Drinks Kitchen
Alcohol-Free Alchemy
Alli Briaris is the alchemist behind alcohol-free beverage brand, The Drinks Kitchen. Alli describes how her beautifully packaged brand began and how it’s benefited from the advice and support network at the FoodWorks SW innovation centre.
What does The Drinks Kitchen create?
“At the core of my business is a desire to make life more interesting for those who’d rather not drink alcohol. I used to be a habitual drinker and loved a glass of wine. A few years back, I decided to cut back on the booze and to get healthier. Options for non-drinkers were limited and unimaginative, which got me experimenting.
“The Drinks Kitchen now makes a range of non-alcoholic aperitifs with three in the current collection and limited editions coming soon. Herb Verde is a refreshing blend of mint, rosemary, thyme and gentian. Spiced Rhubarb is an invigorating choice featuring rhubarb, ginger, juniper and chilli, and Orange Cinchona has bitter orange and cinchona underpinned by a blend of 17 other herbs.”
Describe your adventures in aperitifs
“I’ve always worked in the drinks trade in one form or another - across alcoholic and soft drinks companies. I ran a wine shop at 18 then moved into Head Office, innovation and new product development and marketing roles. Though launching a drinks brand might seem an obvious move for someone with this experience and track record, it really wasn’t. Circumstances just conspired around me and it happened quite organically.
“The company I worked for pre-Pandemic had moved from Bridgwater to Nottingham and after living away for much of the week for a few years, I’d had enough so I gave in my notice, and started planning to travel throughout France and Spain in 2020. Covid had other ideas, so I stayed at home that summer and explored other career options instead. Though creating a soft drinks brand wasn’t my original intention, The Drinks Kitchen is the ultimate result.”
From testing to trading
“In those early months, my friend Neil helped me to devise, create and test some early products and flavour profiles. I’ve since gone it alone and launched The Drinks Kitchen in spring 2021. I now showcase my products at markets and food festivals, as well as selling direct through my website. This has all been enough to keep me more than busy so I’m only now starting to look into new on-trade avenues such as restaurants, hotels and bars, as well as select retailers and the farm shop market.”
What’s the ambition?
“If I’m going to do this - which I am! - I want it to be big. I want to create a nationally recognised brand, and know that I need to introduce The Drinks Kitchen to wider audiences. I’m not doing this to remain an early-rising food market trader forever - though selling direct does give me an invaluable insight into what people think, both about my product and about drinking in general. The non-alcoholic drinks category is huge and, though drinking remains ‘the norm’, people are starting to explore other options. Attitudes are changing. I’m not teetotal myself, but I no longer drink at every social occasion. Hangovers are terrible and lethargic mornings are such a waste of time. I don’t instinctively opt for alcohol and no longer feel that I’m missing out. My delicious drinks are moreish, viable alternatives that help people make positive, conscious decisions to stay healthier.
How has FoodWorks helped?
“I already had considerable expertise in this sector, but where FoodWorks really helped me was in formulating, adapting and reviewing plans for my business. Instead of contracting out the production of my drinks, I decided to make them myself on site, hiring FoodWorks’ bottling and dairy facilities (for larger-scale pasteurising) on an as-needed basis - a huge saving on having to rent or buy my own space and kit.
“Especially since my business partner moved on, the FoodWorks team have been great advisors and a huge support to me. They’re akin to colleagues and, sharing the building as we all do, they feel like teammates, which is really important as I’d otherwise be working alone. There’s a lovely atmosphere and a really positive, professional and productive vibe.
“With my support package I’ve had access to free consultancy hours, industry-standard production spaces, business reviews, goal setting and forward planning. I’ve scaled up from making 100L at a time to making up to 500L batches of product at once, which is saving me time. I work far smarter these days.
“With their knowledge of the industry’s funding landscape, FoodWorks has helped me get a match-funded government grant to buy a vital piece of equipment, and they’ve also advised on SALSA accreditation, the next step if I’m to partner with larger retailers.”
Advice for those considering FoodWorks?
“I’ve been aware of FoodWorks since before it even opened, and very much feel that I was there at the beginning. I’ve met so many people through its networks, and have loved watching so many new people bring their business ideas to life, supported by this food innovation hub’s team, expertise, kit and equipment. I wish everyone knew about it when they were starting out!
“They can help so many different types of businesses in so many ways: it’s hard to explain just how excellent their spaces are, and how invaluable their advice is. It’s prohibitively expensive to try to do all of this on your own. At FoodWorks, you just pay for when you need the space, kit and advice - this really isn’t to be underestimated. They also run brilliant, industry-specific and more general courses, such as making videos for social media. ‘Meet the Buyer’ and ‘Meet the Retailer’ events are really useful for startups and scale-ups, too.
Finding FoodWorks
“I live in the South West and had heard about FoodWorks as early as 2015, when initial conversations about this innovation centre were starting to happen. It was in the back of my mind as a place that might be useful to me one day, professionally. I then spotted an Open Day on Instagram in August 2020, a few months after they’d opened. I took a tour of FoodWorks and met its businesses and new product development leads, Simon and Zoe. The hub’s food-grade units weren’t quite complete, so I suggested kitting one out as a drinks production, bottling and equipment room, knowing from experience that this was something small businesses could really benefit from. We worked that idea up into what is now FoodWorks’ pilot drinks lab.
“It was only really at this point, following conversations with FoodWorks’ on-site experts, that the idea for my own brand started to take shape. I realised I had the knowledge, the contacts and the creativity to actually make this happen…alongside a serious passion for delicious drinks that wouldn’t leave me with a hangover!”