Source: Spindrift

Could you tell us about the beginning of your beverage business? When was it established? Did you have any experience in the beverage industry before this project?

In 2009, I began creating my own sparkling beverages to help kick a bad Diet Coke habit. I wanted something refreshing, made with real ingredients I could understand and feel good about drinking. I also wanted something I could feel good about sharing with my kids. After much trial and error I achieved this by combining simple fresh ingredients: real fruit and triple-filtered sparkling water.

Prior to starting Spindrift, I founded a line of all natural cocktail mixers called Stirrings, which was acquired by Diageo. I’ve always been a beverage guy with a fascination and passion for the industry.

What is the meaning behind your company‘s name?

The word Spindrift means the whitewash of a breaking wave, which, to me, is the perfect symbol of real refreshment and also harkens back to my days working on charter fishing boats off Nantucket Island in Massachusetts.

Owner Bill Creelman Source: Spindrift

Spindrift uses real fruit from real farmers. Could you share your story of how you managed to set up your network of suppliers? What kind of difficulties did you face, if any?

Real is at the core of who and what we are at Spindrift. I can point to the bush where our berries are picked and the tree where the lemons are grown. One of the biggest challenges I faced when starting Spindrift was identifying and fostering relationships with the right farmers. I spent a lot of time researching and meeting with small family farms throughout the country – really getting to know them and getting them excited about what we’re doing.

At Spindrift, we’re committed to using the freshest ingredients for our beverages and that’s why all our fruit is picked and then bottled as quickly as possible. The primary implication of this is that we have to follow the season and shift our sources based on the time of year. So when we were establishing our supply network, we had to find multiple farms to source a single ingredient at different points in the cycle, rather than using just one.

Spindrift is America’s first and only line of unsweetened sparkling beverages made with real squeezed fruit. Was it hard to develop such a product?

It proved incredibly difficult to produce a sparkling beverage with real, fresh fruit and without any preservatives or additives. I spent several years testing recipes and working with manufacturers to refine the process. Every day there was another issue to resolve. It was lots of trial and error. Controlling the quality and taste has been an uphill battle, but one that has always been worth the fight. We never cut corners – we find solutions and adapt to ensure our product is as real and true to the fruit as possible.

How many flavors are there to choose from? Which one would you say is your favorite one? Will you expand your variety of drinks to choose from?

We offer seven sparkling beverages – Grapefruit, Blackberry, Cranberry Raspberry, Orange Mango, Lemonade, Half & Half (half iced tea, half lemonade), and Ginger Beer, and six sparkling waters – Grapefruit, Blackberry, Cucumber, Lemon, Raspberry Lime, and Watermelon.  The sparkling waters are our favorite for every day, all day drinking, and we reserve the sparkling beverages as treats with meals. We definitely plan to expand our variety of drinks and are launching a new Orange Mango sparkling water later this year.

Source: Spindrift

Your company has given 1% of our sales to environmental organizations. Why is commitment to supporting a healthy natural environment important to you?

Since the beginning, we have given 1% of our sales to environmental organizations as members of 1% for the Planet – a network of businesses committed to supporting a healthy natural environment. We consider it a core tenet of our business – our product wouldn’t exist without nature.

Where do you see Spindrift in 5 years from now?

I see us really owning “real” and continuing to disrupt the category with new ideas and stories to tell.

For more information visit Spindrift website.

Nowadays, health and beauty is of great importance in our modern society. People are becoming more and more concerned about taking care of their bodies, which has lead to a major increase in the consumption of products that help to restore and maintain beautiful skin, hair and nails. The success of MINERVA Research Labs’ products has created a new market category – “liquid beauty supplements”.  Today I have the pleasure to speak to Tony Sanguinetti, Founder and Managing Director of MINERVA Research Labs Ltd.

Your business values science and research. What inspired you to start this business? How did the idea of creating beverages come to mind?

Everything started with a trip to Japan back in 2009. I became fascinated by the reverence Japanese women had for beauty as an art. In particular, I noticed that a holistic skincare approach was key to their youthful appearance and that their diet was an essential part of their daily beauty regimes. This inspired me to develop a line of products for the Western market, that encompasses the Japanese approach to youthful radiant skin.

The main ingredient in your products is collagen. What are the main benefits of this element?

The main ingredient of our product is hydrolysed collagen. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body and provides structural support for skin and other connective tissues like joints, ligaments and muscles. Collagen is responsible for the skin’s strength and resilience as well as the smooth, plump appearance of young healthy skin. Produced by special cells called fibroblasts that are found in the lower layer of the skin called the dermis, collagen production occurs continuously throughout our lives. However, with time collagen levels start to decline – there is a drop in production and an increase in degradation. The collagen’s structure becomes more fragile and brittle leading to a weakening of the skin’s structural support. The skin loses volume and firmness; it starts to thin and wrinkles begin to appear.

The hydrolysed collagen contained in our product is derived from Tilapia fish. It is treated to reduce its molecular weight by approximately 100 times and as a result the hydrolysed collagen (or bioactive collagen peptides) are small enough to be absorbed in the small intestine into the blood stream to be delivered across the body.

Once in the dermis the bioactive collagen peptides have a dual benefit: they provide the building blocks for the production for new collagen 2) plus it has recently been scientifically proven that they reactivate fibroblast proliferation which in turn increases collagen production.

What are the functions of your beauty supplement? In which way is it better than a lotion or serum?

GOLD COLLAGEN® products are liquid beauty supplements, a new generation skincare solution based on a unique blend of active ingredients such as bioactive collagen peptides and hyaluronic acid, chosen for their anti-ageing benefits. Our European Patented complex has been specifically developed to deliver a potent dose of bioactive collagen peptides together several other vitamins, minerals and active ingredients to the dermis. The advanced formulation and the liquid characteristics allow maximum absorption and availability. Once transported to the dermis the active ingredients (as mentioned) reactivate fibroblast proliferation hence combating the ageing process and helping maintain healthy skin, hair and nails by enhancing natural collagen production and increasing skin hydration as well as elasticity.

In summary the function of our beauty supplement is to provide the body with vital active ingredients in a convenient and effective drink to supplement our own diet and enhance the development of the healthy, more youthful skin, hair and nails.  GOLD COLLAGEN® is the perfect complement to creams and serums which act on the outer layer of the skin (epidermis); GOLD COLLAGEN® products actually reach the dermis and work from within helping the body to form new collagen structures to nourish and rejuvenate for youthful and beautiful skin.

Is drinking Gold Collagen enough to have flawless skin, hair and nails? Are there any other relevant factors? Do you have any suggestions for those who struggle with their skin condition?

The beneficial effects of our products have been proven in several clinical studies. For example, the daily consumption of GOLD COLLAGEN® has been proven to increase skin hydration (+12% in 3 weeks), reduce the appearance of wrinkles (-27% in 6 weeks) and improve skin suppleness (+20% in 9 weeks). In studies, consumers also reported an increase in skin radiance (72% agree) and smoothness (76% agree) with 89% saying that they would recommend the product to a friend.

Flawless skin, hair and nails depend on many factors, including our own genes, exposure to UVA light, pollution, stress, smoke and ultimately diet. However, factors like genetics, lifestyle, diet, prolonged exposure to the sun, and smoking also affect our skin.  Along with drinking GOLD COLLAGEN® products, women and men, particularly those over 35, need to pursue a healthy lifestyle.  Several customers have additionally reported improvements to certain skin conditions such as eczema and acne when taking GOLD COLLAGEN, however we advise all our customers to contact their physician to discuss their specific condition and address them with suitable treatments which may or may not include GOLD COLLAGEN^®.

Beauty is becoming more and more important to our modern society. How would you describe the significance of this feature? What is beauty to you?

To me beauty is about harmony. The criteria for judging beauty have recently been evolving to reflect specific cultures, roles in society and personalities. In an ever fast moving and fully digitalised society, appearance is definitely becoming a more important factor when one has to form an opinion about another person.

Many people say that nowadays, the view on beauty has become distorted. Do you agree with this statement? If not, why?

I cannot agree that the view of beauty has become distorted. Beauty is subjective and is influenced by and evolves with time, culture and society. Whatever beauty may have meant at any point in time, from thousands of years ago to the future, it will always reflect its current time even if not aligned with older views of beauty.

Tony Sanguinetti, Founder of MINERVA Research Labs Ltd.

It seems like your products are mostly oriented towards customers who are women. Are only women interested in these kinds of products? What about men? What is their perspective on health and beauty?

Perhaps, yes, woman can  spend much more time and money looking after their skin, hair and nails.  However, men are becoming more and more aware of their skin appearance. There is a growing demand for products addressing such men’s needs. A growing number of men are using skincare treatments to maintain their appearance and protect their skin; therefore, a reasonable number of our customers are men. They particularly enjoy our product ACTIVE GOLD COLLAGEN created for men and women with an active and busy lifestyle. According to Technavio latest research an ever increasing number of men are investing in skin care products such as anti-aging, sun protection, and anti-wrinkle products. For example, more than 40% of men in the UK, use facial moisturizers according to the Technavio report. As mentioned, from an analysis of our customer base we notice that more and more men start their day with a sip of Gold Collagen®.

At the moment, your product line is dedicated to skin, hair and nail care. Do you plan on extending your product range? If so, what sort of products would you like to produce?

I’m very proud of the success of our products which has created a new market category – “liquid beauty supplements”. The key values of MINERVA Research Labs’ products are: 1) innovative; 2) efficacious; 3) based on the best quality ingredients; 4) produced with best available technology and 5) clinically tested. We collaborate with several Universities in the UK and Italy to develop the most efficacious formulation and measure accurately the benefits provided by the new products.  At present we have several new product concepts in the pipeline. All product concepts undergo a thorough scientific analysis before they are launched. Until our pipeline products have been demonstrated to satisfy our strict testing procedure it is difficult to say which one will make it into the market.

Where do you see Gold Collagen in 10 years? Do you think that as time passes by, more and more people will be interested in health care and beauty? Do you think that market trends will change? If so, how?

MINERVA’s vision is to become a reference brand with a range of high quality, innovative products addressing beauty, anti-ageing and well-being. The future is very bright for MINERVA, as the global skincare products market is expected to grow significantly.  With the rise of an ageing population and an increase in appearance consciousness, I feel that the current trends will continue to drive the market.

For more information visit Gold Collagen.

Founded in 1954, Cannes Lions is an eight-day programme of creative inspiration, celebration, education and networking. Every year this festival takes place and brings all of the most creative people from around 100 countries together. Today we have decided to make a list of the top 5 beverage ads in the Cannes Lions Festival 2016.

1. Andes

https://youtu.be/A4lTyIIW-qI

2. Guinness

https://youtu.be/Bp_auOqbiFI

3. Tecate

https://youtu.be/0aNaSd-bO0c

4. Nespresso

https://youtu.be/rpOn1LrjPN0

5. Mountain Dew Kickstart

https://youtu.be/oRkec0tAdbg

Source: Cannes Lions

Summer is the perfect time to grab a cocktail and refresh your taste buds. The problem is, it’s not always easy to find a satisfying supplement for your favorite spirits. Don’t worry though, that’s why Q Drink’s range of cocktail sodas was created – to enhance consumer’s drinking experience. Today I have the honor of talking to the founder of this company, Jordan Silbert.

What is the story behind your company‘s establishment? When did it start? Why did you particularly choose to enter the beverage industry?

Q Drinks started on a warm summer night in Brooklyn. My friends and I were in my backyard, mixing gin and tonics.

A couple of drinks in I realized that my tonic water was not nearly as good as the gin or my friends. It was bland, flat, and so sweet it made my teeth feel sticky. For some reason, the idea lingered. My friend had brought a great bottle of gin and we were mixing it, drink after drink, with something lousy. It was a perfect evening. The moonlight caught the bottle of gin and it glowed. Next to it, the plastic tonic water looked particularly decrepit.

In a flash, I realized that I should make a spectacular tonic water.

It took me four years to get it right. But once I did, the best bars and restaurants in New York City started serving my tonic water. Then we got a ton of press coverage and some larger retail chains joined them. And soon I was being asked for other carbonated mixers as spectacular as Q Tonic.

I see that you have a history section on your website, in which you can find a timeline of various beverage inventions. Why did you decide to choose this approach? Is history of great importance to your brand? What are your brand‘s core values?

When I start working on a new flavor I go way down a rabbit hole.  And part of that process is learning absolutely everything about the flavor and its history. How it came to be? Why?  And for some reason I think other people will be as curious as I am so we share that information on our website.

As for our brand’s core values, we are completely focused on making the absolute best tasting beverages, regardless of cost or complexity. So while the history is important, it’s not nearly the most important thing. Taste is. When mixed with a great spirits, Q drinks make the best tasting cocktails.

Currently you offer eight different types of sodas. Which one, would you say is a favorite of the consumers?

Q Drinks’ best sellers are Q Tonic and Q Ginger Beer.  Compared to the competition, both are more boldly flavored, more carbonated, and less sweet. So they make much better tasting cocktails.

Jordan Silbert is the Founder of Q Drinks. He is shown here with thier Tonic. 9/10/12

Tell us more about your primary ingredients. Which ingredients are dominant in your sodas? Why?

Each of our carbonated mixers is different but we focus on real ingredients – real quinine from real trees, real ginger from real ginger root, real grapefruit from real grapefruits… Then I make recipes with the intention of creating spectacular mixers, so they very boldly flavored, very carbonated, and not too sweet.

Cocktail sodas have a tendency to unleash their taste well, only when they are mixed with spirits or other beverages. However, you have mentioned that your sodas are also spectacular on their own. How did you manage to find a balance between these two features?

I make our recipes for mixing in cocktails so that is the priority. However, because we use all real ingredients and not too much sugar, they still beat conventional sodas in taste on their own, especially for customers who appreciate bold flavor.

Nowadays it‘s quite hard to differentiate your product. What makes your cocktail sodas stand out from the others?

Taste them. Q drinks taste vastly better than other mixers and make much better cocktails. That’s because they are less sweet to complement rather than mask subtleties in great spirits. They are more carbonated. They are made with the finest ingredients for authentic flavor and crafted specifically to mix with great spirits.

One of your sodas is called Kola. I assume that it is in some way similar to all of the other cola drinks in the industry. Tell us more about this drink.

The kola nut tastes bitter. The original recipe for the original Coca Cola was designed to mask its drugs and alcohol, so we now think of “cola flavor” as a combination of tang, spicy, sweet, and savory. However the balance in today’s factory colas is all syrupy sweet, and hardly any spice. Which is to say, there really is no balance at all.

So we started over. And unlike other colas, Q Kola is made with a “k” and: organic ingredients from real trees and plants –  kola nut, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, lemon, lime, orange, and nutmeg – and just a little organic agave, not loads of high fructose corn syrup or sugar. So Q Kola has a great balance of tang, spicy, sweet, and savory and tastes great when mixed with terrific rums and whiskeys.

Are you willing to produce other types of beverages? If so, which types? Or perhaps you are more interested in expanding your ongoing variety of cocktail sodas?

We have plenty of products. We need to focus on getting many more people enjoying them.

Where do you see Q Drinks in 10 years from now?

Q Drinks will be bigger than Schweppes and Canada Dry.  We will be ubiqutious in retailers across the world and proudly served at better bars and restaurants everywhere.

For more information about Q Drinks, visit their website.

Cold brew coffee may just be the best alternative for those who really enjoy drinking coffee, but are usually in a rush and are just not willing to put in that extra effort for a cup of high quality coffee on a daily bases.

By definition, cold brew coffee refers to the process of steeping coffee grounds in room temperature or cold water for an extended period (usually 12 hours or even more). The result is a coffee concentrate that is often diluted with water or milk, and can be served hot, over ice, or blended with ice and other ingredients such as chocolate.

From numerous recipes that you can make yourself to well-known brands that provide you with all that you need just in one bottle, cold brew coffee is a great choice for summer. Today I have decided to introduce 5 of my favorite cold brew coffee brands and shortly present their offers.

Grady‘s Bottled Coffee Concentrate

In 2011 Grady’s delivered the cold brew revolution to the public with their bottled New Orleans-style coffee concentrate. Cold brewed for 20 hours with chicory and a distinctive blend of spices, their concentrate is velvety-smooth and full of flavor.

Their bottle can be kept in the fridge for up to a month. During this period, you can pour a cup whenever you want. Super convenient, right? Moreover, they have some suggestions if you‘re feeling a bit daring: why not try their brew with vodka for a cocktail, sparkling water for a coffee soda or over ice cream for true decadence?

Stumptown Cold Brew Coffee

Established in 1999, Stumptown‘s coffee is brewed without heat for over 12 hours. After that, a double filtration process is used to obtain the end result: a complex, smooth and full-bodied brew with low-acid and a chocolate finish. This brand is perfect for the true coffee lovers.

Stumptown has three differently packaged types of cold brew coffee to offer: a ready-to-drink original bottled cold brew coffee, a creamy canned alternative, infused with nitrogen and a smooth cold brew coffee with milk in a carton.

Califia Farms Cold Brew Coffee

Many cold brew coffee brands have either one or two types of coffee to choose from. But what if you like to mix it up once in a while? Well, in that case, Califia Farms is the brand to choose. They offer 16 different kinds of cold brew coffee. From Latte to Peppermint Mocha – you name it! This bottled goodness is made with sustainably- sourced natural ingredients. Besides, their coffee is 100% gluten-free. This brand is perfect for the alternative milk drinkers. According to Califia Farms, almond milk is the best component when it comes to their cold brew coffee. So forget about your health and industry concerns, because not only does it taste good, but it‘s great for your body too!

Installation Cold Brew Coffee

Nearly three years ago, Ben Usen founded his online cold brew coffee company Installation. His brew is prepared by hand in cold water for 24 hours. As a result, a bold, silky smooth beverage, without a trace of bitterness is created. Installation Cold Brew Coffee uses a unique blend of Central American coffees to create a flavor profile with taste notes of rich dark cocoa, almonds, stone fruit and mixed berries. This brand makes high quality coffee accessible to everyone.

Usen recommends diluting his concentrate with water or milk over ice to gain the best tasting experience.

Sandows Cold Brew Coffee

As you have probably noticed, the majority of cold brew coffee brands come from the United States of America. Thus, it is safe to say that Europe is a little bit behind, when it comes to this certain type of beverage. Nevertheless, the United Kingdom has a great cold brew coffee brand in the market. Sandows has been making their cold brew coffee since 2014. Their brand has been named after Eugen Sandow, the iconic Victorian bodybuilder. This acts as a great metaphor to describe the time and effort they put into making delicious cold brew coffee. Consumers can drink Sandows coffee on the go and it is a matter of personal preference whether you prefer drinking it straight from the bottle, over ice or with milk. Either way it tastes great.

Do you enjoy tasty goods, but also care about what goes into your body? „Liquii“ has introduced a range of juices that are not only full of good nutrition, but also deliver an outstanding fruit tasting experience.Today I have the opportunity to interview the founder of this company – Shubham Khanna.

Liquii was founded in 2015. How did you come up with this idea? What is the meaning behind the name of your company?

Liquii was never a one day plan. The thought of Liquii first (Previously named as Tropical Island) came when me and my buddy were having juice from our college stall like everybody else does. My friend started getting cramps and he fell down on the ground. We rushed to the doctor, found that it was a case of severe food poisoning which had happened mainly due to bad pineapple juice. Moreover, there were 3 others who rushed to the doctor for the same reason.

After 1 week of rest when my friend recovered we discussed the idea, as this can happen to anyone as India has the largest street juice selling vendors across the world. On sharing this thought with my parents, it made me convinced that they are spending money on my engineering not to make me a Juicewala, so as we had no money we dropped the thought for some time.

After passing out from college I joined HCL as a Junior Engineer, at that particular point, Ed- Tech was the one that caught my attention, I started working on it with my close friend Pulkit, but things were not like what we thought it would be, so finally it went down.

The 2nd and final thought of Liquii came when I was working in Dell as a Hardware Engineer Consultant and coffee became the only refresher for me. Sipping 3-4 cups a day due to hectic schedules made my blood pressure increase which instead of giving me soothing effect used to make me look like a drug addict.

I started to search for replacements so found energy drinks like red bull and Gatorade but due to heavy caffeine kicks I knew it is bad for my health and this 5 minutes of instant boost will cost me a lot in later stage.

So finally I left my job in September 2015 and started off on a journey to make healthy replacements of the current offerings available and after doing research on over 150 companies we landed up founding Liquii.

We always wanted to work on Liquid Nutrition which should be mouth watering as well so we coined the name  {The Licking Liquid } as Liquii.

Nowadays, it is quite difficult to avoid various issues while entering our rapidly increasing business environment. Did you face any difficulties in the beginning? If so, which challenges were the most troublesome?

According to me, the Foodtech in India is evolving at a steady state but it is not a booming time for Foodtech. Currently the priority of the first time buyers here is money but not the service. In US, the buyers not only look forward for good food but also for the quality service for which they even pay for.

So in India a good quality product, advertisements, comissions, taxes, packaging and delivery all needs to be covered in the retail price of the product which should not be more than $2 (which is still on the higher side) if you are going mass market , which becomes difficult for us.

Whereas in US, players like Evolution fresh and Suja juices sell it for $6-8. This $4-5 gap per bottle helps them in brand building, creating sustainable supply chain, good procurement mechanism and making a name in international market which a new Indian brand never seems to get.

People in India have been drinking juices from street vendors for less than half a dollar since a decade, so to make people spend double or triple the prices of what they are spending, making them understand the quality of raw material used, the processing methods difference and  overall educating part is quite difficult.

Is the market for fresh juices competitive? What makes your product different from the other ones?

Yes, there is some good competition in the international and local market but have never thought of creating any kind of cleanse or detox plans which other players do because we always thought to add value and to bring out a product which can be consumed by a mass audience and also Liquii always aimed to add the ease of buying a soft drink and freshness of a food nectar and wanted to be a replacement for the packed juices.

Liquii is the only one in the class which use internally developed, made to order, freshly squashed platform other than cold pressing from our machines brought from Korea. Also Liquii is the only one which squashes only farm picked produce directly sourced from 7 partnered farms across India, which leads to creating our drinks pulpier. Not only that, Liquii’s journey starts from the fields where these fruits and veggies grow. Right from the type of soil to the harvesting and juicing state, everything is monitored with our internally developed matrices. Liquii promises a wholesome fruit eating experience in a bottle.

One of your core brand values is satisfaction. Which other assets are important to your company?

Yes our tagline “Live the Orgasm” says it all.

We believe satisfaction is the first thing every person looks for and if he gets that, he becomes your regular customer whether he/she gets satisfaction from the quality product or the quality service.

Other than that on the product side pulpiness, nutrition and taste are the 3 other basic matrices we work on without compromising with the hygiene conditions.

We believe that if a drink has 3 ingredients then all 3 of them should be accessible to your palate so that you can feel that you are actually munching a pulpy fruit along with tons of nutrition topping it all.

Your brand image seems to be quite entertaining and playful. Do you think that these features appeal to your target group? How would you describe your ideal customer?

We never wanted our brand to look like a health drink or just a juice. We have always wanted us to show a true youth lifestyle, so that even if the product is consumed by 70 years old granny she should feel the youthfulness other than the product taste.

Our main focus is still on the health enthusiasts, who are sick of drinking protein shakes and ill flavored drinks, we want to be a tasty alternative for them. Also we want the youth to drink us for our 100% fruit content, no preservative, no sugar, no added flavors other than the juice boxes owned by MNC’s who use Swanky Marketing Gimmick to let people consume pasteurized, flavored and sugary beverage,  which instead of being healthy make people suffer with weight problems, hypertension, stress and many other modern diseases.

Taste and good nutrition is usually a hard combination to develop successfully. How do you find the perfect balance between mouthwatering tastes and perfectly healthy ingredients?

We always wanted to push the boundaries and make something that people will love not only because it’s healthy but also tongue smacking as well.

We started with the basics, the first one being the only pulpy player in the market, which gave us an upper hand.

The second one being using an internally developed freshly squashing method other than cold pressing where the microbial germination gets reduced and freshness of raw fruit gets intact.

The third one being working with farmers directly so as to maintain the quality of Raw Fruits and veggies from ground zero. All of this combined, gave us a gateway to play with fruits and vegetables which combined with our R&D department expertise gave a great result on not only being healthy but also delicious.

Your products consist of raw, unpasteurized, preservative free ingredients. How does this affect the beverage‘s expiration? How long does the drink remain fresh and suitable for drinking, once it is opened?

One of the places where we are still working on is to attain a good shelf life. Currently the shelf life of the product is 2-3 days but as we are a made to order platform we recommend our customers to drink it ASAP, to get the actual punch. Once opened it can sustain up to 24 hours in refrigerated conditions.
We are also looking forward on a different type of Aseptic packaging that can hold a good shelf life, along with great taste and nutrition.

You have many different flavors to choose from. Which ones are the most popular? Do you have a favorite one yourself? Do you plan on extending this variety of tastes?

Currently we have 2 different varieties of beverages:
a) 100% Nectar
b) Our functional beverage segment called Fruco Blends

Our 100% nectar is pulpy, punchier, and contains 100% fruits & our Fruco blends are meant for customers who require a drink Pre and Post workout, jog, or any physical exercise.

We use fruits churned with coconut water and added plant extracts which makes it a natural contender for sports drink which contains a lot of caffeine.

Out of my favorite 12, we have 4 top sellers our 100% watermelon Gush, 100% Alphonso Drupe, The Tangy Kicker and the Grapogranate.

We will soon be expanding on to the Organic Cow milk and Pea Protein Milk section churned with real fruits in the near future.

Where do you see Liquii 5 years from now? Are you planning on entering new markets and expanding your product line? Perhaps you would like to produce other types of beverages. If so, what kind of products are you interested in producing?

Liquii will be looking forward into sports and baby nutrition beverages on the product side. On the other side Liquii is developing a platform which will use the power of Data Analytics and AI to customize a 100% natural super food beverage according to your palate likings as well as your daily body stats. Also Liquii will be looking at in expanding to Tier1 and Tier2 cities along with increasing the shelf life of our existing products.

In next few years, Liquii will not only be beverage brand but will be a lifestyle brand with connected technologies.

Liquii wants to be a platform to simplify lives of people, be it on the hardware or the software side.

We look forward to be a combination of all the elements making us a productized service platform to make people healthy without digging holes in their pocket.

For more information visit Liquii’s Facebook page.

Source: Deane’s Kombucha

The fermentation process of kombucha is never easy. It is a job that requires well-developed techniques, as well as a great deal of enthusiasm. Today I have the opportunity to speak to Bryan Deane Bertsch, founder of Deane’s Kombucha. A person, who believes in authenticity and brewing the traditional way.

Your brewing journey started in 2006. Did you face many difficulties in the beginning? If so, which obstacles were the most challenging to overcome?

We faced numerous difficulties when we first launched commercially in 2010. Beyond all the common start-up issues, we happened to get licensed just before the alcohol recall in the summer of 2010. That forced us to reexamine our values and mission. And the mission was clear; supply authentic kombucha to our customers.

We initially decided to apply for an alcohol license so we would not have to alter our recipe in any way. That worked for a couple years, but other challenges forced us to shut down for a while. When we re-started, we had a chance to find a way to produce kombucha in an authentic way while still staying non-alcoholic, without compromising our product. Since then, we have enjoyed success and look forward to a bright future.

In which ways have you improved your product over the past 10 years? Has your recipe changed in any way?

The biggest improvement was the switch from using fruit juices for flavoring to whole fruit. The end product is much better, we have a ton more flexibility in our seasonal flavors and people really dig the taste and experience.

Staying truthful to traditions may sometimes be inefficient, especially since rapidly improving modern technologies can complete the job faster and in larger quantities. How do you find an effective balance between tradition and productivity?

We are not looking to become the next, big national brand. Our vision has honed in on a local product that supports the people in our proximity. We still brew in small batches, using 30 gallon oak barrels and basically have the same process I began with home brewing 10 years ago.

How does culture affect your brand? Is it a valuable asset of your company?

Our culture is our brand. I mail ordered my first culture in 2004 and started making 2.5 gallon batches. That same original culture is with us today, happy, healthy and tasty as ever! So yes, I would consider culture a very valuable asset to our brand.

You mentioned that you have a network of local suppliers. How did you manage to establish this network? Why is cooperating with locals important to you?

We are a local company supporting our local customer base, so it makes sense to source as much as we can from local companies. We have always been focused on a small environmental footprint, and believe that most of today’s food economy is going to be local. It just makes sense. So given this vision, it also makes sense to practice what we preach in looking to our suppliers. We may pay a bit more, but ultimately we have found the best quality and service right in our backyard.

Every season you create new flavors and extend your already existing list of unique fruit and herbs combinations. Is it hard to come up with new ideas? What inspires you?

A few years ago we did a video segment with Andrew Zimmern, and during the bit he was in charge of flavoring our newest creation. Watching him walk in the produce section and seemingly randomly pick out ingredients was very inspiring. After practicing this for a couple years, it actually comes pretty easy now. It is an artistic experience and fun to play with different combinations. The combo that Zimmern came up with, incidentally, was a peach, ginger, cilantro, hot pepper. It was brilliant! This experience gave me permission to explore my creativity and intuition, and so far, so good.

Which 3 flavors would you say stand out the most? Do you have any favorites yourself?

We run up to 16 different flavors any given season. What’s most popular? What’s my favorite? Well, I love them all and it really depends on my mood. We are also lucky to have many customers that feel the same way. It is rare that any of our accounts insist on a certain flavor. Typically, they ask what we have, we tell them, and they choose. Even the customers are behind this. They may not know what is available at any given store, at any given time, but they trust the Deane’s brand and it allows them to try something different. Win/win.

Where do you see Deane‘s Kombucha 5 years from now?

I think we will be in a similar place, but maybe 4-5 times larger. We have several very good accounts in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and over time I believe more people will be drinking kombucha, and therefore we will be invited into new accounts. I am excited for that, and excited to share our beverage with more and more people!

Would you like to extend your product line? If so, which other beverages are you interested in making?

Actually I just met a group of local coffee roasters in Minneapolis and we are now offering cold press nitro coffee kegs to our customers. Another great, local and organic product to offer our accounts. It’s a great fit. Up next for us is doing a coffee based kombucha line – but that may have to wait a bit.

For more information please visit Deanes’ Kombucha website.