Packaged in a sturdy, recyclable clear glass bottle with a resealable screw-cap, Birchiq is easy to throw in your lunch bag or even a large purse. At 11.4 oz, it’s about the size of the average small bottle of water, but we much prefer the taste and benefits of Birchiq to regular water. If we’re being honest, we’re tempted to stop drinking water altogether and switch to birch water. It’s refreshing, pure, good for you, and tastes delicious.

Birchiq is full of essential nutrients that benefit our bodies like calcium, iron, zinc, potassium, manganese, phosphorus, and magnesium. It’s the perfect drink for those who are looking to get more hydration but don’t enjoy plain water. It’s also great for those who do enjoy the clean taste of plain water but want to enjoy some added benefits and nutrients without any added sugar or flavorings.

Although we mentioned it has no added flavor, Birchiq has a distinctive flavor that we absolutely loved. It has a faint sweetness to it that is reminiscent of maple without being syrupy or overly sweet in any way. In fact, there’s a prominent and pleasant sweet aroma when you open the bottle that we found to be unique and intriguing in a product that looks like water! This is because birch water contains it’s own natural sweetener! Birchiq also contains natural electrolytes, but contains 5x less sugar than coconut water, so those on diets or watching their sugar intake will be sure to enjoy it. We love that there’s a sweet hydration alternative that’s also low sugar and intensely refreshing!

For more information visit Birchq’s website.

1. Tell us the story behind Birchiq. How did you come up with the idea of creating birch water?

Before I will share my story, I would like to clarify that we haven’t created birch water, rather it is produced by nature for thousands and thousands of years, and all we do is bottle a drink that’s created by nature. Growing up in Ukraine, my husband Valeriy would visit his grandparents who lived in a village during early spring time and while there he always went to the forest to tap birch trees and collect birch water. This craving for thirst quenching birch tree tapped water followed him throughout the years.

In 2006 when my husband immigrated from Ukraine to USA he was always checking in various European food store if they sell birch water, so he could purchase it and enjoy it as a daily drink like in his childhood. He wanted to re-introduce it to me as I immigrated from Ukraine in 1997, when I was 8 years old and hardly remembered the taste. What he found was that Eastern European stores did sell birch water, however he told me it tasted nothing like the birch water he hand collected himself.

The “birch water” that was sold tasted more like regular water (probably diluted birch sap) with sugar and citric acid. Valeriy didn’t like that taste, neither did I, but we would buy occasionally (when I would see new brands) with hope that something close to the taste of childhood will be found, unfortunately we couldn’t find any. Around two years ago my husband and I visited Ukraine and his grandmother had birch water that was from the tree to the bottle, which I tasted for the first time as an adult and I really loved it. I told Valeriy that now I really know why he wasn’t satisfied with the taste of what is offered in stores in USA. I loved the taste so much that the idea of introducing 100% pure and 100% organic birch water to people in USA came to me in that moment. It wasn’t yet an idea of doing business, though, I was thinking about bringing a few bottles back to USA to give it to my friends and family.

Traveling throughout Ukraine and visiting different cities, I noticed how people of Ukraine struggle financially. I noticed many forests are being cut for lumber and I thought, I want this to be changed, so I came to Valeriy and told him that I want to start a business of selling birch water in USA to let people of USA enjoy taste and health benefits of this elixir of health, how people in Ukraine called it. Also, I wanted to give an opportunity to make a living for those who are in financial crisis. Last but not least, it broke my heart to see fields of tree stumps where once beautiful forests flourished and I wanted people to realize that nature deserves to be treated better than just to be cut down for lumber. During that 9-day trip to Ukraine in 2016 I asked Valeriy to help with finding the right people to collect and produce birch water that will taste as it was just tapped. He joked, “Only if you will make me your Vice President”.

2. Birchiq is a one flavor beverage line. Can you tell us more about ingredients and benefits of drinking your product?

As I mentioned above, we started as the company that introduced 100% pure and 100% organic birch water to the USA market. There was no one else who did, and I believe there is no one else who does at the moment produce 100% pure birch water. There are a few other companies that sell birch water, but they have citric acid added, which makes it taste a bit different. In Eastern and Northern Europe, some regions of China birch water is known as a healthy drink, which helps to rejuvenate body, improve metabolism, detoxifies, aids in join pain relief, restores electrolytes, and even help oral health due to the fact that the naturally occurring sugar that it has is xylitol.

As the company grows we are starting to introduce other flavors – with natural wild blueberry juice, rosehip, and sour cherry. We are a healthy drink company, so all we add is natural juice (which gives a flavor and color) and a tiny bit of beet sugar to blueberry and sour cherry flavored birch water for those who prefer sweetened drinks.

Birch water is a healthy drink with a very good taste, which is acquired for some people, but after they drink a few bottles, they can’t stop drinking it.

3. Gathering birch water is quite complicated process. What are the main steps of developing birch water?

Birch water collection period usually lasts only 14-21 days, but there are years like 2018 as example where collection period was only 5 days. Collection starts with first warmth after winter and ends when buds on branches start appearing. When first sunbeams of spring shine through and the winter snow begins to melt, the roots of a birch tree reach deep down into the earth seeking water to replenish the tree. Water makes its way upward from the roots and incredible energy rushes from the root to the top of the tree, the sap is on the move.

The water is being enriched with nutrients by the tree and the sap is ready to be collected. We carefully tap birch trees and place a pile into the tree to collect water into big glass jars. Birch water is hand collected, and in order to keep it 100% pure, in order not to add any preservatives to it, it needs to be processed within hours from being collected. We can do that because our production is right by the forest. Taste of birch water depends on how high tree is tapped, how wide the trunk of the tree is and if forest is in a valley. Knowing these distinctions, we make sure that people drinking BIRCHIQ are drinking birch water at its best.

4. Creating beverage brand is a difficult journey. What are the challenges you faced?

Since the beginning of BIRCHIQ we’ve gone through many challenges that we had to overcome. To produce 100% pure and 100% organic birch water we had to find a production facility with a forest nearby and people that will live close to go to forest and collect birch water for us. My husband is Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Seattle and was a big help finding really good people to work with in Ukraine. But even for him it took months to find what I needed to produce 100% organic and 100% pure birch water.

There are multiple companies in Ukraine that produce birch water, all of them add citric to it… many add sugar as well but I didn’t want to compromise on quality. Next step was to create appearance of our product. Products people consume are overloaded with ingredients that are not always beneficial for their health. We offer a simple product, that is why I wanted a simple design as well. Registration of Birchiq brand followed the design part. At the same time, we started production certification. Luckily, because it is a product of forests, we didn’t have to wait for 2 years to get USDA approved organic certification and could receive it right after inspection of collection and production.

Although it was all new for me, a mother of 4, I saw the goal and moved towards it. Having a business it’s constant challenges and overcoming them gives you more adrenaline to move forward. Now we face another challenge – to find the right distributor who will help us to enter supermarkets.

5. Every milestone reached is extremely important for each brand. What would you say is Birchiq’s biggest achievement so far?

As you see from mentioned above, there are many milestones reached by us on our path, but what is our biggest achievement? I believe that achievements really matter only if they bring benefit not only for one person or family, but for a larger community. We present the highest quality product in a very nice, in my opinion, packaging to our clients, we created jobs where people struggle financially and pay them above the average standard, we save forests from being cut for lumber, and support good causes where we live and around the globe.

Isn’t it an achievement to be able to make a good impact at home and globally?The biggest achievement business-wise is that we are becoming a recognizable brand. For more and more people in our state Birchiq is at least something they heard about or even tried. We were contacted by bloggers and local media outlets that got interested in writing about our unique product.

6. There are many interesting birch water and birch sap brands. What makes Birchiq differ in the beverage market?

There are a few other birch water brands on the market. Some of them do very good job presenting themselves and I have to say that their product is not bad at all. As the matter of fact, if I didn’t try 100% pure birch water, I would enjoy drinking one that has citric acid added to it. Similar to us other companies also keep forests from being cut and although they add citric acid, they still sell a good for health birch water.

In addition to the fact we are the only company that offers birch water as it comes from a tree (100% pure), we also donate percentage of proceeds to clean water projects around the globe.

Giving back is in our philosophy, that is why we also support organizations that serve our servicemen and servicewomen, educational system and good cause marathons. Our flavored drinks also very simple ingredients wise and all natural. To notice difference between Birchiq and other brands, you need to try products. As one of our clients expressed, “one sip said more than all your words”.

7. Where can consumers purchase this beverage? Are you planning to spread across the border?

Although Birchiq is very unique and great product, beverage market is very competitive. It is really hard to get product on the shelves of big chain stores. So we started with online sales on Amazon and Walmart. Then we added independently owned stores and cafes, which are very neat, in Washington State. A list of those can be found at our website. As business grows retailers like Metropolitan Market express interest in our product and starting beginning of 2019 we will be present at their stores. A few other chains are interested in Birchiq as well, but discussion is still in early stage.

8. What is your advice to other beverage startups?

When my dad taught me to drive, he told me to look at the place where I want to get and not at the obstacles. Identify your goal. Put a detailed plan of reaching your goal on paper, then put it aside for a few days and revisit it. Do that a couple of times. Having a great product is vital, but without character of a fighter, without ability to no matter what to see the goal I would fail miserably. Be ready to fight for your dream, often with yourself. Always compete, compete with yourself. Strive to be better today than you were yesterday. And value your reputation above any money. Money is something if you lose, you will make back. If good reputation is lost, it’s almost impossible to earn it back. Be ready for a slow growth, which is sometimes better, because you are less likely to under deliver.

For more information visit Birchiq website.

Treo was founded by Bob Golden, who, as son of one of Snapple’s co-founders, had a front-row seat at the groundbreaking brand’s development and rapid ascension throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Inspired by his dad’s love for making delicious beverages, Bob set out to create the next generation of healthy beverages with Treo.

The new varieties join original flavors Peach Mango, Coconut Pineapple, Strawberry and Blueberry, which after only nine months in distribution, have found a home in more than 5,500 stores including major retailers such as Wegmans, Albertson’s Safeway, Stop & Shop, Giant, ShopRite, Acme, Fairway, Jewel Osco, Woodman’s, DeCicco’s, Best Market, Earthfare and a host of other fine natural and conventional retailers.

Tapping into nature in word and deed, Treo infuses hand-tapped birch water from birch trees in mountainside Vermont into a refreshing blend of organic juices, bold yet clean fruit flavors and natural sweeteners, with only one gram of sugar and ten calories per serving. A natural sweetness-enhancer itself, birch water brightens the delicious flavor of Treo beverages while also providing naturally occurring micronutrients including minerals and electrolytes.

Each variety of Treo is USDA Certified Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, vegan, gluten-free, kosher, caffeine-free and a good source of Antioxidant Vitamin C.

Source: Treo

Having won a series of new customers in 2017 including Sainsbury’s, Boots, Ocado and HollandandBarrett.com, they have also just confirmed roll out into Waitrose in July.

TÅPPED, was set up 2 years ago and is backed by Zoopla founder Alex Chesterman OBE, saw sales growth 87% over the last 12 months. They are now raising a minimum £200,000 via crowdfunding website Seedrs, with these funds earmarked for investment in sales & marketing activities.

Paul Lederer, one of the founders of TÅPPED, comments:

“Having expanded our distribution base for TAPPED this year, now is the time for us to invest further in marketing so we can raise awareness, trial and consumption of birch water”

The team are also planning to expand their range with new flavours and pack sizes.

TAPPED co-founder Charlie Hoare adds:

“We have several new flavours ready for our 250ml format and have had enquiries about a larger pack from half a dozen retailers”

Tree waters like birch water are forecast to grow into a $1bn+ global market over the next decade as people continue to shun sugary and artificially sweetened soft drinks, and increasingly turn to natural, healthy, low calorie soft drinks. Birch water is naturally low in calories with only 4kcals per 100ml so a 250ml carton of TÅPPED’s Straight From The Tree Organic Birch Water less than 10 calories. In the Nordics tapping trees is a centuries old springtime ritual, with people enjoying the vitamin and mineral rich birch sap as a cleansing and rejuvenating post winter tonic.

The range includes:

Source: TAPPED

Amazing Forest is a brand of pure organic birch water and variety of berry juice based in United Kingdom. However, products are made in Belarus. All products contain ingredients which were harvested in the forest which perfectly represents the name of the brand. Today I have a pleasure to talk with Pavel Shparkovich, Co-Founder of Amazing Forest.

When did you launch Amazon Forest? How the idea was born?

We started our birch water journey as a distributor for Byarozavik, and very quickly realised that the market required birch water with no added sugar. So we developed our own product with nothing added and for that created Amazing Forest brand and company.

There are many beverage categories. Why birch water?

Honest answer would be that birch water  chosen us, we never planned to do it until we saw how popular the product was becoming and decided to be a part of it. Suppose we just ended up in a right place at a right time and acted on it.

It is said that birch water is the next big thing after coconut water. Do you agree with this?

The industry is calling it like that, though I think it is because birch water is relatively unknown in the western world, so they naturally looked for the most similar product. We are similar in benefits and mineral content to coconut water, however taste is different and we have much lower natural sugar and calories in the birch water.

How many flavors do you have?

We started with birch sap, and for the show we doing we always take few different product made from berries to get the opinion of the industry professionals. Right now we will be concentrating on birch water and developing bilberry/blueberry drink made only from berries with nothing else added.

What is the current status of your startup? Where do you sell it?

We are working on finding distribution partners in UK and already have few companies in Europe placing orders. For now product will be available on Amazon form mid May.

Since you are a start-up, tells us what was the hardest thing so far?

I think not knowing anything to do with the industry was the hardest part…like being born again and learning to walk.

Where do you see Amazing Forest in 3 years? And when do you think you will be able to call yourself a success story?

In 3 years, I see us being in majority of retail shops in UK and Europe, with high sales to other continents as well. Also we plan to have few more products available under our brand. The forests are truly amazing, and offer us a lot of natural products and our aim is to share it with the world restoring the natural link between our bodies and nature.

Which other birch water brands do you see as as strong competitors? What advantages you think you have against them?

There are a lot of interesting brand around, at the moment I am grateful for their pioneering efforts in increasing the public knowledge about the product. We have 100% pure birch sap, which offers the consumer the true taste of the sap and we think that makes us differ from the rest.

For more information visit Amazing Forest website.

Birch Water by Amazing Water is filled in 250ml glass bottles. This beverage is absolutely clear, doesn’t have any sediments and contains only 5 kcal per 100 ml. The Belarus forest is the home of trees where Birch Water for this brand was gathered at. It is vegan friendly and 100% organic product and have no additional ingredients.

Our team of proffesional were nicely surprised by this brand. Usually, if you are a person who have tried real birch sap directly after gathering, you definitely won’t be amazed by bought one. However, many of us had to admit that by far this brand provides the closest product to real birch sap.

The first indicator about the quality of Amazing Forest Birch Water is the good birch sap smell. The taste is very familiar to fresh birch sap, although, it also gives the feeling like you have been drinking coconut water.

The packaging of product is kind of old-fashioned and too heavy for such light beverage product. However, the label of Amazing Water creates 3D visual image of birch tree forest. With green color and ladybug on birch tree, Amazing forest brings nature to you.

For more information visit Amazing Forest website.

Coconut water has been known for a while to be a super-hydrating, healthy beverage – but now there seems to be a new player in town.

Birch water has been well known in Northern Europe for centuries. It is rich in minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus and potassium. The collection of birch sap is difficult due to its short harvesting season. In the early spring before any green leaves appear is the only time of year when the birch sap can be collected. The process starts with drilling a hole into the birch trunk; over two days, the sap approximately fills up a 40 l container from one birch tree.

During 2015, it seemed there were more and more brands of birch water to choose from. Today, we’ve gathered the most interesting birch sap beverages from Europe – take a closer look and maybe you will find your favorite among them!

TAPPED

The DrinkPreneur Live 2015 winner – with innovative packaging – TAPPED birch water is from the United Kingdom. The company released its product line of three different tasting beverages filled with birch water from Finland.

TAPPED straight from the tree: A mint-green label marks this organic birch sap, which has nothing more added. A 250 ml paper can contains 10 kcals. Its unique packaging with birch tree marks makes the tasting experience more interesting and remarkable.

Bilberry & lingonberry: Tapped’s decision to go of the mainstream and create beverages with different flavorings than other birch water brands offer is genius. A pink label marks this beverage which has only 16 kcals per 100 ml. Organic birch sap accounts for 76% of the whole birch water drink. Other drink parts include white grape, bilberry, lingonberry and blackcurrant juices.

Tapped’s products with flavors are perfect for people who aren’t in love with the birch water taste or just want something a bit different. Juices contained in the pink label product give you the chance to take in the all-important minerals from birch water while drinking something tasty and sweet.

Apple & Root Ginger: The orange label paper can contains 14 kcals per 100 ml and 77% organic birch sap. Apple, white grape and ginger juices make up the other parts of the drink. As I should have mentioned earlier, all three products have no added sugar. Moreover, all ingredients are natural.

B-Tree Water

This brand offers three different flavors, all in glass bottles. B-Tree is based in the United Kingdom, in London. Its birch water is sourced and produced in the European Union. Right now, its products are available in cafes in Virgin Active gyms and fitness clubs.

B-Tree’s original birch water Detox has no added sugar and 0 kcals. The 300 ml bottles are filled with 99.9% birch juice, which is well known as a super-hydrating and energy-giving elixir. This is the product to try in order to taste real birch water.

Fitness is another product line, one that is enriched with L-carnitine to transport toxins out of the human body. Also, L-carnitine is amino -acid synthesized by the body to aid into metabolizing fat into energy. Due to added sugar, the kcal count is increased and 100 ml contains 25 kcals. “Fitness” is the only product of B-Tree which isn’t safe to use during pregnancy. Additionally, there is added tartrate, which is often used in beverages as an antioxidant, acidity regulator, and emulsifier.

 Vitality is the other flavor B-Tree offers to consumers right now. Compared to the other two, this one has less birch juice (only 99.2%). However, it has fewer kcals than “Fitness” and 100 ml contains only 20 kcals. With a flavor of peppermint, “Vitality” is the first choice for people seeking refreshment.

All three flavors of B-Tree Water are GMO-free as well as 100% natural.

SULA

Two different flavors of birch water are sold in 330 ml glass bottles by this company based in London, UK. As with the first brand, SULA is also made in the European Union. With a simple design reminding us of nature, SULA has charm even before the tasting. And their website serves up proof of their nature-based humor:

“Q: How do trees access the Internet?
A: They log on.”

Crystal Clear is a product that is 94.2% natural birch sap. There is no added flavoring which makes it natural, keeping in mind that there is added glucose and fructose syrup. One of its main advantages is that SULA is not made from concentrate. The total energy value per 100 ml is 19 kcals.

Wild Mint is for those who are not quite in love with a natural birch sap taste. It has 26 kcals per 100 ml. The mint green–labeled beverage is perfect for those who like a little bit sweeter drink with a refreshing taste. Both kinds of SULA have no preservatives, making them more attractive to today’s consumers.

BIRZI

This is the only brand from Latvia which made our list. Champagne bottles of 750 ml volume and birch sap don’t sound right together, but in this case it works perfectly. Right now the company offers five different flavors of birch sap, all filled in champagne bottles. Unfortunately, according to their official website, these products are only available in Latvia.

If you’re going to Latvia, don’t forget to taste original, made-in-Latvia birch sap. It is important to mention, that BIRZI brand is spreading across the globe. In order to that, BIRZI is improving their labels with nutritional information.

Lemon BIRZI: Birch sap, lemon peel and sugar contained in a green champagne bottle with a yellow cork cover and sticker. We noticed floating lemon peel at the bottom of the bottle, which creates a feeling of naturalness. BIRZI is the only birch sap brand in our list that contains 0.5% alcohol. Without any preservatives and biologically certified, Lemon BIRZI is the perfect choice for those who love lemon and are seeking close-to-natural birch sap. Unfortunately, there isn’t a nutritional value table on the bottle or on the website, so we can’t tell you how many kcals Lemon BIRZI contains.

Peppermint BIRZI: This comes in a transparent bottle with a purple cork cover. It contains a turbid beverage with peppermint leaves in it. The natural birch sap, peppermint leaves and sugar are for those people who prefer a sweet but fresh taste. Peppermint BIRZI also contains 0.5% alcohol; however, you couldn’t tell it without reading label and by just trying to taste it.

BIRZI with blackcurrant buds: You should give a closer look to this product due to the fact that it’s the only one that provides consumers with such uncommon flavor. The bottle, with its dark blue cork cover, contains birch sap, sugar and blackcurrant buds, and only has 4 kcals per 100 ml. BIRZI with blackcurrant buds is great choice for people who love a sweet taste enriched with natural herbals.

Buddha Water

This is a Swedish brand bringing bubbles to birch sap. Talk about outstanding flavors, Buddha Water provides consumers with six different flavors of sparkling birch water in aluminium cans. The 250 ml cans are filled with sparkling birch sap concentrate, which has been certified as organic, along with grape sweetener and one of five different flavors. From original to lemon & lime, cranberry, hibiscus, mango or cherry, the consumer has a wide variety of choice. No matter which can you are planning to grab, all contain 28 kcals per 100 ml.  We recommend you try the cherry and cranberry flavors for something unique.

Tree Vitalise

This is another brand based in the United Kingdom, again in London. Their main product, however, is produced in Ukraine. Tree Vitalise provides three different flavors of birch water in 250 ml glass bottles. The product line is available in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The brand furnishes three beverage recipes which all utilize Tree Vitalise birch water. In case you are not in love with the main birch water taste, you still can drink it by mixing it with different flavorings and other ingredients. Sticking to basic flavor solutions, Tree Vitalise offers original, mint and lemon flavors.

Original: Birch sap accounts for 99.86% of the ingredients. The original flavor has no sugar added and contains only 4 kcals per 100ml. This should be the first choice of the Tree Vitalise product line for people who are looking for a natural birch sap taste without anything added.

Lemon: Even though there is slightly less birch sap (98.45%) and added lemon, the number of kcals remains the same per 100 ml at 4 kcals. The lemon taste gives a little refreshment boost whenever you are drinking Lemon Tree Vitalise. The main advantage compared to other brands which have a lemon flavored birch sap is that Tree Vitalise doesn’t have added sugar.

Mint: The third flavor Tree Vitalise promotes to consumers is mint, which contains 99.7% of birch sap and just 0.15% dried mint. As with the lemon flavour, the mint flavour also doesn’t have any added sugar or other kinds of sweeteners. Less sweet than other brands, Tree Vitalise gives one the opportunity to taste pure birch sap with just a little bit of flavoring.

Sibberi

This brand from the United Kingdom gives consumers only one flavor of birch sap water. Sibberi together with TAPPED are the only two brands in our list that presents pure birch water without anything added. With only 3 kcals per 100 ml, the birch sap is rich with minerals. Harvested in Latvia and with no other ingredients, it is the number one choice for tasting real birch water – a 250 ml bottle of pure nature. Sibberi is currently available online on Ocado and throughout the UK at the likes Waitrose, Wholefoods Market and Vital Ingredient.

Sealand BIRK

A worldwide brand with headquarters in the United States, this birch sap is produced in Finland with packaging made in Denmark. As the main website declares, there are different tastes, including original without any flavoring. Blueberry, ginger & lime, raspberry or elderflower – Sealand Birk provides flavors that are different from other brands, a huge advantage.

Original (still):  With 22 kcals per 100 ml and enriched with ascorbic acid, the original flavor comes in 330ml PET bottles. Gluten-free, vegan and non-GMO, Sealand Birk provides consumers with a safe and healthy beverage.

Original (sparkling): If other brands give you carbonated or still, Sealand Birk provides both for a wider spectrum of choice. Carbonated Sealand Birk also has added organic fructose for sweeter-beverage lovers. A 250 ml aluminum can contains 18 kcals.

NUDU

This Scandinavian company is based in Finland. NUDU has released a single flavor birch water in cute 250 ml tetra packs. The functional ingredient Vitamin C helps to boost immune systems. With birch bud and birch leaf extracts, NUDU delivers a unique taste. Because there is added fructose, however, NUDU is sweeter than others’ original flavor, although it has only 5 kcals per 100 ml. Compared to other brands, we note that its packaging isn’t very attractive. Despite that, the small size and taste of it pays off.

1. Congratulations to you guys! We are happy that you came up with idea to be the part of this year event. How do you feel? Did you think you would win?

We’re delighted to have attended, it was great day with some really informative presentations and brands on show. We didn’t expect to win, you never do, and never enter with any expectations. Even when the competitors had been whittled down to a top 3 we had our fingers crossed…Winning is fantastic, but we can’t bask in the glory, it won’t mean much if we can’t create the UK birch water category.

2. There were 12 competitors with you at DrinkPreneur Live 2015. They all were different and interesting, but you were the best startup according to the jury. What characteristics made you stand out from the others?

I think we had a great combination of product, packaging, team, customers, and consumer feedback, all directed at a clearly growing market. That’s quite a list and I guess the fact we addressed all these points made us stand out.

3.Who were your TOP 3 startups list? Why them?

Other than our fellow finalist T Stix and Lovo, Charlie also liked Livo and Vitness with their great bottles, and I also really like what Nix&Kix and Dalston Cola are doing to shake up on-trade drinks – desperately needed.

4. Second place went to T-Sticks. They entered the competition just two days before its start. Have you heard about them before the event? What qualities do you think won them second place?

No hadn’t heard of them. We both thought that it’s a really innovative idea, a unique concept with a lot of Out Of Home application – you can image hotels, events, travel outlets using them, and people even carrying them on the go so they have great quality hot drinks wherever they are.

5. Third place went to LOVO. In your opinion, what qualities guaranteed them third place?

I think both they and the judges summed it up well, it’s a great opportunity based on a clear consumer need, and with some further branding work to provide more standout and distinctiveness, they’ll have a really nice concept which could get some great interest, especially once it’s stocked in a few cool bars. Good luck!

6. As you took first place we ‘d like to hear more about you. What kind of plans do you have in mind for TÅPPED? What is the future for TÅPPED?

The last week since the show has been a whirlwind. We went straight from Drinkpreneur to the Lunch Show on Thursday and Friday, where we won Gold in the Innovation Challenge. As with Drinkpreneur we were again up against a couple of birch waters, so it was fantastic to be recognised by the judges as the overall best proposition (in their opinion). Then on Wednesday this week TÅPPED featured in The Times’ “Future of Packaging” supplement.

But more important that more awards and media coverage has been the level of interest shown in birch water. The level of interest is incredible – our focus now is turning that into stockists, then using all the media we’re generating and the support we provide (such as instore samplings and displays) to turn this into sales and really make birch water something special.

After observing and tasting majority of the beverages exposed in Lunch, it would be possible to exclude few major trends: birch water and HPP processed beverages.

Birch water   – a popular drink in Eastern Europe, it is known as a natural energy providing drink and coming directly from trees. The demand of such products was noticed already few years ago but most probably was covered by coconut water trend at that time. Now is the time for Birch water! Organic Birch water products: Tapped, TreeVitalise, Sibberi were presented in Lunch exhibition this year. Tapped was differing from the others due to their specific packaging – carton can, design and flavor variations. They were offering not only an original tasting birch sap, but also bilberry and lingonberry, apple and root ginger flavors. The exceptional innovation of Tapped was evaluated by Lunch Innovation Challenge.

HPP processing – another trend which is being discussed during last year’s and is definitely going to be in a spot light among beverage trends of 2016. Various products were produced using this technology: smoothies, vegetable and fruit shots, wheat grass shots etc. HPP technology is commonly used in a beverage industry for last months due to the trend of natural claims and healthiness. No additional preservatives have to be used, no affect to the taste or color. Loss of color and taste is a common problem in products treated with heat to prevent microbiological contamination and ensure the shelf life. Although using HPP technology the shelf life that could be reached is 28 – 32 days and the product has to be stored in a cold place.

In regards to the packaging pouched were well noted. Such products as Pumpkin Tree or FruityPot were presented as liquid or jelly snacks with natural ingredients. It might become a new segment of beverage market – liquid snacks.

More innovations were spotted in the exhibition, such as honey infused drinks Just Bee . Very light tasting refreshing drinks with a honey used as a sweetener. Freshly squeezed juices is getting more and more requested in the market due to the healthy lifestyle of consumers, Cawston Press was presenting a line of drinks in aluminum cans produced using freshly squeezed juices. A very similar trend that is being noticed for the last several years is a naturally brewed tea, as well spotted in Lunch 2015.

Lunch exhibition is highly recommended for the beverage industry not only to attend as exhibitors but to come and see what kind of products are hitting shelves and what kind of trends are coming for the next season.

Original article was published in Beverage Industry Blog