As temperatures soar to 32 degrees, Brits still refuse to drink enough water

Last weekend, the UK saw temperatures rapidly climb to highs of 32 degrees carrying over into the week. However, while temperatures are rising, Brits are still refusing to drink enough water making dehydration, heat-stroke, and other hydration related health issues a key priority to tackle. Hydration experts, Air Up are seeking to tackle the concerning trend in the UK – whereby 45% of Brits only drink one glass of water a day – by making water fun and filled with flavour using retronasal technology.

A loss of as little as 1% of our bodies water has been shown by the Cambridge Journal of Nutrition to impair cognitive functioning, increasing feelings of anxiety and fatigue. Serious dehydration can see individuals feel dizzy, vomit, experience bone pain, and even develop kidney stones. While water might therefore be labelled by some as ‘boring’ it is absolutely essential for us to not only survive, but thrive, supporting every facet of our bodies.

Despite this, Brits’ attempts to drink more water are often without success. The UK therefore sees a soft drinks market worth £3.8 billion dominated by sugary drinks and those labelled as ‘zero-calorie’ still filled with a variety of additives and sweeteners. Brits are naturally looking for healthy alternatives to these flavourful drinks in order to consume enough water without ingesting copious amounts of sugar that are detrimental to their health and hydration goals.

Landmark research by hydration experts, Air Up, analyses the complexities behind Brits’ fraught relationship with water. Air Up’s research reveals that due to a combination of water being perceived as ‘boring’ and a lack of alternatives to keep up hydration in a truly healthy manner, the UK is witnessing concerning rates of dehydration across the nation:

Key stats:

45% (23,152,000) of Brits drink around one glass of water a day
30% (15,701,000) of Brits find water boring so they don’t often drink it
29% (14,814,000) of Brits have tried, without success, to drink more wate
Air Up are therefore advocating for an innovative way to add flavour to our soft drinks without the chemical nasties that offset our goals to stay hydrated and live healthier lifestyles. To try and provide an innovative, healthy, and still tasty way to drink water, improving our relationships with hydration, Air Up is advocating for the use of retronasal technology.

With 80% of flavour coming from our sense of smell, instead of taste, Air Up harnesses this clever bit of science, infusing every sip of water from your bottle with flavoured air, offering Brits a healthy alternative to flavoured drinks while still drinking 100% pure water. Each pod contains natural flavourings and scents that infuse with ambient air to be added to the pure water, these flavours range from Lime and Orange-Passionfruit to Cola and Iced Coffee with ten others in between, offsetting British aversions to water and improving our sense of health and wellness in the process, truly disrupting the soft drinks sector and our consumption habits.

Lena Jüngst – co-founder of Air Up comments:

“Air Up is a new and fascinating way to taste. What I love most about our product, as a designer, is that it shows that a more healthy and sustainable lifestyle can still be fun and appealing. For me that is a very promising sign for our future, and something that we have worked hard to achieve. Air Up is the world’s first drinking bottle that flavours water only by scent with the help of retronasal smelling. Compared to other drinks with flavour, we do not put any ingredients into the water, but only add small fragrance bubbles that are not absorbed by the body. So the water remains water – just with flavour. This is not only good for your health, but also a much more sustainable alternative. As far as we know, no one has ever used retronasal smell like we do, to create flavour. We are a true “world’s first” and that’s pretty rare nowadays.”