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Adaptogen Drinks and Where to Not Find Them
Dear adaptogen drinks, I've got trust issues. After looking into top-selling adaptogen beverages on Amazon, I'm spilling the (herbal) tea on this exploding trend.

TLDR: Take some mushrooms, add buzzwords like "adaptogen," sprinkle in a few millions of VC money, and suddenly you're selling canned calm for $42 a pack.
But between the impossible nutrition math (18g carbs = 25 calories?), founders with questionable credentials (hello, fake monk), and exactly zero companies testing if their specific blends actually work, there’s a $1.5 billion industry.
Here's what I found after looking into Amazon's top-selling adaptogen drinks, and why HOP WTR might be your least questionable option — though men might want to think twice about those hops. Spoiler: most of these companies have more marketing specialists than scientists, and it shows.
Disclaimer: I discovered this trend using Exploding topics (I am an affiliate and a long-time fan of this tool), which has become my go-to resource for uncovering under-the-radar opportunities. While the tool doesn’t provide the research that comes with my newsletter, if you're into finding even more trends in all the fields, this tool is definitely worth a look.
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A quick Amazon search pulls up 556 products matching the term “adaptogen drink” and some of them making pretty wild claims promising to be your ticket to stress-free living.
These drinks — infused with ingredients like ashwagandha and l-theanine (but mostly made of juice, water and some type of sweetener) — have gone from obscure wellness supplements to mainstream merchandise. The market of adaptogen drinks hit $1.56 billion in 2023 and shows no signs of slowing down. Industry projections suggest we'll see sales shoot up to $2.42 billion by 2034.
But after spending hours looking into these drinks I found that as usual questions about ingredient quality, dosage effectiveness, and manufacturing standards often go unanswered.
So what's actually in these cans of calm? Does the mix actually work or manufactures just extrapolated some irrelevant research headlines on their product’s packaging? Why are some priced like luxury items while others cost less than a regular energy drink? And most importantly — are they giving you the stress relief you're paying for? Let’s dive in together.
Recess: When calm comes with questions
Sitting pretty at the top of Amazon's adaptogen drink rankings with over 10,000 purchases in the past month, Recess Mood sells its magnesium and adaptogen beverages for $41.84 per 12-pack ($0.29 per fluid ounce). Their marketing is polished — a rainbow of flavors from Strawberry Rose to Grapefruit Tangerine, complete with promises of relaxation and "mental calmness."
This company, which started as a CBD beverage brand, has quietly shifted away from CBD entirely in their new adaptogen line. Nothing wrong with pivoting your business, but it's the kind of detail that makes you wonder if they are changing as fast as trends, how much of the research they do to make sure that the product is actually good?
The nutritional facts raised some eyebrows too. Their Raspberry Lemon and Strawberry Rose flavors show different carbohydrate content (6g vs 4g) but somehow maintain identical calorie counts (20 calories). That's not how nutrition math works.
The ingredient list looks solid at the first glance. You've got your magnesium L-threonate, L-theanine, and lemon balm — all wrapped up in a low-calorie, low-sugar package. And there's some actual science backing these ingredients. Studies show L-theanine can reduce stress responses and heart rates, while lemon balm has proven benefits for anxiety. But do these studies have anything to do with Recess drinks? Crickets.
Looking through their 112 LinkedIn employees, I found plenty of marketing pros, brand strategists, and sales experts. What I didn't find? Scientists, nutritionists, or anyone focused on ingredient safety. Even their CEO, Benjamin Witte, comes straight from product marketing and venture capital — no background in nutrition or supplements.
The real head-scratcher comes from their star ingredient, Magtein®. You'll see this trademark plastered on their packaging and website footer, attributed to Magceutics®, Inc.
Magtein website says: “Backed by the rigors of prestigious scientific investigations from Nobel Laurates and world renowned neuroscientists, Magtein is the favored ingredient for cognitive well-being.” So I did some digging. Magceutics® has zero employees on LinkedIn. I couldn’t wrap my head around it — where are all nobel “laurates”?
I had to search harder, because it didn’t make much sense. And it turned out that Magceutics®, Inc. is operated by Neurocentria Inc., a biotech firm developing drugs for Alzheimer's and ADHD.
Sure, Neurocentria has some solid scientists (though not the Nobel laureates their marketing claims). But something seems very off about a biotech company running FDA-approved brain drug trials while simultaneously developing ingredients for wellness drinks that don't require FDA approval — all while obscuring the connection between the two.
Hiyo: When the math doesn't add up
At $38.24 for a 12-pack ($0.265 per ounce), Hiyo's Organic Social Tonic holds the second spot in Amazon's adaptogen drink rankings with over 5,000 monthly purchases. Their story sounds compelling — two friends creating an alcohol alternative after family health scares. It's the kind of origin story that sells well in pitch meetings (they just raised $20 million in Series A funding). But something about their product didn't sit right with me.