Partnering for impact: Cure Hydration’s Alex Sarkissian on hydration, health and giving back

Alex Sarkissian is a co-founder at Cure Hydration, a new wellness brand focused on a better, more efficient hydration method than traditional sports drinks or plain water. Cure Hydration has pledged to donate a percentage of annual sales to support Pact’s health programming in Africa, one of the first partnerships of this kind for Pact.

Here, Alex discusses the science and motivation behind Cure Hydration and the thought behind this new partnership.

Pact: What inspired you to start Cure Hydration? What were you hoping to accomplish?

Sarkissian: We decided to start Cure Hydration because we were frustrated by how hard it was to find healthy sports drinks. We were shocked when we learned that 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. As former athletes who still like to stay active, we know how important proper hydration is to feel our best physically and mentally. Yet the majority of products are loaded with artificial ingredients and sugar—a high price to pay to stay hydrated. With Cure, we wanted to provide people with a hydration solution that was both more effective and made from natural and organic ingredients.

How on earth is water not enough to keep us hydrated?

Don’t get us wrong, we love water, but it turns out that water alone isn’t enough to properly rehydrate us, especially if we’re active. When we sweat, get sick, or drink alcohol, we lose vital electrolytes like sodium and potassium, which we have to replenish. You can’t get these essential minerals from water alone.

How does your product work?

Our formula is based on the science behind Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS), which was originally developed by the World Health Organization and has been shown to hydrate as effectively as an IV drip. When a small amount of glucose and electrolytes are perfectly balanced, the combination creates a hydration superhighway through the body’s sodium-glucose cotransport mechanism. The sodium and glucose work together to create an osmotic force that allows water, sodium and other key electrolytes to be pulled directly into your bloodstream earlier on in the digestive process. The result is faster, more effective hydration.

What led you to partner with Pact?

When we first learned about ORS, we were amazed to find that something so simple could treat severe dehydration. Health and humanitarian aid organizations have been saving lives with ORS all over the world for the last five decades. We wanted to give back to this legacy and do our part to improve the lives of those with fewer resources available to them. When we heard about Pact, we immediately saw a fit. Our mission is to empower others to achieve the full potential of body, mind and spirit. We believe that mission aligns perfectly with Pact’s commitment to ensure that all people are able to be healthy and thrive.

What made that particularly important for you?   

So many people in the world struggle for access to basic necessities—proper nourishment, clean water and economic opportunity. We believe we all have a responsibility to support those who face circumstances that we could not even imagine. Above all, we are so grateful to have our health and feel tremendously motivated to help others attain the same. It’s incredibly fulfilling to know that the work we do at Cure in partnership with Pact will have a positive impact on the world.

What’s on the horizon for Cure Hydration?

Our goal right now is to educate as many people as possible about healthier alternatives for hydration. We plan to expand our product offering into other functional categories such as immunity and mental health. Our pledge is to create products that are as clean and minimally processed as possible, and that are scientifically proven to be effective.

For more information about Cure Hydration, visit curehydration.com or follow @curehydration on social media.