Coming up

Speaker 1 1:12

If 80% of your lifestyle is healthy , you can accommodate a 20% indulgence , which may be your cream cakes , it may be a glass of wine , it may be whatever . It's unfortunate when you tip it over and you suddenly think you'll do 20% healthy and you expect a result because the body doesn't work that way .

Speaker 2 1:33

Hi hi Lono Nation and welcome to this week's conversation on the Lono Drinker podcast . Today I'm talking to the lovely , lovely husband and wife team , ellie and Rob Nowell , the family team behind Moody Brew , which is a range of flavor-packed , functional drinks , including Sunny Smoke , ginger and , my personal favourite , velvet . Moody Brews drinks are crafted from a blend of plant extractions , harnessing natural antioxidants and adaptogens to help you enjoy your drink and your life to the best ability . Regular readers to the magazine will also recognise Ali's name as our newest contributor . She writes a regular column for Loner Drinker magazine , which has been dubbed focus on health , and in every issue she said , she shares research-backed articles on elements that impact drinkers , such as weight management , sleep and the menopause . So I'm very excited to have them both on today and say hello Ali , hello Rob . How are you guys doing ?

Speaker 3 2:36

Thanks , denise hi .

Speaker 1 2:37

We're well , thank you . Yeah , as we said , um you know , enjoying this lovely sunny weather , you know , while it lasts .

Speaker 2 2:45

Yes , this is a very strange weather . It was my daughter's birthday is on September the 1st , and so I know that at that time of year it just changed and it was like a switch . It went to autumn , but now we seem to be having an extra summer , so yeah who knows .

Speaker 2 3:01

Um . Well , thank you for joining me . I'm glad you're in good spirits because I want to have a lovely chat with you about your amazing drinks , and those who are watching the video can see behind me . We have , uh , all four bottles on both sides , um , and I'd love to know the story that that led you guys to creating these , because these are quite unique drinks . There's not a lot like what you're doing , and so it obviously wasn't just a case of , oh , let's just make another beer , let's just make another wine . You've gone for something quite different , so

Alli's cancer recovery

Speaker 2 3:33

start where you want to start . Alison , if I ask you to kick us off , what was the journey that led you guys to produce these wonderful drinks ?

Speaker 1 3:42

Well , I think , overall , it would be good to hear Rob's version because , to be honest , most of the inspiration came from him , so I won't preempt what I know he'll probably talk about . Talk about , I think . For my own side , I think it's just that appreciation that , although I felt I was living a healthy lifestyle and I was keeping myself fit , I had cancer back in 2018 . And I think it was a little bit of a wake up call of thinking , well , hang on a minute , what else can I do ? Because I think one of the inspirations for us is that whole piece around we're living longer and it's that whole piece about quality of life .

Speaker 1 4:25

And I think when you have a life changing event , like a cancer diagnosis or anything , really it's looking at , well , what can you do to bring that best quality of life and live your best life ? And that just really came to the fore . So I think for myself that that was it , and I know that fed into the inspiration for Rob . You know he had had , um , some thoughts beforehand and I think it was . That was a bit of a wake-up call for us . Um way , so maybe I should hand over and Rob go into more .

Speaker 3 5:00

Yeah

Rob's journey

Speaker 3 5:00

, I mean , really we started around 2019 , not that long ago really and to just play around , I had been doing a lot of business travel over in China and India and Japan and Taiwan and places like that , and I'd really seen how they use plant materials , plant extracts , in their drinks and actually how the general population were perfectly aware of the health benefits of these types of extracts , perfectly aware of the health benefits of these types of extracts . And I really enjoyed the teas and the whole tea experience that you get in Asia , and so that really helped sort of formulate the initial ideas . And really what I wanted to do was to almost deconstruct beer and take out the calories and replace them with sort of beef up the natural plant . Good antioxidantsing the beer was around . How to make it easier without fermentation that's a sort of separate story , but that was the starting point .

Speaker 3 6:29

And then , of course , covid hit and we were lucky and many were not , of course , but we felt quite lucky to be able to have our , our children , got back just in time and Jacob was let off work , as it were , and so he really ran with it and and really sort of developed processes and and this sort of thing really developed the product , which needed to happen , and uh , and of course , then scaled up and things like that , so little mishaps became , uh , you know , big mishaps , and so you know , all of that happened in a way , at the right time and enabled us to to kick off these types of drinks . So thank you for saying that they're they're unique . That's nice , nice to know . You know the area actually probably better than we do , and so it's it's good to hear that yeah , they are , they're very , they're very different .

Speaker 2 7:28

As I said , I do have a favorite and and I know that when uh founders come , I do try not to say that I have a favorite in the range . I wonder if it's like saying you know about having a favorite child , but , um , you know , sometimes different things and different flavors appeal to different people , don't they , um ? And so I like that you've come out with a range , so I'll get you to take us through the the range a little bit . But first of all , obviously , alison , I'd like to say I'm so glad that you know you are on the other side of this now and that you've um used that , uh , horrible experience of getting a diagnosis like that into creating something wonderful with your family . It's , it's so affirming to hear , um , when people turn something quite devastating around to be such a positive thing for not only themselves , their family and the people they love , but then the other lives that you'll be touching by by helping to make these drinks that can really help . As I say , people live a life less intoxicated absolutely I'm sorry on you .

Speaker 1 8:25

Go . No , no , please go ahead . I was . I was just going to add there and ,

Scientific background

Speaker 1 8:29

um , as I was touching on earlier , it's I mean , you've , you've picked up where we're assigned . We're all scientists in background and so that's our default as to what information is out there . And it is looking at what you can , um do to add by value . It's like nutritional value . It's looking at what are the ingredients , what are they doing , because when you're having calories , um , you know there's been so many myths out there about weight and and various other issues that we should be looking at what we're putting into our bodies and what it's doing .

Speaker 1 9:02

So this whole concept of treating ourselves takes on a new meaning when you've been through something like cancer . What helped me through was focusing on my diet , my nutrition and exercise , and I saw firsthand the benefit of what I was putting into my body in helping my recovery . And I , you know , I I don't take it for granted at all and it's something I see as being a lifelong learning situation . I'm not going to think right , I've sussed it , I've got it , but this is , this is the type of passion and energy that we've put into the drink . So you know , we've got the four different flavors , hopefully reaching out to different people , and , I'm quite happy to confess , belv it's my favorite too .

Speaker 2 9:50

You're absolutely right , and what you're putting into , what we're putting into our bodies is is such an impact and it's something that we just we say , we think about it , but I don't think that people really really do . It was actually , um , what led me down this path in the

Functional ingredients in MoodyBrew

Speaker 2 10:37

first place . I my , in brief , my husband and I went vegan for six months because we we realized that we wanted to sort of strip back and start again . We're no longer vegan because it's just really , really hard , but it allowed me to recognize what was going in and we felt amazing . And then the only thing that I was still putting in that was making me feel rubbish was alcohol . And that's what led me down this path to realize that I would like to look at other types of drinks , look at other types of of drinks .

Speaker 2 11:10

Um , what I love is this new . What I'm really excited about is this new adaptogenic , nootropic way of looking at drinks , these functional drinks that , uh , people are really , really interested in now at the moment . Um , and you know , you've got sort of plant extracts , you've got vitamins and minerals in them , but they're all under these umbrella terms of functional drinks and I'm not sure that most people understand exactly what those elements can do for them . Would you be able just to take us through within you know moody bruise range . What are the ingredients in there that are um creating added benefits for people as they drink them , as well as tasting lovely ?

Speaker 3 11:50

yeah , I mean , perhaps we can , we'll illustrate it with , as you say , our children . Maybe this is okay . We'll show you some of some of the bottles . So actually it can be split into two . And this is , you know , tends to be what we say on market stalls when we head over to market stalls . So one of the drinks . Let me see if I can show you that We've opened these already . We're drinking them at the moment , but this is these two drinks .

Speaker 3 12:18

Well , yeah , that's it . These two drinks , sunny and Smoke , are both based on teas . So Smoke is sorry , sunny is a mixture of teas , so teas are great . Oh , yes , that's Annie's on that one and that's so . That's balanced against rose . There's also rose , a hint of rose taste .

Speaker 3 12:47

At the end , um , there's a natural sweetness , but we do , uh , extend that sweetness with a little bit of sugar . Uh , they're about 30 , about 13 calories , yeah , per bottle . So pretty low , right , um , five , ten times lower than most other drinks . And we do extend it again , as I was saying , with stevia . That's our preferred , that we add some stevia in again , because it's pretty much a plant extract . And then the teas we use are rooibos and a bit of type of earl grey fruits in there as well .

Speaker 3 13:28

So , so sunny is is more the lighter drink , uh , but still still an adult drink . Uh , it's still , um , you know , something we're trying to do is is to make adult drinks and smoke . Smoke is a really good example of that , because that's smoky , very smoky . I'm going to open that and have someone show you at the same time , maybe . But again , this is a balance of two teas . You'll see the type of colour . At least Really smells . I know you can't see this , but really smells smoky , and that's the first thing that people , when they try it , understand . It fills the room with smoke flavor . It's really balanced that way against a smoked tea and a rooibos , which is smoother . Smoked tea and a rooibos which is smoother . So it's not a , it's not the smoked tea on its own , which can be quite grating in terms of tannins , the rooibos really balances it out , balanced against with sweetness , slight carbonation , so it lifts the , lifts the , the smell when you , when you get it near to your nose , and then you get the smokiness at the end and also a kick .

Speaker 3 14:55

So , without replacing the alcohol , we've replaced it with some sort of chili pepper type of spice . So if you , you know , are , were a whiskey drinker , then you know you've got a kick associated with it . Health benefits are then all associated with the plant extracts , the teas , the rose petals on those two drinks . Now the other two drinks are based on other plant extracts . So ginger is just as it says on the tin or the bottle .

Speaker 3 15:30

Thanks , this is very punchy , lots of ginger . As soon as we make it we get rid of the oxygen , so that can degrade the sort of punch , but also the goodness of , as I say previously , the polyphenols and antioxidants . So that's the reason why we make it the way we do . We have a little bit of citrus flavor , but actually it's really ginger root fresh ginger root that's really made quickly , fresh ginger root that's really made quickly . That's part of the sort of deconstructing the process and making it so that it's actually extracted and then processed very quickly so it stays fresh and when you taste it . I am going to taste this . I have this most afternoons to wake me up if I've been on the computer too long .

Speaker 3 16:27

You really smell the fresh ginger . Mm-hmm you get the little bit of citrus to begin with , and then the rest of that ginger flavor and the punch really comes through , and after the second sip , you know it's so warm in the mouth that it's , you know , it's exciting , you , you know , waking you up a little bit . And so all the goodness there is within the , the ginger extract itself , and then , um , the velvet . Well , would you like to do , you want to mention the velvet yourself ?

Speaker 1 17:04

yeah , well , the , the velvet . We've got a range of spices in there , um and um the elderberries that are involved . Now we've actually developed an all year round version because that's our seasonal drink , because you only get elderberries so many , oh well done . You only have elderberries for so long . So we've just got a new batch made and again it's got orange and just the combination . You do go on .

Speaker 1 17:32

I remember somebody describing it as like a velvet symphony , and I get that because you do feel as if you've gone on a journey with the drink and I think what inspired with that one is what , how we came about the ideas for some of the drinks was with velvet , for example , you you probably would have held . There was elderberry sort of elixirs that for centuries people brought together and they would make these every year and it was to fight off colds and flus and that type of . You know all the different viruses and for a lot of the drinks what they do is it's the vitamin content . Yes , that just helps get all your neutrophil levels , all your blood , working well to just fight any infection . But also , what all the ingredients do and I think this probably explains a little bit about the functionality is when you think about our body . So our brains are 85% water . We need to keep hydrated . We have the tiniest amount of dehydration and our brains do not function as well . So we have cognitive issues , so many different issues . The same goes for our heart working . Our heart's got a lot of water and our muscles too . So if we want our bodies to perform well , we've got to have hydration up there . So that is the primary focus of the functionality with the drinks that we have a lot of the other ingredients .

Speaker 1 18:55

They help work with the body's natural processes to produce energy , um , just to work the muscles properly , to get all the organ functioning right , to help your skin function . You know we forget the skin is an organ , so it's making sure everything is working well and the cell repair that is needed so that's the whole point of like an antioxidant is having that cell repair . We have natural damage . Our body is amazing at coping with stress and with damage , but we need to be able to help it .

Speaker 1 19:31

So that is the type of inspiration behind and it's like , like I said earlier , it's that in many ways I like the attitude . You put nutrients in and you get so much more back . You know , from from , from having them , it just helps give that boost . And again , the other thing to say is just that whole um health and well-being boost , because as much as if we are feeling healthier , um , it just gives us more of a boost for our mental health . You know the two work together and they talk a lot about gut health . You know , as you know , being your second brain , so that's , that's another sort of thinking there . Is there anything you want to add about that ?

Speaker 3 20:12

Just say that maybe this that they are adult drinks is they've all got a kick to them in some way . Velvet has just had some . It's got a really warming black pepper . I don't know if you got that as well , denise , but you know they're sort of evening supping drinks where you can sip along of an evening . You know you're having something different that way . We would love to be able to get them into pubs so that you know people do have a choice

Getting into pubs & supermarkets

Speaker 3 20:53

. But we'll see see where the journey takes us .

Speaker 2 20:57

Yeah , that's interesting that you mentioned that , because in the in the pubs there's a lot of talk , isn't there , about draft beer at the moment , particularly now that Guinness has gone into the Devonshire in Soho in London , and so now I've seen in the last two weeks so many articles about alcohol-free draft beer in pubs . And then obviously there's a lot of talk about wine because people have been looking , trying to find replacements for their alcohol-free wines for a while . In terms of your supermarket , what you might have at home or what you might pick up from a specialist producers like the Alcohol-Free Drinks Company and Wise Bartender and such you don't often go into pubs and see functional drinks options available , unless they are listed as a alcohol-free beer with functional ingredients . Have you had any of these conversations with supermarkets yet ? Have they been receptive , or do you think that ?

Speaker 1 22:03

there's an in , or are they just not ready to have that chat with you yet ? I think they're just because of the big boys out there it's really hard getting in there . We do have stockists who really believe in what we are trying to do . They share the same values , they like the drinks , so that is working sort of well for us . But , yeah , trying to sort of get that you know .

Speaker 1 22:26

Next step for things like supermarkets , no , I think it's really really hard . I mean , we're still pushing those doors and we won't give up , but I think it is up . But , um , I think it is hard and I think it's a lot of the alcoholic brands going alcohol free . Um , it seems to be . Then they're already in the supermarket . So the supermarkets just stock , you know , their latest product , you know , I mean Guinness , the , the zero percent . I've just heard nothing but good things about that and that's a very hard one to try and compete against . I mean , we designed velvet to be a replacement to a red wine . Um , you know , because we found , as Rob had said about smoke being sort of like the whiskey alternative , because he didn't like whiskey but didn't like the hangover . Um and um , you know , but it's , it's interesting trying to see those openings , those opportunities for us . But I think this is the problem when you're a small business , you know it's just trying to get those opportunities .

Speaker 3 23:25

Yeah , we're in no particular rush . We would like to make sure that the drinks are crafted well and processed well and managed Processing is done efficiently and things uh , and then we'll see . We haven't had any conversations with the supermarkets . I think it's a really good discussion about you know where it's where it's going to happen next and whether there is going to be more , uh , more of these drinks in pubs . Uh , I think it has to , surely , um , but um , maybe it just takes some , some brave , brave pub owners maybe , uh , individual owners , uh , to to head off in that direction first yeah , rather than the , the , the tied houses and the big chains .

Speaker 2 24:14

Because you know , obviously , then you , you are fighting a , an almost losing battle , trying to go up against the , the contracts that they'll have with the heinekens and the asahi's and the diageos , because you know regular listeners will know I've spoken about this before it's just it's almost impossible for independents like yourselves to get a foot in the door when you're competing against these mammoth contracts . So your only route is you're right , rob to go via these independent houses . You know , these free houses that are open to looking at different types of drinks and having one on one conversations . But that's a big task , right ? I mean for a small family-run operation to try and make your way around the independent pubs of the uk , to go look , taste my wares and and put them on your shelves .

Speaker 3 25:03

That's got to be quite a mammoth undertaking to be considering yeah , yeah , I mean we've tried to sort of mitigate some of those risks in terms of costs of production by going a more sort of continuous route . And when you have , when you have a fermentation step , you've got to start talking about large volumes that are fermenting for a few days at a time . Therefore , to scale up , you've got to scale up very large volumes and you've got to pay a lot of capital , uh , whereas , uh , our route is slightly different , um , and means that you don't have to have all of that burden of capital and you can keep costs down . But , at the end of the day , you know these drinks have got real ingredients in and so they're never going to be I mean , our tagline is not alcoholic but not soft , and it's to refer to the fact that they're adult drinks , really but also you know that they're not soft drinks , but also it means that they're never going to be mass-produced , mass-produced soft drinks , because they've got real ingredients in them . So it's going to be a balance .

Speaker 2 26:13

And it's going to be a balance and , uh , it's going to be a really interesting journey absolutely , and I'm looking forward to watching as that journey progresses , because you know , I think that this is such an interesting time for for low and no , and I do want to ask you about , you know sort of how you see these drinks fitting into that that low and no space . But it's so exciting , isn't it ? You know that this is all brand new and it's all developing before us and and brands like yourselves are , we're really creating the , the category , day by day . You know it's not like if you were making a traditional gin or a traditional beer . You know you mentioned or deconstructing beer . You know that those have got decades and centuries of processes behind them , but drinks like yours are , you know , sort of going OK , right , let's , let's start from scratch . How do we do this and how do we make this work special ?

Speaker 3 27:08

um , yeah , and you know the thing is is when you're in a market store , what I love about it is that you're getting to talk .

Speaker 3 27:14

You really hear lots of great stories , uh , from people and um , and there's nothing more exciting than someone coming up to the stall trying the drinks and getting excited because you know they're going to go back that evening and they're going to go out with their friends and they're going to have something that they can drink , um , that they feel is something different and um , and they can talk about as well , and that you know it's . It's quite a kick to do that , um , to understand that . You know that that really helps someone's journey . So it it comes down to that at the end of the day , um , and yeah , access to getting those drinks and others other low no drinks is is going to be important , um , just to make it easier that people can . Like I mentioned , in asia people are awful . Everyone's aware of the health properties of these things , uh and uh , and have have done for generations , so hopefully that'll start now here absolutely , absolutely .

Speaker 2 28:21

So talk to me a little bit about the occasions where you you see these drinks being enjoyed .

Speaker 2 28:26

So you mentioned , uh , that velvet was created to be sort of a ,

When to drink MoodyBrew

Speaker 2 28:29

a wine alternative , and smoke , a whiskey alternative , and I wanted to say I didn't want to interrupt you , of course , but that the smokiness in that , absolutely I can't remember what the whiskey was now , but there was a very smoky whiskey and it reminded me of that as soon as I poured it and smelt it . And then it's got that , as you say , that that kick in the back of the mouth , at the top of the roof of the mouth . Um , so I can absolutely see where that , that um occasion replacement is , is coming into the piece for you there . Um , so yeah , but talk to me about where you see these fitting in in terms of , uh , people using them and enjoying them . Are they , as you said , to be replacements for those two drinks you mentioned or others , or is it more of a , um , just a social dinner party occasion ? How do you see people really enjoying moody brew and what would you like to see them doing with it ?

Speaker 1 29:23

we've had a variety and what's been , what's been lovely is hearing feedback from different people and how the drinks have been used . So , um , just to go go through them again . I mean sunny , because it's got that natural sweetness . It works really well with an afternoon tea . So a lot of um occasions where maybe people would have thought about having maybe a glass of prosecco alongside having some sunny or replacing the tea , because , of course , that one is non-caffeinated . So if they're trying to avoid caffeine , that that is perfect . It's also very good for sort of like light pasta dishes , um , and we've had feedback about sort of um white meat dishes , that type of thing . We're vegetarian , so you know we're having to rely on other people feeding back um , but but that's the type of thing . So , um , if I was having sunny , I would be having it with a sort of lunchtime meal , um , so a lot of them . They all go with with meals , um , but they are standalone too . So what we find interesting , moving on to ginger , is we have had some athletes who have used sunny and ginger for after their training . So before they shower and refuel , they use either of them just to get the hydration back , but just to give them that bit of energy so that they can , they can finish off . So that's been an interesting one that we hadn't quite appreciated .

Speaker 1 30:48

Ginger we find quite a lot of people enjoy it first thing in the morning to wake them up , because it is just so punchy , because it's the whole root ginger in there and , as you'll know , ginger has just been used for millennia , you know , in herbal medicines and this type of thing . You know it's got so much that's in it . It's particularly good for digesting as well . So you know , when you were asking earlier about , you know , going to something like a barbecue , if I was going to something where I knew that there might be a lot to try and digest , I would be going for something like ginger to accompany that . It's also particularly good with spicy foods , because how often do you go somewhere or you have an Indian takeaway and you're ready to enjoy your curry and what do you drink with it ? You know it's really it's really hard . So that complements um , and particularly if there's ginger already in the food , it seems to sort of bring it to life smoke . I think it tends to work best for after dinner .

Speaker 1 31:50

It really is that sort of supping drink , but again , that is brilliant for barbecues , particularly for , like , the modern gas barbecues where there is no smoky effect and people are missing that . So you know , again , you know it's been good having feedback there , but as a standalone that tends to be a really popular one for occasions . So you know , it's quite interesting just hearing sort of the variety and Velvet . Yes , it's been standalone , but at Christmas it tends to be incredibly popular for just boosting Christmas festivities , particularly for people that are looking to reduce they're not wanting to avoid , but they're reducing and they're on that journey of that sober curiosity .

Speaker 1 32:41

It's a useful one because when you have a drink that's so bold I mean all of them are bold , but that one in particular then you don't feel as if you're missing out . Um , and because I think for a lot of people we speak to that you try and um encourage them to consider healthy habits , um , and that's quite often something that comes back oh , but I would be . You know it's a comment that means that they feel they'll be missing out . Where you know , the drinks hopefully um allow people to feel as if , well , it's the joy of missing out . You know , it's the the fun of um doing something that is for yourself absolutely , and I do love your uh example of a going for a curry .

Speaker 2 33:22

So my favorite takeaway I love a curry , obviously my favorite , but it is a really good point . What do you drink with a curry when you're not drinking alcohol ? Because , well , first and foremost , when you are drinking alcohol normally , if you have something like a red wine , the curry , the red wine you get from a curry house is not very good at the best of times . So then trying to find and I don't , I wouldn't want a beer because that'd be too gassy and it's too filling . And then so , if you're not drinking alcohol , um , what do you have with it ? You're then left with , normally , you know , a coke or just a , you know a standard sort of mixer . So it's nice as you you have put it , robert to have , uh , these adult drinks that you can have instead . So you still feel like you're part of it .

Speaker 2 34:05

Um , but , ali , I wanted to touch on something that you just um brought up there , which was about , um , people who might not be necessarily cutting

'Cutting back' not 'cutting out'

Speaker 2 34:13

out alcohol , but might just be cutting back um , are you finding that these drinks are therefore being used as a tool for people who are looking for that more sober , curious and mindful drinking um approach , because a lot of founders I'm speaking to now some are obviously sober themselves and some have made these drinks because they don't drink and they don't want to drink and they want to have a completely alcohol-free alternative for people who are sober . But a lot I'm speaking to are also of the mindset that these drinks aren't just for sober people , that they are for , perhaps , sober occasions . How are you positioning Moody Brew ?

Speaker 1 34:56

Well , interesting , we decided to go for the zero alcohol . So we haven't gone for the sort of any approaches where there's any fermentation , and that was a decision Rob had made because we wanted to ensure that anybody that was wanting to be sober , for whatever reason , they knew they could trust the drinks , because there's a lot of products that say they're low and actually there's still too much . It would tip them over the edge . So for a lot of people that are considering reducing for some of them it's just trying to it can take time , sort of building in healthy habits . It's not something that happens very , very quickly and they've got to find out what works for them and sometimes we've got such ingrained habits .

Speaker 1 35:43

I mean , when you think about everything that's been put out over the media , um , I mean certainly , as we were growing up , um , it was expected you would start drinking when you were a student . You know that was what was meant to happen and there was a lot of very unhealthy information out there and then I think , unfortunately , we've had a lot of misinformation . So , particularly because I'm involved in menopause coaching , very aware of ladies who feel well , you know wine's good for me , you know it helps me , you know , you know I deserve it that . You know all the different myths that are put out there and it's all the alcohol industry really trying to propagate the you know . Oh , drink some red wine . There's polyphenols in red wine . You know that's good for you . Well , yes , but with everything else that's in the red wine , you know it's not great .

Speaker 1 36:38

So I think it overall comes down to lots of people are thinking about the whole 80-20 concept . You know , if 80 percent of your lifestyle is healthy ,

80/20

Speaker 1 36:47

you can accommodate a 20 percent indulgence , which may be your cream cakes , it may be a glass of wine , it may be whatever your body can accommodate . That it's unfortunately when you tip it over and you suddenly think you'll do 20 healthy and you expect a result because the body doesn't work that way . So I think , as people begin to sort of really value themselves , respect themselves and actually appreciate what goals they have in life , what they want to get out of life . So for a lot of people that that we speak to , quite often they say things like well , I'm not going to drink , say , on a Sunday night , because my Mondays are too manic .

Speaker 1 37:30

I cannot wake up with a heavy head , you know . So it's having alternatives that they can enjoy their Sunday night , because my Mondays are too manic . I cannot wake up with a heavy head , you know . So it's having alternatives that they can enjoy their Sunday night , um , and not feel as if , um , there's any any missing out , but they've got that fresh head for the next day so I'm just going to say I certainly use it to space out alcoholic drinking .

Speaker 3 37:50

So of a weekend I'll I needed to cut down , so I will have an alcoholic drink and then move on to one of these or two of these and maybe not have another alcoholic drink . So I certainly use it that way . If I do have a drink of a weekend and that and that means that you end up just having one drink , sometimes two , but that's it and it's easy easy to do Really useful .

Speaker 2 38:21

And that's it , and we just need to help provide people with these options so they can do that . There's a lot of talk at the moment about this zebra striping , the blending , the bookending and all the different terms , about this zebra striping , the blending , the bookending and all the different terms , and it's quite interesting seeing people come up with all the different terminology so they can label the act of moderating or tempering one's drinking . But actually it's something that many people are just doing naturally now , without giving it a name , and they are doing as you've exemplified , rob , going right , I do really want to be . I do . That is my favorite whiskey , you know , I would like to have that , but I don't want to have too much , so I'm going to have that and then I'm going to have a moody brew or I'm going to have an alcohol-free wine or whatever else .

Speaker 2 39:01

It is um , and I and I like allison as well your , your approach um , it's one of the reasons why I was so excited to have you write in the magazine , because you are very

Writing in Low No Drinker Magazine

Speaker 2 39:10

leveled about it , you know . You do also say in your articles these are the facts , this is the scientific fact about what this drink may be doing , and these are the myths debunked . So here are some tips to manage that drinking cycle for you , and if you do want to have a drink , go ahead , but let's temper that with reducing the amount that you're going to have or reducing the measure or reducing the frequency , and it sends that message to people , which is something that I'm really passionate about , which is not about us sitting here saying you're naughty for drinking alcohol , you've got to stop straight away . It's about saying did you know that if you choose to drink less , there are options that you can have so you don't have to feel left out ?

Speaker 3 39:57

yeah , yeah absolutely quite agree yeah , absolutely .

Speaker 1 40:01

I mean , I think , um , most people have information that tells them how they should live their lives , but sometimes it's just having that little bit of an encouragement , because when you , um , what's the phrase ? Um , you don't want to be giving broccoli to people when they really want , you know , the chocolate , you you've got to sort of try and , um , encourage that sort of thinking for themselves and what's better for for them . Um , so I , I do , I mean the articles that I'm writing . I think I've got into a good format now , which which is exactly that giving the information , because some people might not have thought about things in certain ways , and certainly , if I come across any myths , I'll put that in .

Speaker 1 40:42

I like to make sure everything is evidenced , as you know . And then I think it's also having that encouragement , you know , because there's no point in shaming people , there's no point , as you say , wagging that finger saying oh , naughty you . We are not anti-alcohol , but what we are is very pro-healthy life . You know , we would really like to be part of a movement that helps people live their best lives . Um , and you know , as I said earlier , we're living longer . You want that quality of life and you are not going to get it if you don't look after your body absolutely , absolutely .

Speaker 2 41:16

So let me take you back to moody brew , then , and tell me what is next . So we've mentioned , you know , the , the amazing

What's next for MoodyBrew?

Speaker 2 41:23

drinks , um , what you're hoping to achieve and the message you're trying to get out there . So what's the next stage for the Moody Brew family team ?

Speaker 3 41:35

Well , we're building up stockists .

Speaker 3 41:37

We are based in the northeast of England so we're starting have been starting there for the last few months and that's going well and it's really good working with people who are thinking the same way as we've been chatting , it's really nice meeting them and working with them , and we just need to extend that to the rest of the UK and flying stock .

Speaker 3 42:08

It's interesting that the stockists that we have are people who have got a lot of conversations going on in their local area and I think are reflecting those , and that's probably the type of discussion that needs to happen . We've not got a massive advertising and marketing budget to be able to I don't know hit the London underground with lots of adverts or Instagram or this sort of thing . So you know we want to and anyway , I think we really want to work with people who like the drinks themselves and can talk about them in a holistic way , complete way . So we're building up that and that's our next step . We can't really see beyond that at the moment , but actually this is stage one of three stages that we've got planned in the back , with multiple sort of products coming through eventually .

Speaker 3 43:10

But let's see how stage one goes first oh exciting , that sounds interesting yeah , but we need to work on it more , uh , but , yes , we are quite excited about , um uh , the new ideas as well , oh , fantastic , fantastic .

Speaker 2 43:30

I should definitely keep my eyes peeled then . So , if people want to , well , let's do this in two parts then . So obviously we've got consumers , that we want to get people trying these drinks for you and discovering for themselves , finding their own favorites . But then you're also reaching out to stockists and suppliers and saying you'd like to be part of their , their catalogue , their cachet of possible beverages to produce and to provide for people . So how do people get in touch with you ? First of all to buy it themselves and to try it , and then , if there are any stockists or such listening that would like to work with you , where should we send people to find you ?

Speaker 3 44:13

Please come online , please come to our website and contact us , and our email address is on there and we respond very quickly and we'd love to have conversations with people .

Speaker 1 44:30

So , if it comes through to customer services , it's basically one of us that will be answering it and we'll get in touch straight away . Um , you know , so anybody's free to well , uh , free to sort of contact us and try , try things . But , um , yeah , I think ordering over the website is probably the the best way . And and what's the web address ?

Speaker 2 44:52

wwwmoodybrewcouk fantastic and that's moodybrew . It's all . One word , isn't ? It whether on the website or just written down . In general it's all one word . So people can go there , they can order and they can also drop you a message through the contact me page and get in touch and start a conversation absolutely .

Speaker 2 45:16

I will make sure that's all in the show notes for everyone so they know where to go and find you . Um . And then , before I let you go , guys , it's time for my final question , which is my now infamous um barbecue question . Infamous because

The BBQ-Q

Speaker 2 45:28

I say it is and I want everyone to think it is um , and that is you . Uh , we were talking , uh , before we pressed record and earlier on , about this crazy weather . So we're recording on the 19th of september and it is super sunny outside and it's really warm . It's back up to about 20 degrees where I am in , uh , in near surrey yeah , it's very warm , um , so it's still barbecue weather .

Speaker 2 45:53

So let's imagine that the two of you are off to a barbecue at a friend's house and you're bringing some low , no or light alcohol drinks with you to enjoy . Obviously , top of the list is the entire wonderful Moody Brew range , with a few extra velvets for Ali , because those are her favourite and mine too . But other than your own amazing , amazing brand , what other low , no and light drinks would you like to enjoy on an occasion like that you're probably more into them well , I , you , you stole my thunder a little bit denise by talking about the guinness , um it's .

Speaker 3 46:27

I think it's great . The , the low alcohol guinness , uh , but also , um , the cidersiders came out early on as being really good quality taste on the ciders and some of the other beers have come out there too with various brands . But I would take my low alcohol Guinness on the brave .

Speaker 2 46:52

Okay , my husband absolutely loves the alcohol-free guinness , and then my mom , um she's , she loves guinness . So I'm uh , I'm of jamaican heritage and she makes something called guinness punch , which is with guinness and nestles milk and a bit of nutriment . It's absolutely lovely . And so we were talking to her about um alcohol-free guinness and say she should try it . She is the only person that I have ever met who's like no , don't like alcohol free Guinness . You can taste the difference . You can't taste any difference .

Speaker 3 47:22

It's exactly the same , but she's just difficult yeah , well , I think what's interesting as well is how much technology goes into . Um , you know , a drink like the no alcohol Guinness really does , and all of the technology around the bubbles and the nitrogen and this sort of thing that they sort of kept the same , has helped that transition , obviously . So it's . You know , we think that they're all natural old age drinks but they're not high tech drinks , those things .

Speaker 2 47:54

But they're not high-tech drinks , those things . Yeah , guinness have definitely got a lot of snazzy gadgets up their sleeves when it comes to producing their drink , and they've invested so much money of late , and I think they've recently tripled their production of Guinness Zero , and there's rumors that they've reported that they think that sales of Guinness Zero could soon match Guinness full strength . How true that is , I'm not entirely sure , but it's the most popular Lono drink that I hear about and , funnily enough , I'm not a big fan , unless my mum makes it with a punch .

Speaker 3 48:30

OK , right .

Speaker 2 48:32

And what about yourself , Ali ? Do you have any Lono or light light favorites you'd be taking to the barbecue ? Are you sticking with the Guinness ?

Speaker 1 48:38

well , I'm , I'm quite boring actually , because I'm not really I've never been a big beer drinker and , um , a lot of the low and no wines I struggle with . There's something that is in there that I react with and um , so I've , I've struggled to find something . So , to be honest , when you said it , my reaction was I quite like green tea if it's not a moody , but , um , yeah , certainly in the family it's definitely the zero Guinness that that goes down well and you know what .

Speaker 2 49:08

That's perfectly okay , because it's horses for courses , as I often . You know , not everybody is going to like everything , and whilst brands are trying to sort out their recipes and their productions , you know there's going to be a lot of changes and you guys will know this far , far better than I . So it's just going to be a case of you know . This isn't a category that works particularly well for me , but perhaps you'll be investigating more functional drinks and find other things that you like in there . But in the meantime , a nice green tea , sitting down , feeling nice and cozy there's nothing wrong with that that's right , yeah , lovely lovely well , guys .

Speaker 2 49:47

Thank you so much for joining me today . It's been a pleasure getting to know more about yourselves , more about moody brew and the fantastic work that you guys are doing to create these um adult not soft drinks for people to enjoy when they are choosing to drink less for any reason for any length of time . So thank you very much . I'm very excited for what's to come for you next well , thanks , thanks denise , nice to chat to you take care .