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Applied Nutrition’s Vimto hydration tablets are everywhere at the moment. Amazon UK shows more than a thousand bought in the past month, the 20-tablet tube sits at 4.7 stars from 580 ratings, and it costs £6.50. I’ve covered Applied’s Beef-XP before, so I wanted to know whether these tablets earn a place in a gym bag or whether you’re mostly paying for the Vimto name.
The short version
They’re a light electrolyte top-up for gym sessions, football and hot days, and they’re part of the Informed Sport testing programme. Each tablet gives 400mg of electrolytes in total, about the same as a HIGH5 Zero tablet. That covers an hour of training. It won’t go far if you sweat heavily or train for hours in the heat. The single tube is the expensive way to buy them: the 120-tablet box works out at 25p a tablet against 33p for the tube.
What’s in a tablet
| Tablet size | 4g, dissolved in 200ml of water |
| Electrolytes | 400mg in total (sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium combined) |
| Vitamin C | 40mg |
| Sugar | 0g, sweetened with sucralose |
| Calories | 6 kcal |
| Caffeine | None in the ingredients list |
| Testing | Informed Sport programme |
| Diet | Vegan and vegetarian; halal according to the Amazon listing |
The Vimto version contains citric acid, sodium carbonates, sorbitol as a bulking agent, potassium citrates, polyethylene glycol to stop caking, magnesium salts of citric acid, Vimto flavouring, calcium citrates, carrot and hibiscus for colour, vitamin C and sucralose. Applied lists no common allergens. The orange and lemon & lime versions use sodium bicarbonate, tricalcium citrate and natural flavourings instead.
The number I couldn’t find is the sodium per tablet. Neither the Amazon listing nor the text on Applied’s product page splits the 400mg into its four minerals. Sweat is mostly salt, so sodium is the figure that tells you how far one tablet goes. HIGH5 does print it: a 4g Zero tablet has 250mg of sodium and 385mg of electrolytes in total. If you want to check a tube yourself, here’s how I read a supplement label.
What owners say
I can’t give you my own taste notes yet, so here is what the reviews say. Amazon’s summary of the Vimto reviews (October 2026) counts 95 positive and 14 negative mentions of taste, and several reviewers say it tastes like proper Vimto without being too sweet. Effectiveness gets 110 positive mentions out of 114, although “I felt more hydrated” is hard to judge from a review. The practical complaint that comes up is dissolving: a few owners say a tablet needs up to ten minutes to dissolve completely, while others call it quick. A reviewer of the lemon & lime version noticed the faint soapy aftertaste that most electrolyte drinks have.
The cons
- The sodium figure isn’t in the listing text, so you can’t compare it properly with other brands before you buy.
- 400mg of electrolytes is a light dose. For a long run, a hot match or a sweaty spin class, one tablet replaces only a small part of what you lose.
- Sorbitol is the bulking agent, and the label warns that too much can have a laxative effect. One or two a day is a different thing from five.
- The single tube costs more on Amazon (£6.50) than on Applied’s own site (£5.95). The 40-tablet tub and the 120-tablet lemon & lime pack were both unavailable on Amazon UK when I checked.
- The label says they’re not suitable for anyone under 16.
How to use them
The label says one 4g tablet in 200ml of water, drunk within 24 hours. 200ml is a small glass, and most people will drop one into a 500ml bottle instead. That changes the taste and leaves the amount of electrolytes the same. For a normal gym session, one tablet during or after training is how Applied intends them to be used. If you train for more than an hour in warm weather, a higher-sodium product makes more sense than stacking several of these, partly because of the sorbitol.
Price per serving vs alternatives (Amazon UK, 21 Oct 2026)
| Product | Pack | Price | Per serving | Electrolytes per serving (as published) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applied Nutrition Hydration Tablets, Vimto | 20 tablets | £6.50 | 33p | 400mg total + 40mg vitamin C |
| Applied Nutrition Hydration Tablets, Vimto | 120 tablets (6 tubes) | £29.95 | 25p | 400mg total + 40mg vitamin C |
| HIGH5 Zero | 20 tablets | £4.99 | 25p | 250mg sodium, 70mg potassium, 56mg magnesium, 9mg calcium (385mg) |
| Optimum Nutrition Electrolyte Powder | 264g, 33 servings | £10.00 | 30p | 400mg sodium, 300mg potassium, 113mg magnesium (813mg) |
| Free Soul Hydrate | 30 sachets | £29.99 | £1.00 | 1000mg sodium, 300mg potassium, 70mg magnesium, 120mg calcium (1,490mg) |
Prices are approximate and change daily; the live price is the one on Amazon. Our electrolyte price table lists 25 popular tablets and powders and is re-checked regularly.
Per tablet, Applied’s box matches HIGH5 Zero and SiS Hydro at 25p. For the most electrolytes per penny, Optimum Nutrition’s powder gives about twice as much per serving for 30p, although some owners say it clumps and tastes too sweet. Free Soul Hydrate is the option for heavy sweaters, at four times the price.
Check the 120-tablet box on Amazon UK
Who should buy them
- Gym-goers and five-a-side players who want some flavour during an hour of training.
- Anyone who is tested for banned substances, since the tablets are in the Informed Sport programme.
- People who struggle to drink enough plain water at work or on a long flight.
- Vimto fans. The flavour is what reviewers praise most.
Who should NOT buy them
- Endurance athletes and heavy sweaters, who need far more sodium per hour. Look at Free Soul Hydrate or Precision Hydration instead.
- Anyone avoiding sucralose or sensitive to sorbitol.
- Under-16s.
- Anyone who wants energy too. With no sugar or carbs, they won’t fuel a long session.
FAQ
How much sodium is in Applied Nutrition hydration tablets?
Applied quotes 400mg of electrolytes per tablet in total and doesn’t give the sodium separately in the Amazon listing or its product page text. Check the nutrition panel on the tube if you need the exact figure. HIGH5 Zero, for comparison, has 250mg of sodium per tablet.
Do they contain sugar or caffeine?
There’s no sugar: they’re sweetened with sucralose and have 6 calories per tablet. Caffeine isn’t in the ingredients list.
Are they vegan and halal?
Applied describes them as vegan and vegetarian friendly, and the Amazon listing says they’re halal certified.
Are they Informed Sport tested?
Yes. Applied says the tablets are part of the Informed Sport programme, which batch tests for banned substances.
Applied Nutrition or HIGH5 Zero?
They’re close. Both cost about 25p a tablet in bigger packs and give around 400mg of electrolytes. HIGH5 publishes the full mineral breakdown and is cheaper as a single tube. Applied has a little more vitamin C and the Vimto flavour.
Verdict
For an hour in the gym or a game of football, these are a reasonable buy at a fair price, as long as you get the box rather than single tubes. I’d skip them for long, hot sessions, where 400mg of electrolytes won’t go far. On paper I’d rate them 7/10, and I’ll update that once I’ve used a tube myself.