Ben Branson, founder and minority shareholder of Seedlip, has launched Pollen Projects, a venture studio dedicated to creating non-alcoholic drinks.
Pollen Projects had been created with the aim of building “a second wave of brands and products that are premium, disruptive, relevant and meaningful to today and tomorrow’s drinker”, Branson said.
It would differ from an incubator or accelerator in that Branson and his team would be “hands on and operational”, helping to set up, launch and run the non-alcoholic drinks brands borne from it, the Seedlip founder added.
The first brand to come out of Pollen Projects is Seasn – a duo of 0.0% abv cocktail bitters in ‘Light’ and ‘Dark’ variants.
They would be sold initially via Seasn’s DTC platform (rsp: £14.99/150ml) before targeting venues and outlets “where people buy ingredients” such as delis, farm shops, food halls and specialist drinks retailers, Branson said.
Branson – who sold a majority stake in Seedlip to Diageo in 2019 – said the concept for Seasn came from a desire to democratise cocktail bitters and educate consumers about their use in mixed drinks.
“Cocktail bitters have largely stayed the bartender’s secret,” he said. “No one’s really approached it from a consumer perspective. And no one’s really created a proposition that makes it simple for consumers to understand.
“We understand how to season our food and we understand the benefit it brings. I want to introduce people seasoning their drinks, and not [for it to] be the bartender’s secret.”
Seasn’s Light variant was “super green and zesty” and designed to be added to drinks like soda water, Seedlip and tonic and vodka lime and soda, Branson said.
The Dark expression, meanwhile, was “far more aromatic and spicy” and worked well in ginger ale and ginger beer, as well as cocktails including the whisky highball and the old fashioned.
Both could be used in non-alcoholic and alcoholic mixed drinks.
Branson declined to put a figure on the number of non-alcoholic brands Pollen Projects could look to launch in the future. It was not, however, “going to launch a new brand every six months” or “throw loads of stuff at the wall and see what sticks”.
“We want to test things, and ensure we’ve proven [the] concept at an early stage so we can accelerate and grow it,” he added.
No comments yet