A 2022 Recap
This time of year always feels like the ideal opportunity to take a pause and look back on the achievements of the 12 months that came before. And what a year it has been for The REAL Drinks Co.! Grab a glass of perfectly chilled Sparkling Tea, recline into a comfy chair and let’s take a look at some of the highlights as we prepare for the strike of midnight and a the arrival of a new year.
Over the years we’ve found a home in a number of different places. We started experimenting in our founder David’s garage in 2017 and stayed there until the number of bottles and tanks outnumbered floor space and shelving. We then made the move to Hartley Farm, where we were neighbours with a hot air balloon repairist, and steadily grew the brand. But this year has seen the biggest change yet as we made the move into our new brand home, the UK’s first state-of-the-art non-alcoholic Fermentery. It’s amazing to look back at how quickly we progressed from laying the foundations in March to launching a fully functional manufacturing site in September. Since then, we’ve been able to have our extended REAL family to visit, including teams from The Fat Duck and La Gavroche, as well as many of you who are reading this, to experience our world of fermentation.
We’ve increased our physical footprint and are uncompromising on our mission to continue to provide you all with the REAL alternative to Champagne and Sparkling Wine. Without the constraints of limited space, we can properly return to our roots of experimentation and begin to play with more teas, discovering how each one reacts within our fermentation process to create deliciously complex flavours. This means we might have some exciting things for you all to try soon!
This year also saw the return of a number of events around the UK. We’re passionate about meeting the REAL people who drink our Sparkling Teas. Whether you’re trying it for the first time or have been a fan since the early days, it’s amazing to meet people who share our passion for food and flavour and it’s always such a pleasure to hear the stories of how you discovered our drinks and how it’s made a difference to your drinking habits.
With the festivities of Christmas over, New Year's Eve is our last chance to toast to the achievements of the year and of course, opening a few bottles of Royal Flush for when the clock strikes midnight. We hope whatever you're doing this evening, you'll have a chance to celebrate 2022 and raise a glass to the new year that's almost upon us.
None of our achievements over the past years would have been possible without the continued support and enthusiasm from you all. Thank you so much for joining us on our journey.
So pop a bottle and celebrate with us - cheers to 2023!
Team REAL