natural spring water from our mates in New Zealand. We don’t mind putting aside our trans-Tasman rivalry to admit they have the best water in the world. We add electrolytes in the form of potassium, plus a small amount of Vitamin C, Magnesium, Calcium and Zinc. Then we jazz things up with natural flavours and colours - but nothing artificial! Check out our full list of ingredients and a description of each one here.
Why is hydration important for kids?
Because kids are like fiddle leaf figs - they need water. Water serves so many vital functions in the human body like distributing nutrients, getting rid of waste, pumping oxygen through the blood, as well as helping every cell to function correctly. Water also helps stabilise body temperature.
But perhaps most importantly, hydration is linked to energy levels and physical endurance, as well as concentration and focus. Basically, the more hydrated kids are, the more they’ll be able to squeeze out of life!
What are the benefits of hydration?
Oh where do we start?! It helps keep your organs functioning, helps your joints move properly, improves sleep quality, cognition and overall mood. It delivers nutrients where they need to go and gets rid of waste your body no longer needs. It's the natural fuel that keeps our bodies operating how they should.
Can kids get dehydrated?
They certainly can! Little kids in particular are more at risk of dehydration than teens and adults. Their bodies are smaller and have smaller water reserves to draw from. They’re usually more physically active too. They literally do not stop moving - unless Bluey is on TV of course. And if you’ve ever seen a little child flushed red and super hot after physical exertion, it’s because their little bodies produce more heat than ours. For younger kids, they may not always know if they’re thirsty or remember to ask for water.
All these factors mean that kids can be even more susceptible to dehydration than grown-ups.
How can I tell if my child is dehydrated?
One of the best places to start is the toilet. If your child is dehydrated their wee might be dark yellow, orange or even brown. They might not be going to the toilet as much, or have less wet nappies. Other symptoms include dry lips and mouth, mild dizziness and headaches.
Symptoms of more severe dehydration include lethargy and no energy, sunken eyes, really cold hands and feet and faster breathing with a faster heart rate. They might also seem irritable or confused, and if they cry no tears appear.
If you think your child is showing signs of severe dehydration we would recommend immediately contacting your doctor or even hospital.
Will hydration get my child to go to bed on time?
Hmmm sorry no - but we can recommend gentle cajoling, followed by angry threats, followed by sobbing into your hands, followed by weary resignation.