After eating empanadas just before an eight-hour overnight flight from Santiago, Chile, to Miami, Adam Johnson awoke halfway through the journey feeling bloated and sick.

He turned to Takeoff Hydration, a satchel of powdered ingredients formulated by his own hand to make travelling easier. The product, available for sale in Bermuda and the United States, is designed to combat dehydration, fatigue and imbalances caused by everyday life and travel.

“It is not a silver bullet, but it does make a difference,” said Mr Johnson, who previously ran Bda Gold Hunt in 2022. “You mix the powder with some water. People take it before, during and after a flight. You do not even have to be travelling to take it.”

Takeoff Hydration contains, among other things, magnesium for sleep and muscle soreness, papaya for digestion, and ginger for nausea.

Studies have found that travelling at altitude has a negative impact on digestion and hydration.

“At altitude, there is not a lot of moisture content in the air,” Mr Johnson said. “That takes its toll on your body. It is also more challenging to stay hydrated because you have to call the flight attendant to bring you a drink. You do not always want to do that for fear of waking up the person next to you.”

He got the idea for the product after noticing that he often felt unwell following long flights. There were hydration products on the market targeting athletes and drinkers, but few produced specifically for air travel.

For advice he contacted a friend who worked for an airline. The friend, formerly in the navy, said he did not eat when he flew and instead drank a lot of water.

Mr Johnson told him about his idea for a travel product, and the friend gave him the thumbs-up.

“That was kind of the birth of Takeoff Hydration,” Mr Johnson said. “After that, I went down the rabbit hole researching ingredients, particularly natural ingredients.”

He took further advice from the head of the Mayo Clinic for Aeronautical Medicine.

“I had a call with him and showed him the formulation I had created,” Mr Johnson said. “He said none of the ingredients were bad. I did a lot of research into the daily recommended intake of each ingredient. I talked to more doctors about the formulation.”

When he had that down, he had to find a manufacturer. He wanted Takeoff Hydration made in the US because his market was primarily there and Bermuda.

He received samples from a lot of different manufacturers, but found that many of them used fillers.

“The goal with Takeoff Hydration was to make as healthy and clean a product as possible, while also helping with the side-effects of travel,” he said. “I finally settled on someone in Florida.”

He is now focused on getting Takeoff Hydration sold in airports.

“We have been giving samples to pilots and flight attendants,” he said. “The feedback has been good. One thing that is different from many other hydration products is that it actually has a good flavour.”

One of his good friends is handling the business from the American side, while he takes care of Bermuda.

Locally, Takeoff is sold at Lindo’s market in Devonshire, Hamilton Pharmacy and CG Pharmacy, and directly to the consumer through its website. “We are hoping to grow that list,” Mr Johnson said.

Takeoff Hydration typically retails from $32.30 to $36 in stores and $24.99 online.