Hydration Stick Category Check: How a Fast-Growing Category Shows Up on US Shelves

We checked the hydration stick aisle at Target, CVS, Kroger, Albertsons, Publix and H-E-B stores across 30+ US states between October 27 and November 9, 2026. Liquid I.V. was on the shelf in 98% of stores. The section is small and often incomplete: 75% of stores had at least one out-of-stock on the shelf. In-store visibility is rare: a shelf talker in 13% of stores, a secondary display in 18%.

Liquid I.V. Is Almost Everywhere

Liquid I.V. is on the shelf in 98% of stores, followed by Propel (85%) and Gatorade Zero (77%). For the other brands, presence depends heavily on the retailer. Celsius is in 84% of Target stores and 89% of Albertsons stores, but almost absent from Publix and H-E-B.

Store brands are on the shelf in 70% of Albertsons stores and 66% of CVS stores, but in only 16% of Target stores and in no Publix store.

Some brands rely on one retailer. Pedialyte is in 70% of CVS stores and in every H-E-B store, but rare elsewhere. DripDrop is in 83% of Kroger group stores.

A Growing Category

In 64% of stores, the section fits in a single bay. That’s true in almost every Target store. The widest sections are in the Kroger group (1.7 bays on average) and at H-E-B (1.9).

Out-of-Stocks in 3 of 4 Stores

75% of stores had at least one out-of-stock on the shelf, meaning a price tag with no product behind it. Stores had 2.6 out-of-stocks on average, and 18% had five or more. Every retailer is affected: at each one, more than 60% of stores had at least one out-of-stock.

Minimal In-Store Execution

A shelf talker was on the section in 13% of stores. A secondary display (endcap, next to water cases, near the checkout cooler) was in 18% of stores.

Target and CVS account for most secondary displays (26% and 29% of their stores). In Kroger, Albertsons and Publix supermarkets, they are rare (8% of stores or fewer).

New Brands Are Coming In

In 60% of stores, we found at least one brand outside the 18 we tracked. Cure is the most common: it’s in 26% of stores, and in about half of Target and Albertsons stores.

DryWater is in 13% of stores, mostly at Target (41%). G Fuel appears in 9% of stores, all of them CVS.

What Shoppers Would Buy

We also asked each Roamler which brand they would buy from the shelf in front of them. Liquid I.V. came first, picked by 35% of respondents. The main reason given was flavor, named by more than half of those who picked a brand. Packaging came next (38%), then price and already being a user (30% each). Seeing advertising came last (11%).

What This Means for Brands

• Availability has to be checked store by store. Three in four stores have at least one out-of-stock on the shelf. Since the section often fits in a single bay, every empty price tag stands out.
• A national average hides gaps between retailers. Celsius is strong at Target and almost absent at Publix. Store brands carry weight at Albertsons and CVS, much less at Target. Brands need to track their presence retailer by retailer.
• There is room for more in-store visibility. With a shelf talker in 13% of stores and a secondary display in 18%, a brand that invests in in-store visibility faces little direct competition.
• New brands often start with one retailer. Cure and DryWater are mostly at Target, G Fuel at CVS. For a new brand, the first months at a retailer are when it matters most to know whether it’s actually on the shelf, and where.