Hewlett High grad’s product goes national with Walmart

Lama Letts, a Hewlett High School graduate, class of 2012, who created the sports drink Hylux, launched the vitamin-enhanced water product nationally through Walmart.com.

“We are extremely excited to have Hylux sold on Walmart.com,” Lett said in a news release.

“We created Hylux with a mission, and it was born out of need to provide athletes with nutritional hydration as an alternative to sugary sports drinks. To have Walmart be a part of that mission is a major milestone for the company and shows their desire to help people lead healthy lifestyles while supporting Black and millennial founded companies.”

Letts, now 27, was diagnosed with myocarditis, an inflammation of the middle layer of the heart wall, at the beginning of his senior year at Hewlett High, which put an end to his track and field career as a runner and hurdler. He previously told the Herald that his doctor suggested a healthier, more nutrient-rich diet. In 2014, Lett invented Hylux while he attended Northeastern University. It is a vitamin-enhanced water that is low calorie, low sugar and high nutrient drink.

“Functional beverages on the market contain too much sugar and too many unhealthy ingredients,” he told the Herald. “Before Hylux, the current beverages on the market did not address some of the most prominent nutritional challenges that athletes and everyday consumers face.”

Letts launched the product from his dorm room, in the last five years the company has taken on notable investors from the National Basketball Association and began working with a large beverage distributor – leading to Hylux's nationwide availability at multiple retailers. 

The launch on Walmart.com comes nine days before the United States observes National Black Business Month in August – a day established more than a decade ago to commemorate Black-owned businesses and organization. Letts hopes the launch will also help encourage people to lead healthier lifestyles. 

“Particularly at a time when more people are reconsidering their lifestyle choices during the pandemic, being mindful of a healthy diet has never been more important – especially in the Black community,” he stated in the release, noting that his parents immigrated to the U.S. from Jamaica before he was born. “With our products now being sold on Walmart.com, we know that more people will have access to healthy alternatives.”

Hylux consists of  four different electrolytes: B-Complex vitamins, 100 percent of the daily value of Vitamin C, and more potassium than a banana. The 80-calorie beverage quickly hydrates with both the nutrition of a sports drink and the health benefits of water – all with less sugar than similar drinks, according to Letts. There are several flavors, including strawberry kiwi, red dragon fruit and pomegranate raspberry. Hylux is a product of Elite Super Foods © Delaware C-Corp.