Mark Curry Speaking At the Global Water Drinks Congress 2026

From a Tupperware Container to Barcelona

When I worked in law, I kept a Tupperware container on my desk on level 6 with 22 nootropic ingredients in it. Every afternoon I’d mix a scoop into some cordial and hope it got me through to 7pm. My colleagues thought it was a bit odd. Some of them started asking for a scoop.

I didn’t expect that container to lead me to an international drinks conference. But on 5 November I’m presenting at the Global Water Drinks Congress 2026, joining live from Australia.

What the Congress actually is

If you’re not in the drinks industry, you might not have heard of it. If you are, you probably have. FoodBev Media has run the Congress for 23 years, and this year it’s at the InterContinental Barcelona from 3 to 5 November.

It’s a event on purpose. This year’s speakers include people from Niagara Bottling, Mahou San Miguel, Europanel and Circana. Circana’s session is about consumers moving towards wellness and functionality, and I’ll admit I smiled when I saw that title.

There’s also a gala dinner where the Global Water Drinks Awards are handed out, plus a lot of time for the conversations that happen over coffee between sessions. People who’ve been describe it as the most important industry event on their calendar. After going through the program, I get why.

What I’ll be talking about

My session is a case study on Calm Water, but what I really want to talk about is what’s changing in Australia.

Australians are using food and drink in a different way now. Ten years ago most people thought about nutrition as calories, protein, maybe gut health. Now a lot of people are choosing what they eat and drink based on how it makes them feel. Mintel’s 2024 research found that 8 of the top 10 health concerns Australians try to manage through nutrition are related to mental health. When I first read that I went back and read it again.

Calm Water came out of that shift. We launched the ready-to-drink version this year as Australia’s first ready-to-drink mental wellbeing beverage. It comes in Passionfruit and Lemonade, with no sugar and 5 calories. The formula is built around L-theanine, magnesium and schisandra berry, at doses that are often ten times or more what you’d usually see. The feedback I keep hearing from customers is that they notice a difference within about 15 minutes.

I’ll also talk about how we make products, because I think it’s where the industry is heading anyway. We list every ingredient on the pack to the milligram. If an ingredient is in there, it’s there at a dose that actually does something. That started as a personal rule and has turned into the main reason people trust us.

Why this one matters to me

I started Savvy because I didn’t want to become another statistic. The pressure of that job was taking its toll on me, and I could see it taking its toll on the people around me too. I want fewer Australians to end up in that place.

Our first production run was 11,000 drinks. They sold out in five weeks, and I delivered most of them around the Sydney CBD in my Honda Jazz. So it’s a bit surreal to be telling that story to some of the biggest companies in the industry.

Mark