2026 hydration trends – everything you need to know about water in the workplace
Workplace | 13-05-26
This year, many people are making hydration goals a priority. At Zip Water, we know the importance of effective hydration; our innovative drinking water solutions for the workplace encourage employees to drink more water, resulting in improved concentration, productivity, and wellbeing.
But what exactly are the main hydration trends we can expect to see this year?
New research about enhanced water highlights how upcoming trends are impacting hydration habits
Meeting hydration goals at work can be difficult; many people are busy with tasks or in meetings, and need reminding to take a break. It can be hard to keep track of how much water we drink, or should be drinking, each and every day – even though we know that staying hydrated is essential for health and wellbeing.
Recent research by Ocado shows that 78% of UK adults believe hydration is as important in the winter as it is during summer, which shows an awareness of the importance of drinking enough all year round. Sales of enhanced water and other smart hydration drinks, moreover, are climbing. Yet remaining well hydrated at work is still proving to be a challenge.
In this article, we'll cover the latest and upcoming trends that can help support employees with hydration and increased productivity at work.
How to improve your hydration and water intake in 2026
Many people struggle to remember to drink water throughout the day – even though the benefits are well understood. Ocado reports that 56% of respondents in their study highlighted an improvement in focus, mood, and energy levels when they had drunk enough water.
Fortunately, this year we're seeing a variety of hydration options and smart products available to encourage people to stay hydrated. Here are four of the key trends that are gaining momentum in 2026.
1. Functional hydration for improved performance
Regular hydration focuses solely on replenishing the body's water levels, whereas functional hydration aims to improve overall wellbeing and performance when carrying out particular activities. It's the act of choosing to hydrate in ways that support you during exercise or periods of intense work, benefiting you in particular areas such as fitness or concentration.
This new hydration trend involves drinking water that has been fortified with electrolytes, minerals, natural caffeine, and botanicals to improve mental alertness and focus. Studies show that consuming fortified beverages can improve energy levels and improve muscle recovery after exercise.
You can tailor drinks to your needs depending on your activity levels and the types of activity you're undertaking. Some products are also intended to improve digestion and help deliver nutrients more effectively, using formulations that are absorbed more quickly into the body than plain water.
Some of these products also claim to contribute to faster recovery after exercise by including BCAAs (branched-chain amino acids) and electrolytes that help reduce muscle soreness.
2. Smart bottles for smarter hydration
Another growing trend this year is the use of smart water bottles. These bottles are available from a range of brands and are portable, easy to carry, and often include temperature control to keep drinks cold or hot for extended periods of time as you go about your day.
Many brands have a sustainability focus, as well as prioritising health, and are made from bioplastics or recycled stainless steel. Battery life ranges from several days to several weeks, depending on usage. Apple users can usually connect their bottles to an Apple Watch or iPhone and use the built-in Apple Health and 'Find My' function as a drink finder, meaning no more time wasted hunting for a lost bottle on the way out to work or the gym.
Many bottles prioritise smart hydration by linking with an app, which can provide personalised hydration goals based on environmental factors, water intake, and individual activity levels. Apps will often inform you about how much you're drinking, reminding you to regularly hydrate and supporting you in meeting hydration goals.
Our HydroChill range offers pure-tasting, filtered chilled water on demand, delivered from a sleek dispensing unit that can be placed wherever there’s access to mains water and electricity. HydroChill provides employees with a convenient refill point for their reusable bottles, giving them access to filtered chilled water whenever they need it.
3. Enhanced water to encourage better hydration habits
Enhanced water refers to water that contains added flavour, vitamins, and other extracts to promote general wellbeing by enhancing and encouraging hydration. And the trend is growing rapidly.
Ocado, for instance, reports sales of flavoured water and water enhanced with vitamins and minerals are up 66% year on year. Formulas often include electrolytes such as sodium, magnesium, calcium, and potassium or a touch of natural flavouring. These products may support people to maintain healthy fluid levels during a busy day, especially if they don't like the taste of normal tap water.
Our new state-of-the-smart Twist hydration system is designed to make hydration swift, simple, and enjoyable employees. This flavour-enhanced water dispenser provides filtered chilled, sparkling, and ambient water with a twist of natural, sugar-free flavouring to encourage people to drink more.
With over 600 ways to make water yours, Twist offers employees a convenient and refreshing way to enjoy water that’s tailored to them, providing an elegant solution to personalised workplace hydration – which can be easily tracked thanks to live data insights.
Meanwhile, Twist’s market-leading 8-in-1 filtration technology is independently certified to reduce the eight most harmful contaminants in drinking water, including bacteria, lead, microplastics, and PFAS, improving both taste and safety.
4. Water-rich foods to supplement total intake
The fourth major trend in 2026 is including water-rich foods as part of a healthy, varied diet. Water-rich foods compliment hydration, and we can get more water from our diet than you may expect: tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, broccoli, oranges, sprouts, blueberries, and apples are all fresh, delicious foods that contain a very high percentage of water.
Offering workplace snacks that have a high water content can help to keep employees hydrated for longer at work, as well as providing a vitamin and nutrient boost.
Supporting healthy drinking habits in the workplace
Office managers, facilities managers, and specifiers can respond to these trends by helping to create a workplace culture that prioritises wellbeing and smart hydration.
Providing reusable bottles made from recycled stainless steel is one simple way to reduce single-use plastic, especially when employees have easy access to fresh, filtered drinking water throughout the day.
Systems such as Zip HydroTap and HydroChill make it easy for teams to refill bottles and stay hydrated with filtered boiling, chilled, and sparkling water on demand, while Twist offers enhancements like a touch of natural flavour to make hydration more personal.
With more people placing their health and wellbeing front and centre this year, it’s important that businesses support these habits, too. To learn more about workplace drinking water systems designed to encourage healthier hydration, get in touch with the Zip team today.
FAQs
How can I support my employees to drink more water in the workplace?
At Zip, we know that prioritising hydration at work can have wide-reaching benefits. We can help by providing high-quality, expertly-engineered solutions.
HydroTap is a smart, flexible option, delivering up to five different water types, including ambient hot and cold, and filtered boiling, chilled, and sparkling water. Its combination of style and functionality makes HydroTap a great addition to any office kitchen.
While our Twist model provides flavour-enhanced water, with over 600 different ways to make water yours, encouraging people to increase their overall water intake by pouring a drink that's as unique as they are.
How does a smart bottle work?
Smart bottles, often made of vacuum-insulated stainless steel, keep drinks at their desired temperature for hours and allow users to track their drinking habits via Bluetooth syncing. Some smart bottles use laser technology to estimate how much water has been consumed; others use UV light technology as a filter to improve taste and reduce bacteria in drinking water.
How can a smart water bottle help to change hydration habits?
Visual reminders like glowing lights on smart bottles or app notifications can encourage users to drink more water more regularly. Bottle features also include sip tracking technology and remind users to drink more throughout the day – once built into a daily routine, a smart bottle could make a big difference to an individual's wellbeing by consistently improving their levels of hydration.
What are the benefits of hydration apps?
Many smart bottles sync with mobile apps to monitor hydration progress and set personalised goals, so users can work towards healthier hydration levels.
Challenges and competitions can further motivate some individuals to drink more water; some apps use gamification to get users to drink more and allow users to customise reminders and notifications to help enhance the effectiveness of hydration tracking.
