The Details
Ingredients
Lemon with Yuzu and Ginger
Fruit juices from concentrate 48% (white grape, lemon), water, yuzu juice, natural ginger flavouring, Japanese knotweed root extract (Polygonum cuspidatum).
Pomegranate, Lime and Mint
Fruit juices from concentrate 52% (white grape, lime, pomegranate, aronia), water, natural mint flavouring, Japanese knotweed root extract (Polygonum cuspidatum).
The Founder’s Story
Charlie Knockton – Founder of Happy Inside Drinks
When Covid-19 hit the UK and the country went into lockdown, founder of Happy Inside drinks, Charlie Knockton lost his previous business Grate Gourmet Rosti pretty much overnight. He had previously been running a food truck, with a permanent spot in Merchant Square offices in Paddington as well as catering for large events and festivals, at locations including Printworks, Immediate Media and BBC Proms in the Park and Camp Bestival.
For a while he carried on working to supply lunch-time food for the doctors and nurses working tirelessly at St Mary’s hospital in Paddington, however, struggled to make ends meet so also secured part-time work in a factory packing online orders for another start-up brand. It was during this time that he had his light bulb moment.
Charlie has always had a love of still drinks and started experimenting in his home kitchen after becoming disillusioned with the existing soft drinks market for adults. He found them either too sweet, full of unnatural ingredients and always super fizzy.
He wanted to create soft still drinks that tasted amazing but also contained ingredients that didn’t make his ulcerative colitis any worse, unlike many fizzy soft drinks on the market. He chose to include Japanese knotweed, a natural antioxidant that has been used for thousands of years as it contributes towards the microbiome – the happy bacteria in your gut, and the normal function of the immune system.
After working on an extremely detailed business plan and cash flow forecast for a couple of months, as well as carrying out market research with 50 friends and family as taster guinea pigs to nail the recipes down, he decided to apply for the Government-backed ‘Start Up Loan scheme’.
Other notable food and drinks brands that launched due to receiving the Start-Up London scheme include Pip & Nut, and Dalston’s Soda Co. In August 2020 they approved the loan and since then Happy Inside, launched within the space of 6 months has managed to go from initial concept to a first production run, and now a fully up-and-running online store.
Source: Happy Inside Drinks
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