A big night out but don’t want to drink? Paul Duncan, founder of Elta Ego, talks to the Herald about his range of alcohol-free cocktails sure to lift your mood while not leaving you hungover.
What is Elta Ego?
We are all about helping people become their best self, theirelta ego, by reducing their alcohol consumption so they have more energy to do the things they enjoy and lead healthier, happier lives. We do this by producing award-winning alcohol-free cocktails with adaptogens that help lift your mood and allow you to relax after a long day.
What motivated you to start the business?
I started going largely alcohol-free several years ago as I found my overall mood, motivation and sleep quality significantly improved and I had more energy and time to do things I enjoy. However, one thing I found challenging was socialising without alcohol, as all the alcohol-free options I tried weren’t satisfying and were too high in sugar.
So we used a science-based approach to find the ideal combination of healthy adaptogens (l-theanine, red maca and ginseng) and develop delicious alcohol-free cocktails.
What is the size of the non-alcoholic drinks market in New Zealand and how do you stand out?
According to Tracksuit, the number of consumers who had bought or were open to purchasing a non-alcoholic beverage in New Zealand was 2.1 million as of January 2023 and had grown 40 per cent year-on-year. Based on the growing social acceptability of alcohol-free alternatives, we are expecting significant further growth for the New Zealand market.
To stand out, we addressed the common shortfalls that have been a challenge for people going alcohol-free - is there an alcohol-free cocktail that tastes as good as a real cocktail while being low sugar/calorie and helps lift your mood? There is now.
You call yourself alcohol-free. Can you please explain how?
Our cocktails are all natural and are made from extracts and distillates from various fruits and botanicals while being under 0.5 per cent alcohol (which is the legal requirement). As an example, our alcohol-free gin is made from natural extracts from botanicals such as juniper. In general, our cocktails are around 0.1 per cent alcohol, which is half the amount of naturally occurring alcohol in a ripe banana.
What products does Elta Ego sell and where are you stocked?
Our current flavours are a Passionfruit Margarita, Raspberry Yuzu G&T, Mojito and Negroni, with new flavours coming soon which we are excited about. You can find us in 200-plus supermarkets (Countdown, New World, Pak’nSave, FreshChoice and more), liquor stores, bars and The Chiller.
How big is the team?
I have a team of 15 part-time elta egos helping me, from product development to helping spread the word doing tastings in supermarkets.
Through my life savings and my family has invested as well. It’s both exciting and daunting going all-in but totally worth it.
Elta Ego's current cocktail flavours are Passionfruit Margarita, Raspberry Yuzu G&T, Mojito and Negroni.
What have been your biggest challenges?
Learning a new industry from scratch without making too many mistakes. Finding the right advisers was key to learning fast.
It was also a real challenge to find the optimum combination of adaptogens that not only worked well and had a robust safety history, but also tasted great in a cocktail. That took hundreds of hours of researching medical studies as well as methodically testing them.
Another challenge has been having to wear so many different hats while in start-up mode and working nearly every waking moment but I really enjoy it, it’s fun learning how to grow the business.
What have been your highlights in business so far?
It’s great getting messages from customers saying how it’s helped them improve their health and wellbeing, such as being able to enjoy both their social life and their whole weekend.
Being accepted into the supermarket chains has been a game changer and allowed us to be available for everyone throughout New Zealand.
And getting awards for our cocktails [Outstanding Food Producer Awards].
Where do you see the business in the next two to three years?
We aim to be the number-one alcohol-free brand in New Zealand by the end of next summer and be in at least two large overseas markets within three years.
We will also develop other related product lines that further our goal of helping people lead healthier lives.
What advice do you have for other budding entrepreneurs?
Firstly, it’s important that you truly understand the customer’s needs and work out a solution that will solve these needs better than they currently are. Start by talking to people in the target market and learning everything about the problem they are facing.
Then the hardest thing when you have an idea is to believe in yourself and the idea enough to start working on it. But if you talk to enough of your target market and they respond positively to your idea, that can really help get you motivated to start.
