How DryWater Is Taking On The Hydration Aisle

Earlier this year at Expo West, hundreds of emerging brands competed for attention—but one booth stood out: DryWater.

Its vibrant design featured fountains representing each flavor, turning hydration into an immersive experience. DryWater offers portable powdered packets that transform water into a flavorful, functional drink, designed for hydration on the go.

The brand will take the stage at the upcoming BRAND POPUP event - JULY 9, to share its growth journey and how it’s competing in the crowded hydration space alongside leaders like Liquid I.V.

THURSDAY, JULY 9 — Next Thursday, July 9, BRAND POPUP takes over Los Angeles with a packed afternoon of conversations, insights, and stories from some of the brands shaping modern consumer culture.

From 4 PM to 9 PM, we'll host five sessions featuring leaders from PepsiCo, DryWater, ARC'TERYX, UNIQLO, and OLIPOP as they share how they think about building, activating, and scaling brands in today's rapidly changing landscape.

Expect conversations on digital marketing, brand storytelling, community, retail, culture, and growth, straight from the teams doing the work every day.

If you happen to be in LA, come by and join us. HERE

WEDNESDAY, SEPT 9 - The future of commerce is being rebuilt in real time. Join Alibaba CoCreate 2026, one of the world's leading summits for product-driven businesses, where founders, operators, and innovators come together to explore how AI, global sourcing, and modern manufacturing are reshaping the next generation of brands.

Featuring speakers and leaders from Amazon, Reddit, Wix, Kickstarter, Fast Company, Balance, and many other influential companies driving the future of commerce, technology, and entrepreneurship. REGISTER

Most people picture modern social marketing as startups moving fast on TikTok or emerging brands like Grüns, Neuro Gum, and David Protein capturing attention through creators, memes, and internet culture.

But some of the most valuable lessons come from companies that have been doing this at scale for decades, brands that built their influence through traditional channels and have continuously evolved, quickly adapting their playbooks to meet the demands of modern platforms.

At the upcoming BRAND POPUP event, the PepsiCo team will join us on stage for Off The Shelf, a conversation exploring how legacy brands stay relevant in a world where trends move at the speed of the internet.

From TikTok trends and Instagram creators to retail media and digital commerce, today's marketing playbook looks very different than it did just a few years ago. The challenge is no longer simply building awareness — it's turning attention into products that move off shelves and into shopping carts.

We'll go behind the scenes on how PepsiCo approaches digital marketing across modern platforms and key commerce partners including DoorDash, Uber Eats, and GoPuff. You'll hear which campaign strategies are driving growth, what experiments fell short, and how teams optimize creative, creators, and media for today's consumer behavior.

Because in 2026, relevance isn't just a competitive advantage.

It's a survival strategy.

Essential information for founders, creators, and tech professionals.

We highlight roles from founders, brands, and operators in our network who are actively hiring. If you’re looking to join a high-growth team, this is where you start.

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Hiring? Email us ([email protected]) to feature your open roles and connect with our community.

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Claude or Gemini? OpenAI or Anthropic? GPT-7 before year-end or not? If you read tech newsletters, you've already formed opinions on all of it.

Kalshi has real-money markets on which AI model leads benchmarks this week, which lab ships AGI first, when Anthropic releases Mythos, whether OpenAI raises ChatGPT pricing, and which company has the best coding model at year-end. These aren't abstract questions — they're live markets with real money on both sides, moving as labs ship, benchmarks drop, and announcements land.

The edge belongs to whoever actually follows this space. Not the casual observer — the person who reads model cards, tracks evals, and notices when a new release outperforms the field before the mainstream press catches up.

That person has a genuine edge. If that's you, Kalshi lets you act on it.

Trade the model race

How are leading teams getting AI support to work? We're breaking down the playbook, live July 9.

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About LA Related

LA Related is a newsletter by Schmoozd, which hosts offline networking events for professionals in the Los Angeles area. Schmoozd was founded in 2009 and now has over 30K+ subscribers.

Each week, we drop a curated list of LA's most happenings into your inbox. From exclusive pop-ups to killer events, we keep you ahead of the curve.