Pedialyte, that perennially popular oral electrolyte for ailing kids, has a new target consumer in mind.

Adult usage of the brand, owned by Similac formula parent Abbott Laboratories, has grown by almost 60% since 2012. Adults now make up more than one-third of Pedialyte’s sales, up from a historical average of 10% to 15%, Heather Mason, an executive vice president at Abbott, said in an interview. The Pedialyte brand doesn’t disclose its actual sales, but Nielsen tracking shows retail sales growing 22% between 2012 and last year to $102 million.

The company, citing Nielsen, said that it has a 58.2% share of the $167 million U.S. oral-electrolyte market and that most of its rivals are retailers’ private-label brands.

While Pedialyte has been used in the past by serious athletes and some college students with hangovers, Mason said the dramatic growth in recent years has been spurred by social media.

“There’s an underground movement in social media to drive word of mouth,” including from celebrities Pharrell Williams, Mason told MarketWatch. “We saw increased use by adults. We have high electrolyte and lower sugar content than common [hydration] beverages. That combination caused us to say, ‘We need to be part of this.’ ”

Williams told US Magazine that he drinks Pedialyte almost every day. And Miley Cyrus was reportedly spotted posing with a bottle of Pedialyte.

The trend is expected to translate to higher sales. While Pedialyte sales have typically grown by percentages “in the mid single digits” annually, Abbott Labs expects sales to jump by a double-digit percentage this year, driven by adult usage.

It’s an opportunity “any time you can both expand your market and get beyond seasonal products,” Mason said, noting that the Pedialyte brand is traditionally tied to the flu and cold season.

The move also will put Pedialyte in direct competition against more traditional adult hydration choices such as PepsiCo Inc.’s Gatorade.

Mason said the company doesn’t plan to change the product makeup of Pedialyte and has no plans to change its name to target adult consumers. The company, however, is introducing larger powdered-stick packs for adults, and adding adult-friendly flavors including strawberry lemonade and orange. In March, it unveiled a “See the Lyte” campaign to promote the brand to adults as part of a plan to double marketing spending this year, mostly on social media and via other online venues.

This year it also will appear in 144 music festivals and sport events in cities from New York to Atlanta to give away free samples.

Mason said Abbott doesn’t plan to sell the brand beyond its traditional food, drugstore and mass-merchant retail customers but said there could be opportunities to feature the brand in different parts of a given store.

Charles Minnick, a 28-year-old financial analyst from St. Louis, said that he and his twenty-something friends swear by Pedialyte to treat their hangovers and keep it on hand for that purpose. “Nothing is better,” he said.

At a bachelor party years ago in Dallas, he said, a friend of the groom “turned us all on to it, and we exported the knowledge back to our respective hometowns.”

Branding experts said that while it makes sense for Pedialyte to expand the definition of its target market, Abbott will have to think seriously about either changing the brand name or formally indicating that the product is intended for adult use.

“Any strategy that you develop to be able to expand the user base is a good one,” Robert Passikoff, founder and president of consulting firm Brand Keys, told MarketWatch. “The question is, ‘Can they do it?’ Pedialyte is known for electrolyte absorption for children. Now you have to try to sell to adults. It’s like going out and having a headache and someone asks, ‘Would you like children’s Tylenol?’ Abbott isn’t going to be the only one doing this. Adults are going to feel they need a product of their own. The name becomes a barrier.”