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For years we had one answer when someone at camp asked what to drink: an electrolyte, and LMNT is the one we use. We were partnered with the brand, AJ drank it himself, and we stood behind it.
Then AJ and Ally's family grew, and like most parents, they started reading labels. The one on that electrolyte listed "natural flavors," which can mean almost anything, and a sodium dose built for a race. They had a two-and-a-half-year-old at home, and it wasn't something they could hand her.
So they made their own. It's called Mills, after their daughter, Millie. You'll find it at the Moto Academy trailer at every 5-Day Camp, or shipped from drinkmills.com.
Who Makes Mills, and Why You're Reading About It Here
Mills is AJ and Ally's own company, separate from The Moto Academy, with its own store. We're telling you about it here because the people who made it are the same people who run TMA. We're proud of it, and we wanted you to hear it from us.
"We're AJ and Ally Catanzaro. You might know us from The Moto Academy. Mills is named after our daughter, Millie, and she's the reason it exists. We read every label, didn't like what we found, and made the formula we wanted for our own family for everyday hydration."
Mills LLC was formed earlier this year, and it was first stocked at the trailer at the Trax North 5-Day Camp the week of September 7. Everyday hydration is how AJ and Ally describe it.
What's on the Label
They started with three things on the old label they wanted to do differently, and worked through them one at a time. Then they added one thing the old label didn't have at all: fiber.
The flavor is named
Most electrolyte labels say "natural flavors." That's one line, and it can cover a whole list of ingredients you never get to see. The phrase doesn't appear on the Mills label. The raspberry is raspberry powder. The lemon is lemon juice concentrate. The sweetness comes from organic monk fruit extract and organic stevia leaf extract. All four are named, in order, on the label, and the raspberry and lemon both sit higher on that list, by weight, than either sweetener.
The salt is named
Mills uses French grey sea salt, and the label says so. That sounds like a small thing. Plenty of labels stop at "salt," and naming it tells you where the sodium came from.
The sodium is an everyday amount
210 mg of sodium per serving is an amount you can drink with lunch, or across a long afternoon at the track, and drink again tomorrow. Race-day powders carry a lot more than that, and they're supposed to. Mills is built for every day, which is where "everyday hydration" comes from. It's what we hand out at the trailer now.
Then they added fiber
The first ingredient on the label is organic Jerusalem artichoke inulin, a prebiotic fiber. The fiber in Mills feeds the beneficial bacteria in your gut, and each serving delivers 3 grams of it to help support healthy digestion and regularity. It's about a third of the scoop by weight, which is why the scoop is 9.5 g and why Mills isn't a zero-carb powder. Each serving has 5 g of total carbohydrate, 1 g of sugar, and 15 calories, and that 3 g of fiber is 11% of the Daily Value. Fiber is a rare thing to find on an electrolyte label.
Every ingredient, in order
Fourteen ingredients, all on the label, none of them collapsed into a category: organic Jerusalem artichoke inulin, citric acid, organic coconut water powder, lemon juice concentrate, raspberry powder, French grey sea salt, potassium citrate, calcium citrate, Irish moss algae, silica, magnesium citrate, organic rebaudioside A (stevia leaf extract), organic beet root for color, and organic monk fruit extract. Per serving, that works out to 210 mg of sodium, 320 mg of chloride, 150 mg of potassium, 50 mg of calcium, and 26 mg of magnesium.
How People Are Mixing It
There's one flavor, Raspberry Lemonade, and one size, 25 servings. The label says one scoop (9.5 g) in 16 fl oz of cold water. That's the starting point, and most people adjust from there. AJ's own mix is less than a full scoop in a 40 oz bottle. One scoop is still one serving however much water you add, so the water is what you change to find the strength you like.
Where to Get It
It's in two places. If you're at a Moto Academy 5-Day Camp this season, Mills is at the trailer all week. Mix a scoop, taste it, and take one home the same day. Mills keeps a list of the upcoming camps it'll be at, updated from The Moto Academy's schedule. It isn't stocked at 1-Day Classes.
Otherwise it ships from drinkmills.com. Buy once at $32 for 25 servings, or subscribe and save $6 each, which brings it to $26. Subscriptions can be skipped, paused, or canceled whenever you want, and shipping is a flat $7.99 on every US order.
Whether it belongs in your rider's bottle is your call, and you can make that call with the whole label in front of you. That's what AJ and Ally wanted before they handed anything to Millie.
If a camp week is still a someday thing, here's what one turned out to mean for a family who went. And if you're new to all of this, start here.
Disclaimer
Mills is made and sold by Mills LLC, a separate company owned by AJ and Ally Catanzaro, who also own The Moto Academy. This article is general information from The Moto Academy. Talk to your doctor before adding any supplement to your routine or your child's. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
FAQs
What is Mills?
Is Mills part of The Moto Academy?
What's in Mills?
Can kids drink Mills?
AJ and Ally built it so they could hand it to their own two-and-a-half-year-old, and it's sized to drink every day. Whether it belongs in your child's bottle is your call to make, and your pediatrician is the right person to ask if anything about your child's health gives you pause. The label names every ingredient and its amount.
