Pedialyte: Now Marketed As A Cure For Hangover In Adults

Pedialyte, a popular US oral electrolyte once intended to treat children with diahrrea, is increasingly consumed by adults as a form of treatment for extreme hangover. Singer, Pharrell Williams claims to drink it almost everyday, while Miley Cyrus can be seen holding the bottle of Pedialyte in her Instagram selfie.

Stomach flu leads to diarrhea and vomiting. Since the stomach is not in the condition to absorb all the vital minerals and nutrients it needs, it results into dehydration. As per the product information, Pedialyte is specially formulated to help replenish the loss of vital minerals and nutrients. But now there are reports which indicate that adults are consuming the drink to treat their hangover after a night of heavy drinking.

In the past, the adult consumption of drink was estimated to be up to 10 to 15 percent, but of late, the figures have spiked to around 33 percent. As per the figures issued by Nielsen, the adult usage of the drink has jumped by almost 60 percent since 2012, with adults now comprising more than a third of Pedialyte’s sales, making it a direct competitor for PepsiCo Inc.’s Gatorade.

The website of Pedialyte, owned by Similac formula parent Abbott Laboratories, claims that it “help prevent dehydration and replace nutrients and electrolytes lost through vomiting and diarrhea” in kids, but now the company has started to market the product as a cure for adults with extreme hangover and the lingering effects of binge drinking.

The company’s Twitter account is the proof of the change in the marketing strategy for the drink in the form of a new campaign #seethelyte. Also, the news ads can be seen featuring men and women looking worse for wear, desperate for some type of relief. While one of ads say, “Pedialyte is there to save the day”, the other can be read as, “When last night's party threatens to ruin today, those in the know reach for Pedialyte.”

According to Heather Mason, an executive vice president at Abbott Laboratories, as told Market Watch in an interview, an “underground movement” on social media exists, which includes the likes of such artists as Pharrell Williams, and it it’s this underground social media movement that is responsible for the company’s dramatic growth over the course of recent years.

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