Kool-Aid Kraft Heinz to launch electrolytes with no artificial dyes

Kool-Aid is launching electrolyte packets made without artificial dyes, aimed at reaching consumers who want to hydrate, but not for Gatorade or Liquid I.V. prices.

The new product is part of parent company Kraft Heinz’s broader plan to modernize its portfolio and reverse a sales slump that has lasted nearly a decade. Its top brands, including Capri Sun, Oscar Mayer and Kraft Mac & Cheese, have struggled as consumers have sought fresher and more nutritious options to feed and hydrate their families.

One year shy of its 100th birthday, Kool-Aid is — somehow — on the younger end of Kraft Heinz’s portfolio. But its relative youth and iconic mascot have not shielded the brand from many of the same issues dogging the company’s older brands, such as Maxwell House and Philadelphia.

Earlier this year, Kraft Heinz said it was pausing its previously announced plans to split the company in two. CEO Steve Cahillane said that many of the company’s issues were “fixable” and committed to investing $600 million to fuel a turnaround of its U.S. business.

Kool-Aid is part of that plan. Investment in the brand is slated to increase 70% this year compared with 2025, according to Kraft Heinz.

Some of that money went into the development and launch of Kool-Aid Hydration. The line rolls out in retailers later in May with three flavors: fruit punch, grape and blue raspberry lemonade.

“We think it’s the right step to take to contemporize brand and make sure the product offerings remain as relevant as the brand equity and cultural currency,” said Caroline Boulos, president of hydration, desserts and meals at Kraft Heinz.

Much of that growth comes from the rise of single-serve electrolyte sticks, which were popularized by Liquid I.V., now owned by Unilever. PepsiCo has also introduced single-serve packets and tablets under its Gatorade and Propel brands. And then there’s a number of smaller upstarts such as LMNT and Unwell Hydration from podcaster Alex Cooper.

But Kraft Heinz sees an opportunity for Kool-Aid to make its mark on the electrolyte powder category. Many of the current options available to consumers are “very performance driven” and “very intense,” according to Boulos.

“Consumers find a lot of those offerings to be too salty or bitter, and also, it’s a very premium subset of the category, so it’s not attainable to a larger swath of consumers,” she told CNBC.

Kool-Aid Hydration is launching at an average price point of $4.99 for a pack with six sticks. That price is several dollars below the typical cost of the same pack size of…