What's the deal with ... banana water?

If a tin of coconut h2o and a banana smoothie had a baby, it mightiness beryllium banana water. The latest plant-based hydration beverage connected the marketplace is being touted arsenic “the peel bully beverage” that offers “a clump of nutrients.” And it’s drumming up attraction connected societal media.

“Boyfriend says it has aromatics of somewhat overripe banana,” 1 Reddit user, leemoongrass, commented, adding, “It honestly isn’t that bad.”

“It smells similar babe food,” lsp2c said connected Instagram.

Not to beryllium confused with banana h2o for plants, a DIY fertilizer made by soaking banana peels successful h2o to extract nutrients, specified arsenic potassium and vitamin C, for your flora. Or homemade banana drinks, specified arsenic blistery h2o steeped with banana peels and strained, oregon blended banana smoothies.

The caller drink, sold successful supermarkets, is being marketed arsenic an alternate to sports drinks, a benignant of coconut h2o 2.0.

But immoderate person taken to societal media with questions: “How bash you deliberation you foodstuff a banana?!” tybottofficial asked connected TikTok, portion unpacking a container of integrated banana h2o from Woodstock. “I wonderment if they’re conscionable successful a factory, like, you know, truly milking these bananas, I guess?” (He gave the portion a 7.5 retired of 10.)

Both Woodstock and Banagua, starring manufacturers of banana water, marque their banana h2o successful Thailand from integrated “Thai golden” and “Thai cultivated” bananas, which are shorter and stubbier-looking than the modular yellowish bananas sold successful astir American supermarkets and which person a flimsy pinkish tint. The effect gets pinker successful the processing and the portion has a pinkish hue.

If you’re a statement ogler, the constituent database volition enactment you astatine ease. Banana h2o contains conscionable 1 ingredient: bananas. There’s nary important h2o added to it. A banana is 80% water, Banagua co-founder Rob Smithson says, and the processing of the portion (an “enzymatic process”) separates the h2o from the pulp — the portion is somewhat viscous but not pulpy.

Woodstock’s bananas are steamed and mashed with “proprietary enzymes” to merchandise nutrients. “Think of it arsenic liquefied bananas,” says Bruce Bruemmer, vice president of marque absorption astatine UNFI Brands+, Woodstock’s genitor company.

The upshot? Both companies accidental their banana h2o is particularly healthy, brimming with electrolytes similar potassium, B6 and magnesium, arsenic good arsenic minerals and antioxidants specified arsenic vitamin A and C. The portion has nary added sugar, and zero fat, sodium and cholesterol, though a 330ml tin does person astir 13 grams of carbohydrates, somewhat little than Naked coconut water’s 14 grams successful a instrumentality of the aforesaid size.

So however steadfast is banana water, what does it sensation like, and is it worthy the hype? Here’s the deal.

Manufacturer’s claims: “Our banana h2o has 205 mg of magnesium — 50% of the regular value,” Smithson says of Banagua’s Original Banana, which went connected the marketplace successful July 2025. “And it’s particularly hydrating — astir apt 2-3 bananas per can, which you tin bring anyplace and you don’t person to interest astir moldy bananas. And conscionable 50 calories — Naked’s coconut h2o has 60.”

Woodstock’s 500ml tin of banana water, which went connected the marketplace successful March 2024, has conscionable 80 calories. “Our Woodstock Organic Banana Water stands retired for its large sensation and earthy hydration,” Bruemmer says, “delivering 765mg of electrolytes — akin to galore sports drinks — without immoderate artificial colors, flavors oregon preservatives.”

Nutritionists’ take: “It’s astir apt a sequel to coconut water,” says Dr. Thomas Sherman, a prof of pharmacology and physiology astatine Georgetown University Medical Center. “It would entreaty to radical who are disquieted astir carnal wellness and saturated abdominous successful their beverage drinks oregon who are disquieted astir excessively precocious sweetener — truthful this fits the bill. But I question its effectiveness — these types of beverages connection specified trivial amounts of electrolytes compared to what’s already successful our food. And it’s expensive.

Sherman says that, successful the end, it comes down to the consumer’s intentions for choosing banana water.

“If you’re buying it due to the fact that of the taste, and you privation to enactment a plant-based beverage, and [because] it’s reasonably debased sugar, past fine,” helium says. “But if you’re buying it due to the fact that you’re funny successful getting much potassium and magnesium and calcium with debased sodium, past it’s silly due to the fact that conscionable eat plants, eat food, that’s going to proviso hundreds of times much potassium and calcium and magnesium.”

Categorizing banana h2o arsenic a sports portion is problematic, adds Vanessa King, a registered dietitian nutritionist specializing successful supplements.

“Sports drinks regenerate electrolytes,” King says. “The occupation with banana h2o is that portion bananas are precise precocious successful potassium, the electrolyte that you predominantly suffer erstwhile you workout is sodium — and it doesn’t supply sodium. I would not take it implicit a sports drink.”

King points retired that “banana juice,” arsenic she calls it, suffers from the aforesaid concerns arsenic different juices: “It’s much concentrated sweetener without the fibre you’d get from the effect version.”

But immoderate magnitude of potassium, magnesium, vitamin A and C — each cardinal nutrients successful banana h2o — is helpful, King says. “They’re each nutrients that are mostly under-consumed by Americans. But bananas besides person those nutrients!”

The taste: We recovered it saccharine and tropical-tasting, somewhat viscous but amazingly refreshing. However, we didn’t spell bananas for it.

Cost: Banagua’s Original Banana (330ml): $3.49; Woodstock’s Organic Banana Water (500ml): $2.99.