By: Bryan Laughery
How much function could a water bottle possibly have? How much further does it go than just being a vessel? Donovan Stewart is confident that he’s stretching the image you may have in your head of a water bottle. With his veteran-owned business, the Ghydion Gallon, he’s taking hydration into the future and bringing both hydration gamified to the US masses and more water to the world.
Donovan’s initial mission with the Ghydion Gallon when the company was founded was to gamify hydration. He knows better than most how hydration carries with it nuances—how often one should drink, how much to drink at a time for maximum hydration, antioxidants and electrolytes that support hydration, and differences in lifestyle that call for more hydration—and addressing the depth of hydration is a worthwhile cause. While he served in the Air Force, he became acclimated to harsh desert climates and world travel. His awareness grew around his own hydration, but he also realized before starting the business that American citizens are not well-hydrated.
Whether it’s psychology, physical health, or inadequate technology that’s keeping people from hydrating properly, Donovan’s smart water bottle can plug all sorts of dehydration leaks. Research shows that the majority of the US population is chronically dehydrated. From a young age, we are not taught about hydration, and it can be detrimental. In the hotter Southern states, parents would be quite motivated to put a gallon smart bottle in their children’s hands if they knew how much higher the probability of heat stroke is for someone not drinking water in a PE class. In offices, garages, and stations around the country, coffee replaces water, but this replacement is only in consumption—workers who replace water with coffee wonder why their head hurts constantly or if they need the coffee to stay awake. People in these situations need to learn about the gamification offered by the Ghydion Gallon.
The Ghydion Gallon integrates a water intake calculator, goal-setting, progress tracking, and personalized feedback into a sleek design. All of its hydration features are backed by peer-reviewed studies, and every part of its design supplements the business belief that lasting behavioral change can come with supportive technology. Their scientific approach earned the company their first patent.
Intrinsic motivation is central to hydration. The Ghydion Gallon converges on habit formation and social reinforcement to develop an intrinsic motivation towards hydration in the user. Socially, the Ghydion team has developed an app that goes with the bottle, where users can challenge their friends and track advanced product stats. On a more basic level, the Ghydion Gallon has an intake calculator. Beyond labeling amounts on the side of the bottle, Ghydion keeps track of hydration intervals with a digital display, which is rechargeable.
But the intake calculator and app don’t stretch the imagination too far, do they? Luckily, the innovation doesn’t stop there. Donovan and his team listened vigorously to customer feedback, always updating the product with good ideas before finishing the prototype. They’ve created multiple models, including a hiking model of the bottle that’s smaller to fit into a backpack and hold less weight, and the attachments of the bottle go even further in innovating the brand. The bottle is available in many phenotypes, including simple colors or fancier designs like leopard print. With a stainless steel body and dual lid, the bottle is practically indestructible. Its display is not the only electronic feature; the bottle has internal and external charging, so you can charge your phone on the treadmill or bring a speaker to the park. An easy-clean shutter pod allows for flavored infusions into your water with no hassle, and it keeps your workout supplements dry until you’re ready to infuse them. The sleeve it comes in can hold your keys, wallet, and ID in a visible pocket. Has your imagination been stretched now?
Inspired by the effects of heat exhaustion in Qatar, Donovan founded the business with fellow service members Johnathan Nokes and Fernando Villa. The genesis of the company was to improve the lives of people around the world with a smart and effective product. A more hydrated population in the US would see improved energy, alertness, focus, and recovery, as well as enhanced organ function like healthier skin and better digestion. On top of the domestic benefits, the Ghydion Gallon has partnered with Charity: Water. They give 10% of every gallon sold to a nonprofit that gives water to people around the world and keeps them accountable by posting GPS receipts of their water deliveries.
So far, the Ghydion Gallon has been a massive hit, and the company is having a great 2024. Donovan, as the founder, recently won season 12 of the competitive entrepreneurial reality show The Blox, and it brought more positive attention to his efforts at a Ghydion prototype. The project has raised $25,000 in pre-orders compared to its $5,000 goal, and hundreds of bottles will fly off the shelves immediately after the release.
Published by: Martin De Juan
