Hydra-Guard Sports Drink, an all-natural sports drink created by Baton Rouge entrepreneur Joe Tucker, has landed a multi-state distribution contract and is launching a rebrand.
The company recently brought on Denver Nuggets power forward and Louisiana native Paul Millsap to promote Hydra-Guard, serve as head of its public relations and work with the brand to find more professional athlete endorsements. Hydra-Guard also hired Robert Hebert to serve as chief of marketing.
Tucker partnered with the LSU AgCenter Food Incubator in 2015 with the goal of creating a higher-quality, healthier version of commonly consumed sports drinks, like Gatorade.
Since the sports drink hit the market in 2016, Hydra-Guard has grown from its 55-gallon-kettle operation in the food incubator to its having a production and distribution warehouse in Dallas, Texas. The company’s corporate headquarters remain in Baton Rouge at LSU’s Innovation Park.
Tucker says Hydra-Guard has scaled back production for the past several months to rebrand as a sports drink, instead of its past name, Hydra-Guard Recharge, to avoid being thought of as an energy drink.
In 2020, Tucker plans to release a pouch-style kids drink, popsicles, new flavors and items for bulk purchase. Millsap has made Hydra-Guard the official sports drink of his Core 4 training facility in Atlanta.
