Soda company StrangeLove's unlikely origin story
How the Byron Bay start-up charted its unusual path to an Asahi buyout in 2022.
Drinks Adventures - Wine, beer, whisky, gin & more with James Atkinson
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Show Notes
We're joined this episode by James Bruce, who together with school friend Stafford Fox founded StrangeLove Beverage Co in Byron Bay, Australia, in 2012.
StrangeLove is an unlikely story of entrepreneurialism that began with a single product –StrangeLove Organic Ginger Beer Energy Elixir – ‘a ginger beer so hot it was almost undrinkable’ that also contained functional ingredients like green tea and yerba mate.
Over an at times tumultuous decade in which James and Stafford were continually running out of money, the StrangeLove offering evolved into a portfolio of adult soft drinks, mixers and mineral waters that proved so popular the business was ultimately acquired in 2022 by Asahi Beverages.
This episode of Drinks Adventures was produced in partnership with StrangeLove, which has this year come on board as a sponsor of the show.
So, I’m excited to share with you the StrangeLove origin story in this conversation with James, who reveals there is a new chapter on the horizon for the company involving its first ever foray into the arena of alcohol beverages.