Mindful Drinking and Moderation in Midlife: How to Drink Less, On Your Terms
**A Spotify 'Rising Star' show** Practical moderation for the way you want to live.
Why can't I drink like I used to? How do I drink less without quitting completely? Should I go for low, no or light alcohol drinks? Why do alcohol-free drinks cost so much?
If you're in your 30s, 40s, 50s or beyond and asking these questions, this is your podcast.
Welcome to the essential show for midlife adults who want to drink less, on their own terms—without the pressure to quit completely, follow rigid rules, or label themselves as sober.
I'm Denise Hamilton-Mace, your mindful drinking mentor, writer and public speaker on all things low, no and light. Each week, I help stressed parents and busy midlife adults navigate their relationship with alcohol through practical approaches grounded in real-world experience and behaviour change strategy, not willpower or wellness culture
What you'll get:
Mindful Moderation Solo Episodes – Deep-dives answering the questions that matter to sophisticated drinkers who want to moderate smartly:
- How do I cut back when my partner still drinks at home?
- What really works: willpower vs. strategy?
- Why do premium alcohol-free drinks cost the same as full-strength versions?
- How do I navigate social situations when I'm the only one moderating?
This podcast is for you if:
- You're looking for practical advice that fits your demanding life, not another wellness overhaul
- You recognise that coasting with mid-strength drinks, zebra-striping, or bookending your evening with something non-alcoholic are all valid strategies
- You want better mornings without giving up celebrating life's special moments
This isn't about going completely dry or reinventing yourself. It's about keeping energy for what matters most: family, health, career, and living life on your own terms.
Join the moderation revolution happening in midlife – because while Gen Z gets the headlines, you're the one actually doing it.
Mindful Drinking and Moderation in Midlife: How to Drink Less, On Your Terms
#23. Fighting Back: Alcoholism, Monopolies & Love with Myth & Goat Founder Colette Safhill
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
It's one thing to launch an alcohol-free brand with no experience of the market or processes involved. It’s quite another to launch two brands at the same time. Yet that is exactly what Myth & Goat founder Colette Safhill did two years ago, and it’s been a wild ride ever since.
Colette’s multi-award-winning drinks are now synonymous with low/no drinking, and you can find Myth popping up on almost every list of ‘my favourite alcohol-free drinks are…’
Goat is an energy drink with a difference. Made with natural ingredients and a drive to serve the everyday person who just needs a bit of help to get through the day.
But it has not been easy. In this very frank conversation, Colette explains how she has put everything on the line, from her health to her home, to make these brands a success and is challenged at every step by the monopolies of big alcohol, red tape, and ‘old boys club’ guards at the door to retail and distribution chains.
If you want to know what it’s really like bringing a brand to market then this is the episode for you.
But don’t let those challenges fool you. Colette still has plans, big plans for both brands; listen in to find out what’s coming next for this international alcohol-free beverage powerhouse!
Colette shares her story, including the loss of her mother to alcohol at a young age and finding the love of her life and why she said ‘no’ when he proposed. There’s a lot to cover in the conversation. Enjoy!
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Myth & Goat
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Try Myth Coconut*
Try Myth Dark*
Try Goat*
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We also talk about
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Carl Jung*
Heineken 0.0*
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🎄 Join the daily advent for free to have your best Christmas & New Year yet! https://lownodrinker.com/christmaspod/ 🤶🏾
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✅ Get the Beginner's Guide to Mindful Drinking - https://lownodrinker.com/mindful-drinking-beginners-guide/
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❓ Take the Midlife Drinking Triggers Quiz - https://quiz.tryinteract.com/#/68dd33385bb4a20015996a13
Creating a Low-Alcohol Industry Revolution
Speaker 1Okay , hi hi Lono Nation and welcome to this week's conversation for the Lono Drinker podcast . Today I am talking to the lovely Colette Sheffield , sheffield , Saffield . I always feel like I'm saying it wrong , saffield , I do apologize . The lovely Colette Saffield , I won't edit that out because it's real and I made a mistake and you know , we're all human and that's what we do and Colette's the kind of person that will be okay with that what we do and Colette's the kind of person that will be okay with that .
Speaker 1Colette is the founder , the creator and founder of Myth Drinks and Goat . She created both brands at the same time because she's part genius , part insane . She has won many , many awards and accolades , including the Great Taste Awards , the IWSC . The list is very long , and I wanted to get Colette on for a while now to talk to her , because she is a woman that I truly admire , both for her business prowess and her creativity and for what she stands for outside of just making fantastic drinks that everybody seems to love . Colette is very passionate about the things that she holds dear to her heart , and admirably so . She shares that and shouts about it and talks about it from the rooftops to let people know what's important to her and what they can do to help with the matters that she finds affect us all , whether you're in the loaner industry , whether you're a woman , wherever you're finding yourself . So I'm really excited to have a chat today to Colette . So thank you very much for joining me , colette . How are you today ?
Speaker 2Nice to see you . Thanks for asking me . Oh , it's nice to hear those things . I more often think of my own worst enemy , and so it's quite nice to hear that someone admires me . Well , today's a good day , I've got matching fingernails , toenails . Someone admires me . Well , today's a good day , I've got matching fingernails , toenails , matching underwear , got lipstick on . All happening . I think you can judge a lot from that . All's good , all's good , just busy , as we were saying before before you started recording , just always busy . You know there's the businesses , the kids , the house , the dog , the cat the friends always stuff .
Speaker 1Yeah Well , first of all can I say thank you very much for the matching toenails , fingernails and underwear and lipstick . I feel uh privileged to be worthy of such coordination .
Speaker 2I know , I know , um . So yeah , I always think it's quite nice . You know , I do a lot of yoga and first thing in the morning , when I do my sun salutation , there's something about putting my hands down next to my feet and all matching that makes me think my ducks are in a row . It's like my marker , it's all gonna be okay , whatever happens today whatever happens , I'm good .
Speaker 1If I get hit by a bus , then it's all good , because everything is matching , are coordinated , and today , I've been matching , so today is the day .
Speaker 1Today is the day Bring on the bus , I can handle it Fantastic . Well , colette , I'm going to start where I start with everybody with you , if that's okay which is to find out a bit about your own backstory . You've created these two amazing brands and we will speak a little bit about how well they've been received by the public and by the industry . But that was quite an achievement to create two brands simultaneously into an emerging market that you know it's been a couple of years , but still the growth is quite eye-opening and quite challenging .
Loss, addiction & inspiration
Speaker 1So what was the journey that led you to decide that it was a great idea to create Myth ?
Speaker 2Okay , so I don't drink . Don't drink alcohol . My mother died alcoholic when I was a child and I began drinking myself when I was about 18 , 18 , 19 . Had a real penchant for it .
Speaker 2Got really good at it really quick and by the time I was in my late 20s I was in rehab , so my drinking was and it was alcoholic . I consider myself to be alcoholic . So I , when I stopped drinking , I stopped and I don't drink at all . When I met excuse me , I got a bit of a cough . When I met my husband , he used to drink and everyone knows , andy , everyone smiles when I say my husband . He used to drink , like any businessman drinks . And when he asked me to marry him , I said no , because of how he drank , it wasn't a problem , but I just didn't want alcohol kind of in the house or around me . So he never had another drink . So as a couple we don't drink .
Speaker 2And we were out to do with his work and someone offered me just like a plastic cup of Fanta or something you know , and I had like my good dress on and my heels and I wanted something pretty , I wanted something relevant and I wanted , I didn't want different , I didn't want to . I felt quite infantilized . So the next morning I said to Andy I'm going to make a drink . How hard could it be ? Really hard actually . If anyone's interested , if anyone's listening , it was really really , really hard and that's kind of how it started . It appeared not to occur to me in that moment that I've never made a drink I've never worked in FMCG , I've never made anything .
Speaker 2Actually , I've never been in marketing , I've never been in sales . I didn't even have an Instagram account and I didn't seem to think that was going to be a challenge . And in my defense , andy didn't tell me to shut up and go back to sleep , which I often think would have been the kind thing to do . Looking back at it now and he just said how can I help darling ? So two years later , this is where we find ourselves .
Speaker 1That is . You know , a lot of people are in this industry and we're solopreneurs , the solo creators . But it just goes to show you're never really alone If you've got the support of a partner who's actually going to be there and be beside you . And I've met your Andy and he is absolutely lovely and I can see how supportive he is , you know . But he does it in his own way , in his own right , and he's like look , I'm here , I'm doing this stuff . I haven't got a clue what she's on about half the time , but I'm here to support her and I love that .
Speaker 1It reminds me of my own husband , who's completely oblivious to most of the stuff that goes on in this world but is learning slowly and starting to champion . You know what we're doing , which I think is a lot of people are slowly starting to recognise what's going on with this low-no movement with the industry , the way that people are living . It's no longer a hushed thing , setting corners . You know it's fewer and fewer times that you're going to the party and you're getting a plastic cup of Fanta . Unfortunately , it does still happen .
Speaker 2Yeah , in fact I was at a local council thing before Christmas and at the end , and this was a full day event , you know , a council sponsored event to do with our combined authorities we're getting a mayor up here I live in North Yorkshire and at the end of the day there were two tables set out and it reminded me of my student days . They were just piled high with bottles and cans and all those things and there wasn't a single non-alcoholic option . In fact , to get anything non-alcoholic I had to walk past the tables through that room into the next room and get some water off the bar , and when I raised it , apparently I was a difficult woman , so I know .
Speaker 1So it hasn't got better everywhere , unfortunately obviously it's not me raising it and isn't it ridiculous that you get labelled as difficult just for asking for what you want ?
Speaker 2you know , just asking for what you'd want and what you would like I was questioning as well the use of taxpayers money at a work event to end up with a student table , um , and maybe that's no longer relevant , maybe . Maybe that shouldn't be the norm . Why would somebody want booze at the end of a work event ? Why would ? Why would that be in the normal ? That doesn't make sense to me , you know . But then there's a whole kind of kill joy and you can't expect everyone not to drink because you don't and not everyone's got a problem and all of those things . I'm just asking why is it normal ? And then why do people need feel the need to defend it so much ? You know , that's always interesting to me .
Speaker 1You're right . People can get very defensive about it , and it's almost as if by you deciding that you're not drinking , and whether it is somebody who has been through similar story to yourself and who can no longer drink and chooses not to because it will be detrimental to their life , or whether it's somebody who's more like me , who's just gone , do you know what ? I just don't want this crap anymore . It's just not doing it for me , yeah .
Speaker 2Andy was just a totally or like Andy , absolutely .
Speaker 1You know whoever it is . You find that even the other day I was at my local pub and I was at the bar and I was asking you know what alcohol free drinks they they had , and some bloke who I'd never met decided that he should pipe up and , you know , give it the usual . What's the point in that ? Oh , I wouldn't bother with that , love , I didn't ask you yeah , thank you for your opinion .
Speaker 2You can take it off with you now , um I just don't , I don't and it reminds me when I was um 14 , 15 in fact , up until I was mid 30s . I was vegan so long , long before it became fashionable , um , but I remember those years with being vegetarian as well . I'm not vegan now , but I remember those years being vegetarian as well , and you've got like a soggy risotto that everybody had an opinion on . It was kind of less than it was less than everyone else's . Someone made a fuss about finding it for you . It was presented badly and then everyone felt they could comment on it and AF . It feels a little bit like that at the moment , um , and part of what I wanted to do was was to elevate what , just what I made , into something really beautiful , um , and kind of not less than not competing with particularly just an alternative . You know , people now expect to go and find a completely plant-based menu wherever they go , so why wouldn't you have an alcohol-free menu as well ?
Speaker 1Absolutely , absolutely . It is just it's now becoming the same , because I come from a hospitality background and you're right , you wouldn't open a bar or a restaurant without having a decent vegan and vegetarian option . So not just one or the other , you have to have both . And gone are the days where it's okay to get away with just a , a nut roast , and you're just like , oh , please get that thing away from a lot of my roasts in the 80s .
Speaker 1But now you know it's it's expected and if you don't have a decent low no offering for people , you're going to start losing business , and bars and restaurants already are , and it's such a shame . Because I love a pub , I absolutely love a door , going to the pub and sitting , and I know that some people say that you know it's not a place that you need to go to . There are other places that you can go and hang out . But I spent most of my life going to pubs . I have good memories , it wasn't all bad and I actually want to go and keep making some good memories without the alcohol .
Speaker 2So I should be able to have something that I could choose from without having to have the same plastic cup of juice as my kids . Yeah , and so about making memories , you can remember as well , you know um , and you don't have to , you don't have to have a particularly you know um defined problem in order for you to lose some evenings , lose some some days , you know , maybe make choices you wouldn't otherwise make , or not choices , outcomes and things like that . So there was some research I saw recently and I'm going to misquote it and I can't remember what it was but it was along the lines of 10 women .
Speaker 2Out of every 10 women surveyed , seven would have had an alcohol free option if it was available and relevant to them . And I think there's something about that about choice , about you know , so if you're a wine drinker , maybe you want an af wine . If you're a beer or cider or spirit drinker , but about there being choice not just being that you sit down for dinner , you're the token vegan and all you can have is a mushroom risotto and you better be grateful for it . Yeah , and actually you don't like mushrooms or you don't like rice or you don't , but that that doesn't matter , because they've given you what , what you were told , don't be difficult .
Speaker 2You know , and I think there's still a little bit of that , particularly in Yorkshire , where I am . I've been sober 24 years , which is a long time , and I've seen a lot of change . I've seen a lot of change in the narrative . I've seen a lot more visibility , um , but as with all change , not not all of it feels as positive as it might be , um , and you have to wonder who the stakeholder is in it sometimes .
Speaker 1You know yeah , so no , I was going to ask you that because you I know that you travel a lot um , you're , you're always off to different fairs or different expos , or whether you're you're displaying , you're talking to people , meeting with people . And then you mentioned being in north yorkshire and what things are like up there , because that's , that area is very much you know sort of . It has a reputation and a history with alcohol . It's very close-knit as part of the community . Uh , you know , having a pint there , there , sort of a rite of passage , or you know , it's that that sort of way that you grow up , which is which is similar in lots of places around the uk .
Speaker 1But I just wondered , being somebody who travels a lot and who sees a lot of different places , what your sort of experience and take is on the way that things are changing . Do you think it's because you know there's a lot of talk about how quickly everything's happening and how it's growing and expanding ?
Navigating the Low Alcohol Industry
Speaker 1But I was reading another article by by a chap whose name I I can't remember , and his point was that actually things aren't moving as fast as people think they are . He was saying that he doesn't think that the low , no movement is actually going to ever be of any challenge or concern to big alcohol and that people are just making a fuss about it . What have you seen in your travels ? Is there anything to what this chap is saying , or is he just talking out of his backside ?
Speaker 2I think , although I live in Yorkshire now I can tell by my voice I'm from the south . I do travel a lot and I think I think there could be an argument for what people actually want to drink . So I think people are very brand loyal and they , they want what they know . So if you're going to drink heineken , you'll have a heineken zero . If you're going to drink gordon's , you'll have a gordon zero , because it's known and I think that's the way maybe big alcohol can control the sector . Um , I've got some real issues with it because if you've got a bottle of , we'll say , gordon's , for example , you've got a bottle of Gordon's and you've got a bottle of Gordon's zero . They look exactly the same . So the zero is actually advertising the alcohol and and I've got a real problem with that because that's kind of like , not , that's not fair , is it ? It's implicit messaging ? I don't think that's kind of like that's not fair , is it ? It's implicit messaging ? I don't think that's right . Do I think it's a big movement ? Yes , I do , and do I think it will change , particularly with the next generation ? And yeah , I really do ? Will it look exactly like this ? I don't know , because at the moment all our non-alcohols . Well , a lot of our non-alcoholics is going through the same distribution channels and endpoint customer channels as alcohol . So I really don't know .
Speaker 2And I hear a lot about no low light and I just don't understand that . I can't think of very many areas of consumer consumption whereby somebody makes a choice and then the messaging around it is so complicated that you don't know what you've got . Somebody makes a choice and then the messaging around it is so complicated that you don't know what you've got . Um , my , my daughter , for example , is celiac and if I go to buy her something gluten free , it will say gluten free on it and it will have no gluten in it . Whether because she's celiac or because someone chooses not to have gluten , it still says that . But with non-alcohol we seem to have this no low light space which is all one .
Speaker 2Well , if you drank an entire bottle of myth or an entire can of goat , you won't get pissed at the end of it . If you drink an entire bottle of low alcohol spirit or light spirit that's 20% you'll be shit faced . It's quite an obvious thing and I spent nearly a year in a rehab and I was on legal section for a while and I get to choose how much alcohol I do or don't have . That that's my choice , shouldn't be driven by the sector , shouldn't be driven by someone else's commercialism . It should only be my choice . The same , as you know , I often say if you've got a peanut allergy , if you have half a peanut , you'll still have a problem . Um , and it's a bit like that and I'm concerned that somehow the messaging is getting is getting lost , like the point is getting lost . I think no , alcohol is a valid sector . You know I sell a lot in the US and in the US .
Speaker 2My sober voice is actually is well received in the UK . I've been told more than once to tone it down because actually nobody wants to hear sober , and I just don't think that's true .
Speaker 1I think the industry is trying to curate a message away from that , yeah , interesting because I often have this conversation with founders , because there is this light area that is really starting to take off .
Speaker 1But it is a very complicated area for people because it it's very hard for people to know what they're consuming . If it's mid-range , once you've perhaps put it in a cocktail , you've added it to a mixer or or whatnot , it begs the question who it's for and how it will be used , because there is obviously room to serve people who are completely alcohol free and they don't want any booze whatsoever . And then there are the people who still drink and are still happy to consume and they want to have their 40% gins or whatnot . But then this space in the middle , I'm interested if you think that there is legs in it for the long term for those people that might be thinking well , I do still drink , but I don't want to drink very much , I'll have a 10% gin that lambrini space , you know , like live wine or um , that kind of um or baby , I knew it .
Speaker 2So yeah , but I mean I don't drink , so I can't really answer what people who do drink want . But in my mind , if you want a half a half percentage of of a spirit , would you not just add more mixer ? Do you know what I mean ? And and if you've got to take a calculator with you to the bar to figure out if you're going to be too shit-faced to drive then , then that that doesn't make sense to me and I do wonder if we're not going to end up with a bit of a problem where people end up drunk behind the wheel or or they've had more than they realized .
Speaker 2I mean , I was reading a calculation the other day I just saw it on LinkedIn about how to calculate the ABV of what you've got in your glass once you've mixed it , and it was really difficult , you know . So maybe I can understand if it's something like , um , a beer or a lager or like something that's that's come to you in a glass like ready done , I can understand that . If you wanted the same , but light , like you used to get a lager tops or something you know um or a shandy or I can understand that and there's always been a place for that . But it's always been known what it was and it was always called something a bit different and it was always . And I don't fully get now how you can have a light spirit on the same shelf in the supermarket as an alcohol free spirit .
Speaker 2I don't see how that's safe . Do I think it's got legs ? I think anything that sells has got legs and I think anyone who's got the money for the marketing and the distribution decides what sells . Do I think it's consumer-led ? No , I don't , but that's just my opinion .
Speaker 1Interesting Speaking of the money for the marketing .
Challenges Facing Independent Low/No Brands
Speaker 1Independent brands are struggling . Independent low-no brands are struggling and obviously I don't need to tell you this you are a woman at the forefront of it all . What is it that you're seeing that's causing such a challenge for these brands ? We all know of wonderful founders who have had to step away from what they're doing , not because their drinks haven't been successful , but because they've not been able , perhaps , to scale . They've not been able to meet the demand , which absolutely will blow some people's minds that there is demand for your product , yet you cannot make enough of it to sell it to be able to stay in business . Is it big alcohols using up all the shelf space ? Is it that there's not enough word ? Is it that we can't get enough marketing ? What is the problem that we're facing for smaller low-no brands at the moment ?
Speaker 2Okay . So that all filtered through my head , with my head saying to me remember , colette , don't say anything . That's going to blow anything up . Remember , colette , keep this politically correct . Remember , colette , don't cause yourself a problem .
Speaker 2So , in really simple terms , a business needs funding , a route to market , so you need to be able to sell your product and you need to be able to fund r&d and and the next product runs and things like that and like the mechanics of the business . Um , I have multi-award winning drinks , you know , in in the second year of my business , um , internationally selling huge demand and uh , and really , at the forefront of what I'm doing , will I still be in business next year ? I don't know , because there's no funding and there's no direct route to market available in order . It's actually , in some ways it's a bit more obvious with goat in the energy section for for retail , because in order to get into retail , you have to pay a wholesaler , a distributor , a retailer . You then buy the shelf and this can be tens of thousands of pounds just to get listed and then , once it's on the shelf , they want , the retailers want you to sell it for less , although also the wholesalers , the distributors , want to buy it from me than less than it costs us to produce , and that's obviously not sustainable . And then , on top of that , there are millions of pounds worth of marketing spend . So what we end up seeing on the shelves is not choice . It's not choice of the consumer , it's what people are being told they can have , and that is only by the dollar . Really . Who's got the money for for it ? And there was almost no way to break into that . So with non-ALC , I think part of the problem is getting into on trade , which is obviously really struggling right now , and then the same problem getting into retail .
Speaker 2There's also a lot of people this is where I'm going to be really careful what I say . There's a lot of so when I came , I'm going to be really careful what I say , there's a lot of . So when I came to this , I didn't have any industry knowledge , so you kind of assume that you'll go to the people who are the consultants , who will , who are in that industry , who will guide you . I can tell you there's been an enormous amount of money wasted on that for people who either don't really know or can't be asked to do the work . And I'm not talking a bit of money . I'm talking a lot and that's quite well known in the industry .
Speaker 2So part of the problem is people who want to make money off the back of the new brands , um , and they're just bleeding the brands dry . Um , a lot of it is to do with the current distribution model and how we I just see a monopoly . You know how . How do you get into anywhere ? Um , and then the funding model .
Speaker 2Obviously , being a woman um is quite a challenge and being in the north , actually , I was talking to a funder the other day who asked me which bit of surrey I'm from because of my accent , and I said oh , no , no , I'm in north yorkshire and he said is that near Scotland ? I'm just not really Scotland's near Scotland , um , so I think there's , there's all of those , all of those things . Um , I can understand why people step away from it . It's astonishingly stressful . It's a very stressful thing to be doing um and without clear route to market , but it is . It messes with my head . You think you know you make something that people want , that there isn't anything really like it in the market . Everyone wants and I've got distribution . I've got a 3pl um logistical distribution . I've got third-party packers and producers , but I can't get it to the shelf , or I can't get it to the bar , and the bar owners are wanting it as well , and I still can't get it to them .
Speaker 1So so that that's , that's a real challenge because it's a double pronged uh attack on on on the brands , isn't it ? Like you say , get into the supermarkets is one thing , and and consumers often will see a brand that's on the supermarket shelves as well and think , oh , they've made it fantastic , they're , they're really big , but actually that's even . That in itself is still only half the battle .
Speaker 2The retail don't pay on time . They want loads and loads and loads of product . Obviously you have to pay for in advance , and then they've got 120 day pay rate and even then they're not paying on time and there's no protection for that . I had a distributor um take a huge amount of gold and just not pay for it and I've chased it through the courts and there's no protection . That's the thing . There's no way to make people do something , even when they've had the product , and it's really quite . I don't understand . I can understand why the industry isn't working and it isn't working for anybody . I don't see it's working for any of those parts of the chain doing to be able to make these changes .
Speaker 1Not just you know , oh yeah , it's lovely , let's everybody have a chance , but but what ? What needs to change ? Because this obviously is not sustainable . We can't keep having an industry that , just you know , build somebody up and then they have to step away , because then there's no longevity in this yeah , and there's no innovation and there's no .
Speaker 2The other thing we're finding , I think , or I'm seeing , is that the founders , like the independent founders , like myself , are taking huge risks with our lives , our money and all those things , our families , our time and then the big outs coming oh yeah , that worked , and then just ripping off . Seeing that quite a lot so with myth .
Speaker 2I'm not sure . I think retail big retail should have some responsibility here . There should be some part of that process that is dedicated to independence in a way that's sustainable and not just complicated incubators and things that you can't get on and you have to pay a lot for , and things like bids , whereby the people who make the choices actually then pimp themselves out and you can pay them to help you do the bid to get in . But that's the thing , um , there should just be some transparency in that . Um , but with goat , I've been given a lot of thought to this actually . So if you think kind of , go right , say I need to sell it for a pound in order to keep my business alive and the end point customer wants to buy , pay two pounds for it , just to say it's that , um , because the math is easy . And then in the , in the way of that , the distributor , the wholesaler and the retailer all want a 40 margin . Yeah , well , the only way you can make that happen then for the margins they want , is for me to sell it for less than it costs me to produce . So that's not sustainable . I'll go out of business or the customer to pay more because and then at the moment , particularly across the cost of living crisis , that's not going to happen . So the more I was thinking about it excuse me the more I thought there has to be a better model to get it from me to the shop . So say the community , say the community of I , I don't know football mums or rugby players or whatever it is want to buy it , can't their community buy it directly from me at what I need to sell it for ? And then they sell it for what their community will pay for it and they get to keep the profit and then they can reinvest that in their own communities , their own tribes , their own whatever it is they do . That makes more sense to me rather than the whole of the middle section , because all of that was set up to make distribution and things and ordering and stuff easier and coordination of all that easier .
Speaker 2But with tech now I don't think we need that . You can just press a button on the map and go , yeah , I need that or I need that , or you can have kind of automated inventory that will just reorder for you , like my Alexa reorders my coffee beans for me . You know , I don't think it needs to be the same now . So maybe there's something about that kind of vertical integration and some of the AI integration so that people can actually get what they need , so that people aren't beholden Like the endpoint retailer on trade isn't beholden like the the end point , like retailer or on trade , isn't beholden to these big orders . They're not running out of things they need and they've got too much stock of what they don't need so they're happy to sell it off cheap .
Speaker 2They can just have this integrated ai that says actually yeah , we're getting through a lot of this right now . It's hot weather , everyone's drinking drinks or it's cold and everyone's drinking coffee or whatever , and just reorder direct from the producers and there's loads of 3PL . That's kind of the pick-pack post like logistics , and most suppliers have got their own . Now producers have got their own and there's something in that . But that really isn't my field and I really don't understand . So if someone listening to this does please reach out and find me and let me know , because I would like to do it differently . What's happening isn't working and it's not working for anyone .
Speaker 1And what about independent spaces ? And what about dedicated low alcohol retailers ? Is that a solution that you think should work ? Do we need to see more of those ? Because obviously we're seeing a few of those clothes as well . We're seeing lots open and a few clothes , um , and then that's sending the message to some people that this isn't sustainable , whereas all what I find quite interesting is that all the founders of the retail spaces that I have heard of that have closed recently have specifically said this is not a failing of the low-no industry . This was a failing of our business and or our model or what we were doing . Um , it yeah is , is low-no , dedicated bars , restaurants , shops , retail spaces . Could that be providing a solution for us , for , for the , for the challenges of getting onto the shelves , so that we say you know what , screw it it's back to that vegetarian thing , isn't ?
Speaker 2I can remember having dedicated vegetarian shops , you know , like mentor sniffing with the hippies , um , and and it isn't now it's just a shelf in the supermarket . You know , I can remember , like my daughter , for example , my daughter's near 15 , but when she was first diagnosed with celiac , which was 13 , 14 years , maybe 11 years ago , you could still it's still difficult to get dedicated gluten-free food . Now there's aisles of it , um , so I , I don't know , I'm a more fan of integrating . I think the problem I see with some of the dedicated , no low spaces , um , and the bottle shops in the uk I don't know so much in the states I don't have a problem in the states is , again , they , because they have to make money , they have to stay open , they have to keep the lights on this , the shell . And again , I don't know if people know this , but the shelf space is sold , so you just buy a shelf , so before you even put your , your drink on the shelf , you pay for that shelf . Well , obviously , the brands with the big budgets pay for all the shelves and then they pay for the big events , and then they pay for the big activations and they pay for the shop window and they're the ones that eye line . So these are the ones that are heavily funded . So then they're the ones that get the traction .
Speaker 2So again , it's it's not , it's simply not fair . That that's . That's probably what I think . I remember when I was in school in fifth year , I didn't get picked for the netball team . Now , oh , I know I should let it go . Really I'm 51 . Anyway , but all these years later , it's probably because I wasn't actually very good at netball , but at the time I thought it was because Justine wasn't my friend , I wasn't part of her in crowd .
Speaker 2So she picked her friends and NOLO does feel a little bit like that . I'll be honest those kind of dedicated , I'll pick the ones with the money , I'll pick the ones I'm friends with . It's a very political space and I'm not a political person , as my husband would probably agree . I tend to say what I think is true in the moment and that's a bit baffling and again , a bit sad , because it's not allowing these innovative spaces . And you've got these huge funding models that are their own
Funding complexities
Speaker 2business . They've got their own agenda , they need to see a certain return and they push in a certain way and that might not be sustainable . It's like pushing water uphill and then that fails and I don't know .
Speaker 2I mean , I've thought a lot about going out for funding . I think the only way I'll stay afloat , actually where the businesses will stay available , is if I go out for funding and I've looked a lot of the models and what they're like , and so in in six months time , I might have a different opinion , I might be more informed . But as it sits at the moment , I think when , when , when the funders mean that the brands are giving liters and liters and liters and liters of free product away and then paying for space and paying for the advertising and paying for the visibility and nobody's actually paying for the product itself , then how can you get independent producers coming in saying we actually need to sell our product in order to keep our business afloat and everyone's going actually , but we can have that for free . And that seems to be the core of the problem , I think . As I see it , it's .
Speaker 1It's so much more complicated than people realize , isn't it ? There's so much that goes on behind the scenes . You know , people see the posts on instagram or or even in in the shops or whatever , and they think , oh , you know this , this thing is here and it exists , so that they're doing fine , but there's so much going on behind the scenes in terms of creating and sustaining this , because you know , we're just talking at now about sustaining it and and and being able to keep selling your product and getting it into people's hands .
Speaker 1But then there's a whole world behind the scenes as well of actually making it and making it so that it can taste amazing and that it can last for a decent amount of time , and all the challenges that go into it , because we've still got to get the consumers to understand why they need to pay for it , what's gone into it to make it special , to make it unique , to make it taste amazing . There's a lot to consider and I don't think that people really appreciate . That's one of the reasons why I want to do this podcast , so that we can let your average consumer know that there is a whole world of blood , sweat and tears , metaphorically speaking , that goes into these drinks that they get to enjoy .
Speaker 2Actually , I think that's one of the things I know you know , because we've spoken about before that I'm quite passionate about is this idea that there's a right way and a wrong way to do no-lo ,
Inclusivity not snobbery
Speaker 2that everything has to be novel , everything has to be functional , everything has to be adaptogen , everything has to be weird , wacky and different in order to be valid , and that a very small group of people get to say what is and isn't okay and what is worthy and what isn't worthy . And that reminds me of , like those old old men's wine clubs .
Speaker 2You know , I mean where , um , where you had to like , know all this oh was it was it chichely goulding , I think I seem to remember years ago on the telly and she was always talking about , oh , she had the nose of oak and she could taste old leather and and and people then felt that unless they knew all that , then somehow they they were , it wasn't available to them . And I saw recently a lady who created a brand called nice wine because she just didn't want all of that . She just wanted some nice wine .
Speaker 2Um , and I'd be sad if no like goes in that way , because , as I know , you know , I said um , sometimes you just want a fish finger sandwich , you don't ? You don't ? You don't want some hand whittled single coffee bean , flat iron , whatever it is . You , you just want a fish finger sandwich and that's okay , you know . And I think it would be sad when we're talking about a brand new emergent sector where anything is possible for a very small group of people to feel it's okay to make that elite to make it , oh no but this is the only thing that's valid .
Speaker 2Unless you're having this , unless you understand the nose on this , whatever this 85 ingredient product might be , then you're not really good enough for this and I feel I feel very strongly about that , because everything should be for everyone , whatever bit of it you want . You know if you want a malibu and coke , drink mine . You know . If you want um , a shrub with um , a really um complicated mixer , drink someone else's . If you want a guinness drink that you know . But there's no value judgment , it's just what you like and I just think that's so important . I think people can feel so othered and so devalued and so worthless and then they don't speak because they're embarrassed . There's shame attached to it and shame is what was attached to the drinking culture . The last thing we want is it attached to NOLO as well , and that really breaks my heart . If I'm honest , of all the things that the most yeah , it's that , as you said .
Speaker 1So , for those who may not have realised , the fish finger sandwich reference was , it was in reference to an article that you wrote , a brilliant article that you wrote for Lono Drinker magazine , which was about the premiumisation of the sector and the fact that , as you say quite rightly , that wine snobbery . Because I remember quite clearly many , many times in my hospitality career , feeling like I just had to keep quiet because I didn't understand that this , you know , smelled like petrol . So I'm going to say this wine smells like petrol and that was a good thing and I was like I don't understand how petrol is a good thing in wine . And you know , until you've gone through the education and that process which was fine because it was my job , so I was happy to learn it but as somebody who just wants to sit back and relax and enjoy a drink , you don't want to have to go through a WSET course just to be able to understand if you can appreciate the drink .
Speaker 1Surely the appreciation is the fact that you drink it . You go , oh , that tastes nice , and then , and you know , you're happy with what you have , and I think we need to allow people to make up their own minds on what they like . Regardless of what they're supposed to like , there are a lot of flavors I think we are supposed to feel certain ways about and we're supposed to think that this is a sophisticated flavor and we're supposed to turn our nose up at that being too sweet and sugary , and you know , but some people like sweet drinks because that's how their palate , their natural palate , has lent them . You know it's because they all .
Speaker 2But it's sweet . It's got 24 calories in the shot . If you mix it with lime , it's not sweet at all . It is that is this view people have , that somehow one thing has more value than another way . So it's that snobbery . And I don't know if I smell wine now . It smells like rehab and shame . Um , if I'm really honest with you and there are other things I smell and they smell like they should be on top of my chips , um , but but it doesn't mean someone else doesn't like it and I really , really don't like that . I think that that's just not okay . And also and I know it's not all about people who are alcoholic and things but we are talking about a set of drinks that have the ability to fundamentally change people's lives . You know , not just a little bit , but walking away from alcohol can save lives . It can change lives for every alcoholic . You know they touch at least seven people . We're talking a huge amount here .
Speaker 2So let people drink what they want , but label it , so they know and help us get it to the shelves , help us help have those choices , because if you can't find what you want , then maybe you will just order the vodka next time and I I think it's really sad that that's .
Speaker 2That's where it gets to . I know when my mother died , um , next to her on the floor was a bottle of gordon's and you know she died when I was 11, . I'm 51 , 40 years ago , and I can still remember that bottle and whenever I see the Gordon Zero bottle I can still remember that bottle , you know . So there's definitely space to make it different , for it to be different and think about as well the dangers of that . You know , I'm AA and I've definitely spoken to a few people lately who have accidentally relapsed , picking up something they thought was non-alcohol . The other ones are the hard seltzers actually as well , because often the calories are bigger than the ABV . On that they look like a can of pop um , and I just don't understand why it's made so difficult for people to make a choice .
Speaker 2I mean , I certainly by the time you get to my age I don't know anyone who thinks they should be drinking more everyone wants to drink less .
Speaker 1Everyone quietly says to me in the corner .
Speaker 2So how did you stop ?
Speaker 1you know , even if out loud they're quaffing whatever yeah , I think there is a lot of that there . There is , um , a lady I've spoken to recently . I've asked her to to write something for me about the fact that everyone's always talking about Gen Z leading the low and no alcohol revolution , and for me personally , I think that , yes , of course , a huge percentage of younger people are not drinking and it's fantastic that they are looking at the impact that this substance is having on their life and choosing a healthier choice the impact that this substance is having on their life and choosing a healthier choice .
Speaker 2But I also think that the older generations and I can't believe I have to put myself in a category . I'm not okay with that . Let's recalibrate that .
Speaker 1The mature , the experienced , the wise , the clever ? Oh , I don't know . I'm going to have to find a word . I'll workshop it . Workshop that one . You need a word , I need a word . Workshop it . Workshop that one . You need a word , I need a word , workshop it .
Speaker 1But those like me , because I'm 44 years old , I partied hard and I had my socializing and my traveling and my friends and did all that sort of stuff and I came to a choice that , as an older woman , I just wasn't really into it anymore . I'd reached a stage in my life where I didn't want to anymore , and a lot of the people that I spoke to , a lot of my friends my age , when I started saying that I wanted to cut back on my drinking , they all , like you were saying , went yeah , do you know what , denise ? I can't cope with it anymore either . You know , I don't want to get , I don't want the hangovers anymore , I don't enjoy it anymore . I'm just doing it for the sake of it .
Speaker 1And that's not to say that everybody are now no longer drinks . But by me saying to my friends I'm cutting back , what it's done is it's visibly given them permission , because whilst gen z are , you know , shouting on their instagrams and their tiktoks about the fact that they're really loving not drinking as much alcohol . It's those with disposable income who are going to the bars to sit there and to order these drinks and say , actually , can you make me an alcohol-free cocktail ? Can you bring me your alcohol-free wine list ? And go to the shops and place the orders and go to the , the wholesalers and the retailers and say , send me these drinks , I have money to spend , I want to spend and also , we're modeling for our daughters and our sons you know , I've got four children .
Speaker 2I know my two youngest daughters they're still at school , um , and they had like a pshe lesson I think they call it now , um and and this person came in to talk to them about alcohol . And my daughters were the only ones whose parents don't drink . So when the guy came in and was talking my youngest daughter , moggy she was saying , well , mummy , honestly , this man came in and said so who's seen their parents drunk ?
Speaker 1She said , well , I couldn't believe it , and then she ruled off all these people who put their hands up and she , she said , well , I couldn't believe it .
Speaker 2And then she rolled up all these people and put their hands up and said I wouldn't know what it meant and things like that . We just assume , we assume it's normal , we assume everyone sees that , well , my children don't , you know . So we begin to model that differently . We begin to say it's okay , it's okay not to , it's okay to make a choice . You know , we teach all our children , but obviously mine are daughters . Teach my young daughters your body , your rules , your choice . We don't seem to teach that in the same way around alcohol . It really is your choice . It's okay to say no , it's okay for someone else to be uncomfortable with it , but it doesn't have to alter what you do you know , there's a real safety .
Speaker 2I mean , I'm known for being a bit outspoken , but I always think that alcohol is a gendered weapon . You know , I don't know many women who are improved by it , whose lives are improved by it . You know , the one thing I see a lot when I'm doing tastings is it's a woman my own age who are really anti-trying . They're just like oh my God , I hate my husband , my life , my job and my kids . You don't take my Prosecco , it's the only thing holding me together and and I just wonder who that's for . Who benefits from that ? Who benefits ? And if you look like historically , things like gina's mother's ruin at the turn of the industrial revolution , or pink powders given in the 1800s and things like that , it's always been about this subduing . For god's sake , love , be quiet . You know , just go over there , sit down and be quiet . Um , I'm not very good at that . That would be quiet , um , so no , but I do think then something else you said actually just triggered a a thing in my mind . So andy obviously doesn't drink because of me , and people assume it's the other way around , because it's gendered . Um , people always say to him oh my goodness , you gave up drinking for colette and , like he says , that's a really telling statement . You know , he loves me , he wanted to marry me , he wanted to spend his life with me , but for so many people the thought of not having an alcoholic drink trading for that would be unthinkable , and Andy's often quite insulted by that . He'll say you're saying Colette's not worth more than a pint . Really , you might want to look at that . Whereas if someone said to you you could never have an orange juice again , you'd go all right . Then yeah , when we really think about these conversations it's like , well , how embedded is this , how implicit is this ? Can we not start to just check it ?
Speaker 2When I started Myth , one of the things I wanted was narrative . I've just been speaking to someone actually earlier on today about narratives and stories and I wanted to write my own story . So when I was drinking back in the day , that story , I didn't have control how that ended . It generally ended really badly , but I didn't have control . Now I do . I want that pen . It's my story , I get to write it and I get to write tomorrow as well , and there's something about that for me . You know , writing those beautiful stories , passing them on to generations , and it being conscious , really conscious , and sometimes I'm a real cow . I can be an absolute arse . To be honest with you , I was a right dick the other day about something , um , but I remembered that I was . I was actually a bit of a dick because andy's got to go abroad to work for a bit and I'm like who's gonna look ?
Speaker 2who's going to look after me ? Not , what about you , or you or I in my life , oh God . So if anyone wants to adopt me for the next year or so , have shared custody and I'm the only child , no parents . Honestly , I just can't look after myself . You poor thing . What will you do ? I don't know . I've got the dogs and the kids and the house . What's going to happen ? But I was a bit of a dick about it , to be fair . But then today I woke up and I thought you're a bit of a dick about it and there's no shame attached to that , particularly just a cognitive . Don't do that . You love him . Check in , andy , you're right about this .
Speaker 1Let's have a conversation . You know and I think that's sobriety for me , bought that it's really important to me . Colette , I'm going to ask you to take us through the range . Oh , yes , indeed , because I've got these amazing drinks here and I want to make sure that everyone who is watching or listening gets to hear about these fantastic drinks and the dedication that you've put into creating this range of alcohol-free drinks that have done wonders . You are one of the most awarded brands , and the fact that you've only been doing this for two years is mind-blowing . I don't know if you've slept in the last couple of years . No , no , when we came on .
Speaker 2We were talking about how much weight I've lost . Someone said to me recently how did you lose all that weight ? I said , well , let me tell you . So , the dreams First of all , very first , I'm going to start by telling you about Gemma Simmons .
Speaker 2Okay , so Gemma Simmons owns a company called my Little Graphics Company and Gem does all of my artwork , and the artwork is stunning
Drinking Myth & Goat
Speaker 2and she's never spoken about . No one knows her . So I want to start with that . So that is loosely based on a Malibu . It's the white cane . It will do anything that most white spirits will do . You mix it in a 25 ml shot . I like it neat over ice . I wear a bit of lime , the dark one next . Oh , that's got 25 calories , I'm sure . Um , everything I make's vegan , everything's free from allergens . Um , I actually won the free from food awards as well . That is a dark spice . So loosely think , kind of a kraken maybe . Um , for me , for my taste profile , it does well for a bit of sugar or a bit of fat . So I like it most in an espresso mix . Um , with a little bit of sugar . Those two are the rtds .
Speaker 1Um , the first two of a range , and these are your newest , aren't they sort of ?
Speaker 2you've recently launched these that's the one you're holding up . There is a watermelon margarita . It's got a bit of salt yeah and it's got . If you tip it into a glass , imagine the sun and a bikini . Okay , um , put some number . I like an umbrella , a cocktail umbrella , and one of those flamingos um a sparkler as well . Love it honestly , I really do .
Speaker 1I'll set an air on one day with it um and and put it into a glass .
Speaker 2You know if , if you can , yeah . And then the other one is a rum sour . Now the rum sour everyone likes . Gemma's just finished the artwork on that . It's a Grand Canyon and that's great in like a whiskey tumbler over ice . Personally , I think each can serves two . I don't think you'd necessarily want more than that in a serve and both of them . You want to open them and just leave them for a couple of minutes just to let some of the carbonation leave . They're carbonated for the canning process . Okay , just leave a little bit . A little bit . Right , there is another drink now do I do ?
Speaker 1I have to share them because you say they serve two .
Speaker 2But do I have to share ?
Speaker 1because I don't want to you have more it's fine .
Speaker 2Um , so I've got another one that's just about to come out now , another Spirit in a bottle . I won't say what it is , it'll be out really soon . I'm just doing the final testing now . I know and you're the first person to hear that Nobody else knows . That's exciting . I've been asked to make it specifically by some of the Canadian outlets that I use who I sell through .
Speaker 1And then there's another two rtds coming as well .
Speaker 2There's just a bit of a it is more of a logistical problem actually on how to physically can and bottle those . Um , and they should be . The spirit will be done by the end of next month and the rtds will be done by the end of the summer . So then there'll be a range of three spirits and five RTDs .
Speaker 1Colette , that's absolutely astounding . I can't believe it , because I was going to ask you if there are some plans to bring out some more and I was expecting that you'd say do you know what ? I've done quite a lot lately . I'm going to take a step back and let these run for a little while , but no , you're like banging out another spirit and two more RTDs . That's really exciting , exciting .
Speaker 2We have the spirit , and the RTD are actually ready , they're done , they just need to go through trials . And then the other two RTDs . It's just about making sure that I can produce them in a way that's consistent , because they're a little bit novel in their way . So , and then the other brand is goat , which is an energy brand . There are now four cans , so the one you're just holding there that was the original used to be called horny goat .
Speaker 2Um , it's now called the original because retail won't take it called horny goat and all the cans will end up like that . They'll end up printed on cans just like that . Um , the other three there , they've just had their first trial runs , which is why they're labeled . That one is the sugar-free groovy goat . Um , all the goats are different . Um , he is mango and he's got bcaa vegan bcaa in him .
Speaker 2Um , the one next to him , that one brand new just come to market last week . Um , that's the one that's got no caffeine . Um , so it's safe for under 16 . So any anyone who wants that can have that , including kids . Again , it's got no calories , no carbs , no sugar . Um , and that one there is the cherry . So that's the funky goat .
Speaker 2Um , and that again is no calories , no carbs , no sugar . Um , with a cherry flavor . I use acerola cherry . Um , 100 of my caffeine is natural , comes from coffee bean , no artificial colors , flavors , preservatives , nothing like that , with the exception of the sweetener , obviously . So the originals have got normal sugar in it . The other three have got sweetener in for people who want to manage their sugar intake and the UK government doesn't like us to put sugar in things anymore . So they've got sweeteners and there is a range extension which I just literally just as we were logging on to this , I just had a confirmation that I've got the funding , for I'm just about to make powders to mix in water for athletes for the GOAT brand . So I've been asked to buy some of our ultra runners and the cyclists if we could produce a range of powders .
Speaker 2So we're just doing that now amazing like a pre-workout booster um , they will all have different functions , the same as those drinks have different functions , um , and they will be mixed with water on site . They're also going to be able to be served in several different ways with several different um audiences and needs in mind . Goat is all about tribe . It's all about the reality of tribe . Do you know what ? If you're not running a marathon tomorrow , fine don't , but did you get up and get to work on time , having been up all night with a vomiting kid ? Well done you . You know it's . It's that , it is the reality of that . It's .
Speaker 2Yeah , I've got an assignment you in . I'm up at two o'clock in the morning , um , getting it done , and I just want some caffeine to make that work for me and I want to have it in the way that is the least harmful and tastes great . When I made it , I went to my techs who do my development . I just said you know , can we make a caffeinated drink , an energy drink that , for the most part , isn't bad for me , doesn't taste shit and actually does what it says it's going to do ? So they're all legally claimable , positive outcomes , great branding , gemma's the genius , and they taste great . That's what they're about . And everyone tells me that I'm not going to make it work because no women own energy drink brands , but I do , so we'll see .
Speaker 1Well , absolutely , absolutely , and I think in terms of the taste , I obviously didn't want to open uh , three of them that I haven't tried before , before we had this , so that I could show everybody , and I will put on some uh of your um , professional imagery as well , to make sure everyone can see the cans , nice and clearly . But I have tried the original um , I tried it at the house of happiness event with , uh , the wonderful , oh look , weird thumbs up thing has happened I did a heart thing today on a call , accidentally , and it was really inappropriate .
Speaker 2All these hearts came up like this , really serious business .
Speaker 1You're just sending love out . There was a funding call and all of a sudden it went like that and all these hearts and balloons went .
Speaker 2I was like oh I'm terribly sorry , I came over really easily celebrating early . I'm sorry , um , yes , um , yeah , the house happened amazing ian and neil and janie and neil and janie and emma and yeah .
Speaker 1So I tried the original there and I can definitely attest . You know , I was never a big fan of sort of the uh I don't want to get myself in trouble with saying sort of brands that you know the main energy drink brand , uh , I , I can never stand the , the taste of that , and so it's so nice to be able to have something that you can actually go . This is going to give me a bit of energy . It's not going to send me bonkers and do lally . It's going to taste great and I'm going to be able to get on with what I need to do .
Speaker 2It's about the same as one and a half espressos and actually marketing go is really difficult because I didn't want to call it a functional drink but there's such a reaction to energy as a label but really it's got sugar and vitamins and minerals and caffeine yeah , if you went to starbucks and got yourself a coffee and put some sugar in it .
Speaker 2It'd be the same as a reaction , except mine's got vitamins and minerals and coq10 and bcaa in it and then the other one's got no , no calories , no carbs , no sugar in it . Um , but it's just a functional product . It will do what it says . And again , it was partly a feminist thing that pushed me to that , because I found that everything aimed at me , at my demographic , at my age and my gender , pretty much said oh , do calm down , have some chamomile , try some lavender . Have you not had some yoga ? Why don't you have a warm bath ? And I know , when I've looked at the marketing for kind of the , the big energy brands you know their marketing is targeted 18 to 34 year old men then that's what it's targeted at , that's their open marketing policy . And then everything else coming in is not being honest .
Speaker 2I saw a company that's just a product that's just come to market , won't name . It begins with a , b just come to market . It's in all the major supermarkets , it's lithuanian and it says um , ditch the sugary energy drinks , ditch this , ditch that . But three of the top ingredients are all caffeinated it . It is exactly that . It's just kind of like well , just say what it is , um , so . So that's why this is called , and it was called functional energy . Um and again , you end up with these , these two spaces . You've either got the functional , healthy drinks or you've got the energy drinks , which are considered really bad for you , and I'm just trying to bridge that gap to something that's a bit more honest .
Speaker 1I've got two more questions before I let you go . The first is most important is where can people go and find out more about you ? There's so much more that I wanted us to cover , which we won't have time for , because I know you've obviously got a lot to do . But if they want to find out a bit more about what you're doing , what you're up to and where they can buy Myth or Goat , where should we send them ?
Speaker 2Okay , my website . Go to my website . So mythcouk , goatcouk and you um dot couk , gocouk um , and you'll hear all about us , what we do and even down to like who does our our packing and things like that . We've got quite cool 3pl um . You'll hear a bit about me , probablya bit about my dog , mabel um , a bit of a chatter when I get going um , and you'll also see the stockists on there . But you can order direct from us and our warehouse will send it out . That's still probably the easiest way to get a product . It does take a couple of days to arrive .
Speaker 2We are still reliant on Royal Mail , so it's not Amazon . It won't be there just before you've hit send . You know that kind of oh look , it's arrived . I've not even ordered it yet and we're setting up a subscription model for Goat as well . So all of those things , model for goat as well . So all of those things . And there's a newsletter and you won't get bombarded with a newsletter every week from me , because I still have to actually write it myself and I do it about once every six weeks when I remember . So you know , it's not AI , it's not . I don't think people realize , but I don't have a team . It's just me , so everything is just me , so I'll do it when I get around to it . Um , but the fulfillment we now have a proper fulfillment center . That's all automated . So order online and you'll read all about everything we do on there excellent , excellent and and hats off to you .
Speaker 1As a one-woman band , I understand just how difficult it is to try and get everything done and to do it to the standard that you want to be able to be proud of , to present it to people , and sometimes it is better just to go right .
Speaker 2I can't write the newsletter this week because I I could send it , but it'd be crap and I don't want to have had other people come in and do things for me cost me a fortune and they were just a bit shit . So I was just like I don't want you to . Rather , it wasn't done , or I did it myself , you know , but I don't want you to do it .
Speaker 1It's just not what I think last question , colette , and this is one that I ask everybody that comes on the show , because it is about spreading the low no
The BBQ question
Speaker 1love around the world and showing people that there are fantastic drinks for however you choose to drink , for however long . So I'm not sure what the weather is like in North Yorkshire at the moment , it's all the time , ok . Well then , use your imagination and let's say you're off to a nice sunny barbecue and you are bringing a couple of drinks along with you to enjoy . Obviously , myth and goat top of the list . Other than your own fantastic drinks , what other alcohol-free beverages do you normally enjoy ?
Speaker 2So me personally , I'm quite partial to a red , a decent red or a decent bubbly . So I like French Bloom . It's a really good , really good product . I like the Teetotaler red . I like the Carl Jung red Really really good product . I like the Teetotaler Red . I like the Carl Young Red , really really like that one . And none of these are because they're fancy or because they understand the nose or because they smell like petrol . It's just the ones that I like . And I like Amanda Thompson's the Naughty Rouge . I like that one .
Speaker 2My husband he , excuse me tends to like the beers and the lagers , so he's a big fan of unlimited . He really likes that . Anything made by mash gang . They're great . Um , I was reading a post by them the other day actually and they were like , oh , all this noise , it's all piss in the morning and I just thought that was so true , it's just . I just think that's a funny ending . He also quite much finds you can zero , if I'm honest . So I've got a lot of friends who like the Guinness zero . There's a thing you can do with Guinness actually , where it's like a Guinness cocktails , and if you so , there's a big thing with Guinness and Malibu . So obviously , if you use zero Guinness and white meth , it does the same thing . It's really really cool . Meth does the same thing , it's really really cool . Um , I tend to mind . I tend to mind my calories a bit more than that .
Speaker 1So I tend not to , uh , tend not to drink things like that , um , but they're the things I would take me personally , I would want a decent red , full-bodied red that doesn't taste the wrong side of ribena and great suggestions there , because that is the one area that people often ask me about is what decent alcohol-free red wines are there ?
Speaker 1so uh , great suggestions . Yeah , carl , young and naughty , and so there are definitely out there and there are brands that are working really hard on getting the wines up to the same levels and standards as the beers and the spirits in the low-no space . But it's a .
Speaker 2It's a challenge tom proctor at the alcohol free drinks company alcohol , free company alcohol free company , I think tom proctor , and he's got a great range of wines like really , really good , and he'll do mixed boxes and I think , if you're going to go looking for um , I'm going to try something , I'm going to have a look around this yeah , then that would be a really good place to start amazing , amazing .
Speaker 1I will make sure that everybody can find that information as well as where to find you , where to find Myth , where to find Goat . I'll put that in all these show notes and descriptions and various places that people go to find out information . Colette , thank you so much for joining me today . It has been a really interesting conversation . I'd love to invite you back on the podcast another time , perhaps me , perhaps once , uh , the next three drinks in your range are released . We can have a chat about those . Um , but it's been wonderful having you on and thank you very much . Thank you for inviting me . Have a good day .
