May 22, 2023 • 45 mins
Guest Jamie Wild bring us his original free spirit, Feragaia! After years of working in the alcohol industry Jamie found his daily norm quickly became a life that revolved around drinking alcohol. As he found himself searching for more meaning, Jamie and his friend Bill started on their journey to cultivate a more inclusive alcohol free drinking experience. Both from the UK, they decided to utilize the beautiful land around them to produce a very unique distilled 0% alcohol beverage called Feragia. The name derived from ancient Latin and Greek meaning Wild Earth, Feragaia is crafted from 14 land & sea botanicals that were carefully identified for their flavour profiles and natural properties. Jamie and Bill are carving out a category of their own as Feragaia is the moment you step off the path. It has a complexity that invites you to pause, to reconnect with yourself. To appreciate the people around you and the ground beneath your feet. Distilled to be different. Here’s to your original free spirit!
For more info check out their website: https://feragaia.com/
Or follow Feragaia on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/feragaia/?next=%2F
To purchase Feragaia and have it delivered anywhere go to: https://proofnomore.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kelly (00:02):
Welcome to the LAF life podcast, a lifestyle podcast
based on living alcohol free anda booze soaked world.
My name is Kelly Evans andtogether with my friends, Tracey
Djordjevic, Mike Sutton andLindsay Harik.
We share uncensored.
Unscripted real conversationsabout what our lives have been
like since we ditched alcoholand how we got here by sharing
(00:25):
our individual stories.
We'll show you that there isn'tjust one way to do this, no
matter where you are on yourjourney from sober, curious to
years in recovery and everyonein between, you are welcome
here, no judgment and a ton ofsupport.
Tracey (00:42):
Hello everyone and welcome back to the LAF Life
podcast.
Today we have a very uniqueguest joining us, and we are
very excited to introduce you toJamie Wilde.
Jamie is the founder of acompany called Feragaia.
Feragaia is a free spirit thatis alcohol free.
(01:03):
We are excited to learn aboutJamie and his company.
He's coming to us all the wayfrom the UK so we are doing a
special recording today toaccommodate everybody's time
here.
So I thank everybody foraccommodating our regular
recording schedule to make thishappen.
Very unique to us.
He is the first guest we arehaving that is from a non
(01:25):
alcohol company, so we're veryexcited to learn more about him.
Jamie, why don't you start bytelling us a little bit about
your history or relationshipwith alcohol and how that kind
of brought you to starting yourbusiness.
Jamie (01:41):
Great.
Firstly, it's it's great to behere with you guys and talking
from the other side.
Of the Atlantic and great to seehow much, how far this alcohol
free movement is rolling and thepace at which, it's been
embraced.
It's it's really encouraging andpositive.
It started for me, I come fromquite a traditional British
drinking background.
And think one of the things thatI always remember, I'm not
(02:04):
entirely sure why I thinksomeone was talking about
alcoholic companies and how theywere good to invest in because.
People drink whether they'rehappy, sad, or just feeling
normal.
And I think that's probablyquite a good basis on which my
relationship with alcohol wasfounded.
I think there was al it's alwaysa drinking moment when the
(02:27):
family come together or oh, whatare we having?
What are we drinking?
It's so much of a focus of thatalcoholic moment that I've grown
up in I think that's quitetypical for a lot of people in
our culture and in the UK.
That took me through touniversity and again, great
drinking culture in universityin the UK like the run the rest
(02:47):
of the world.
And after that, I went into, Agreat sort of small startup gin
company.
And after that I went to one ofthe world's biggest drinks
companies working in spirits,champagnes, beers, whiskeys,
everything.
So I found myself at the age of25, 26, actually, like
reflecting back.
And right now, Monday to Fridayat work, I'm just exposed to
(03:12):
alcohol the whole time.
And then you go on to theweekends, you go home, you see
your friends, you're with yourfamily.
It's the same thing.
It's like it's day in, day out.
There is very little relief andit's quite hard.
It's to be able to find your ownconfidence and actually standing
up for what you want, takingbetter control for your own life
and what's important to you inthese environments where there
(03:35):
are a lot of people that arevery used to that social sort
of, Routine and social system ofhaving alcohol and drinking
alcohol.
And if you're not drinkingalcohol, then it's somehow
negative to that environment andthat atmosphere that you're
trying to create.
That's really my background andthe sort of the inception point
of making this shift, in my lifefrom a career point of view and
(03:58):
a bit of a journey from my pointof view in terms of how I can.
Better improve my relationshipwith alcohol.
That's really where it all camefrom.
And took me to the point in sortof 2018, I think it was January,
2018, where Bill and I, myco-founder, sat down and started
(04:19):
to develop this idea that's nowI'm really delighted to say,
spreading around the world andit's, it stands for a really
exciting new category.
In drinking.
That's far more inclusive andpositive.
Tracey (04:31):
Did you find that when you were working in the alcohol
industry, like you were saying,obviously a lot of your life
then revolved around alcohol anddrinking.
I have two questions actually.
Did you find that was affectingyour life?
I also wanna get your ideaaround, cuz I know people that
have lived in the UK and I knowthat the mentality there is a
(04:53):
very drinking mentality.
And don't get me wrong, it'sthat way around the world, but I
think the UK is more known forit almost, it seems then
anywhere.
It's yeah, you get off work andyou go to the pub.
And then I've even heard storiesabout how at 11 o'clock, like
the streets are a nightmarebecause they let everybody out
(05:13):
of the pub and they're alldrunk, right?
Yeah.
By then.
Jamie (05:17):
Firstly, I think the British drinking culture is no
secret, and I do think thatthere are lots of countries
around the world that are knownfor.
Having quite extreme drinkinghabits.
And I'd say that it's fair tosay that the UK is definitely
one of those.
There's a long way to go and Ithink there's no surprises that
the UK is one of the mostdeveloped alcohol free markets.
(05:38):
Now it's one of the mostcompetitive, if not the most
competitive in the world.
because I think that there isthis mass consciousness and
realization of like how we gotto this stage of.
Alcohol being infused and lacedinto every single interaction
that we are having.
So I think that sort of reallyshows in the way that people are
shifting and changing andactually moving to to it and
(05:59):
that so consciousness ishappening in different places
around the world for obviousreasons, given we're talking
now, but my own experience,it's, we all know what happens
when you drink too much and butI think the biggest frustration
for me is that, I've neverparticularly, picked up things
too quickly.
I've always had to like reallywork quite hard at things to be
(06:22):
able to, whether it's understandthings and learn at the rate
that I want to learn.
I'm curious, but it's I need toconcentrate and I need my
attention and energy to be ableto do it.
And I think the thing that Ilacked the most when I had that
sort of routine weekend weekout, weekend week Just back to
back was that I really lost thatsense of control about who I am
(06:45):
and the independence and what Iwas passionate about in my life.
you can talk about the healthand the headaches and lots of
different elements of thatproductivity, but for me it was
that loss of control of who Iwas and the person that I wanted
to become.
I found it quite a sad.
Realization for me, and that'swhat I've based my whole sort of
shift in change on.
And it's very common, we've allexperienced that.
(07:08):
That's a huge reason why all ofus gave up alcohol.
For me, it just completelykilled my motivation.
So it was like a drive killer,and I've always been a very
motivated, driven person, sothere was a key indicator for me
that it wasn't serving me well.
It's a numbing agent, right?
So it's gonna numb the good, thebad, the ugly, it just numbs
(07:31):
every sensation.
Yeah.
It's a tough image for manypeople to imagine themselves in
a situation where they're notdrinking and they don't have
alcohol by their side to, toguide them.
But in my experience, and we'vedone different retreats or
different likes of weeks awaywith different people from
(07:52):
hospitality, from journalisminfluencers who come together
and I sense the nervousness whenthey know they're coming for a
Feragaia sort of experience.
They're worried about the factthat there isn't any alcohol
there.
And we're with these people thatwe dunno and it's all quite
intimidating and strange you cansee that need people have for
alcohol.
(08:12):
But I see this sort of once, andyou obviously know this but you
break through that barrier ofrealizing that you don't need
it.
And out the other side of it,think you get this.
You're drunken in the sense ofyou are happy with the fact that
you're putting yourself outthere in a very true and
authentic way, and that's beingreceived by the people around
(08:33):
you.
And it's such a liberating andexciting thing.
So in these experiences thatI've had, it goes from this
nervous sense of I'm not surehow I'm gonna act in this
situation to actually almostlike a.
If you walk into a room, youreally wouldn't have any idea
that there is no alcohol beingdrunk in this room.
So everyone is being themselves,being happy, putting themselves
(08:55):
out there and being seen andinteracting on a real level
rather than this sort of drunkenor alcohol haze or character or
personality that comes out ofthat drinking culture.
Tracey (09:06):
It's almost empowering, you're empowering those people
to realize they don't need to bedependent on it.
Yeah.
And then you're absolutelygetting a more authentic version
of them.
It's so empowering knowing thateveryone's got everything that
they need.
They don't need to have alcohol.
They certainly don't need tochange their character to be
able to fit in.
Then you look at the knock oneffects of that and mental
(09:27):
health and I think anyone whocan get a greater understanding
of who they are, and I thinkthat probably takes a lifetime.
No one really gets the sense ofthat true self.
But if you're working on thatand.
Leaning into that and being moreconfident.
I think, such a great message.
So positive, inclusive.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Lindsey (09:44):
I remember feeling that way, going to events and when I
was drinking and if there wasn'talcohol or I couldn't have wine,
I was like, what the hell?
I'd get mad.
Yeah.
And it's holy cow.
This is a poisonous substancethat I'm mad about not being
able to consume Yeah.
Crazy.
And then when you're consumingit, it's oh I'm relaxing and I
(10:06):
deserve this.
And it's a reward and but you'reborrowing from tomorrow.
Because you're gonna feel likecrap the next day, so you're
borrowing from tomorrow to relaxtoday.
Now that I'm out of it, cuzbefore, I didn't think, oh, I'm
never gonna drink again.
I was like, I need to alter myrelationship with alcohol
because of all of the negativeimpacts it's having on my life,
(10:30):
my relationships, everything.
And now that I'm almost fouryears into this life, it's like
I'll never go back.
Yeah.
I just know too much.
I know too much about the newresearch.
It's sad looking back at thatversion of myself, or I would be
upset when there wasn't alcoholat an event.
That's crazy to me.
(10:51):
That'd be like, oh, there's nococaine here.
I'm not going oh my God.
Yeah.
So yeah, to have an environmentwhere, you're celebrating or
drinking something that is analcohol free alternative, it's
an option and just making itnormal.
Jamie (11:07):
It becomes more about the experience and less about the
fact that, I was a good friendof mine who still loves to go
out and it's very sociable.
When they meet drink friendsthat used to drink with, it's
explaining it in the fact that,when you're going for a drink,
the focus is all on, all you'rehaving a couple of pints and
you're literally focusing,sitting in between each other
with two pints of alcohol.
(11:28):
And that's a great sort ofillustration I think of how it
is.
Alcohol is this sort of blocker.
Between the two of you and hesays this look like when he
explains it to his friends, youdo still have that traditional
relationship with alcohol.
Let's just put the drink to oneside here and let's just focus
about what this really is about.
It's about the two peoplesitting in front of each other
(11:48):
and it's about that connection.
And I always think it's funnylike people are dating, and I'm
definitely guilty at this.
You go on your first date andyou get absolutely wasted by
just drinking.
Five or six cocktails and you'regoing on a date to meet someone
who can understand you or seeyou as who you are.
But the irony of it is thatyou're drinking and moving
further and further away.
(12:09):
It's the same thing let's behonest with what this is about.
It's about, humans needconnection to other humans and
this has shared experience andlet's not let alcohol get in the
way of that.
Lindsey (12:20):
I just experienced a date like that.
Somebody who's dating I went ona date with a guy, he had seven
whiskeys.
I had to drive his vehicle homeand drop his friend off.
And I'm like, so that's when youmeet somebody for the first time
or you're going out like.
That's the best version of youthat you're gonna show me.
That's what you choose to showme about yourself.
Yeah.
It was obvious that it wasn'tabout getting to know me.
(12:41):
It was about having the goodtime.
And I'm like, yeah, okay.
Jamie (12:46):
I think that's all the insecurity of actually people
they're wanting to put theirreal self out there, but they're
feeling like, okay, for me toget that acceptance, I need to
be.
This legend that drinks sevenwhiskeys and does some crazy
stuff that everyone will talkabout the next day.
But I think it's so widespreadand I was hugely guilty of doing
that.
But I always find it reallyfunny.
(13:06):
So human situation that is justvery commonplace and accepted.
And it just illustrates for me.
Tracey (13:13):
Mike, you're a legend, aren't you?
Your own right.
Mike (13:18):
Was
Lindsey (13:18):
Mike's like what
Tracey (13:22):
was for sure.
It's like you're not getting toknow the person.
If you're meeting them for thefirst time and they're wasted,
it's like that's not really whoyou are.
Like you're showing me analtered version of you.
And you're right.
Maybe there is someself-confidence issues, or the
person is just really nervous,or they're scared to be
(13:44):
vulnerable and be themselves.
So they're relying on thissubstance to open them up,
right?
Yeah.
Okay.
Yes.
Yeah.
Mike (13:51):
All of it.
All of them, all it.
Good points, Jamie.
Really good points.
So that kind of led you intotaking a thought about, where
your life was going, and thenultimately coming up with a plan
to start a new business.
Jamie (14:05):
Yes.
Yeah.
I think that was the point ofyou feel the resistance, but
you, I felt like wholly.
Ill equipped to be able to takeon this like actually just claim
back the control myself.
And actually a great way toclaim back a little bit of
control and have people look atyou and actually say, oh, he is
taking that seriously, is toactually build a business around
(14:26):
it.
Mike (14:26):
Did you have an aha moment type of thing to get you down
that road?
Or did you wake up one day andgo, what the hell?
You just tied one on for twodays with the boys.
Yeah.
And it was just like, I can't doit anymore.
I think there was a, therewasn't the aha moment of I woken
up.
It's like that is it.
It's a series of events thatoccurred.
(14:47):
Whether it's drinking with thelads or family events or just
working spending a week, you goto a music class when you go
back to work and you end upgoing to five different cocktail
bars in an evening, you justcome back and you feel pickled.
And so after all of theseinteractions, I think I was.
Consciously trying to get out ofthese situations of I'm saying
(15:09):
no to Gin and Tonic now when Iget home because I don't really
want it.
But then I think the combinationof all those different
experiences led me to a point ofthis is actually I want, it's a
selfish endeavor.
I've gotta find this and Billshared in that.
The moment that the idea ofFeragaia came about was this.
(15:29):
For me, it was all about thissort of the confidence of how an
alcohol free drink is put infront of you.
And it's that whole thing ofthat alcohol free, it's like you
we're still defining this drinkby what it isn't.
And so for us, it was I wantoriginality and I want
confidence.
And so building it off theframework of this spirit, this
(15:50):
liquid, we can't touch alcohol.
And it also, Cannot replicate agin, a whiskey or tequila ram.
It has to be this new territory,new vision of how you can look
at the strengths, like a new eraof drinking.
And from Bill's point of view,he's Scottish from a beautiful
county called Fife just outsideof Edinburgh.
(16:11):
And like many Scotts he's veryproud of where he is come from.
But as we know, Scotland's worldrenowned for scotch, single
malts, the great premiumdistilleries of the world.
The, I think most people wouldprobably say Scotland in the
top, probably top one, top two,top three places in the world of
premium distilled products.
So that heritage.
(16:32):
And the sort of idea ofinnovation and pioneering this
new category in this place,which is literally almost
defined by an alcoholic spirit.
It's quite an interestingconcept of combining this real
confidence and originality andalcohol free with this rich
heritage of this very famous andbeautiful place in Scotland.
(16:55):
The combination of those twoelements and Bill and myself.
That was the moment that, wereally felt that this is the
concept that we wanna hit go on,and we wanna build Feragaia
around.
Tracey (17:05):
I wanna mention, Jamie, that I absolutely love your
guys' marketing because I knowyour tagline is distilled to be
different, your original freespirit.
Yeah.
And I love that.
I think that speaks volumes.
Jamie (17:18):
Let's just grab the I've got the bottle here.
There's a paragraph on thefront.
Which before we talked all aboutthe botanicals and distillation
and all that, but actually Ithink we've come to learn that
the experience of Feragaia isreally what we need to
communicate.
And so we put on the frontFeragaia is the moment you step
off the path, a balanced blendof wild flavors, a complexity
(17:40):
that invites you to pause, toreconnect, to appreciate the
people around you and the groundbeneath your feet distilled to
be different.
Here's your original freespirit, that whole, you're going
through a bit of a journeyyou're cutting your own path.
It's the sort of wild flavors.
It's this sort of slowing downand then actually connecting,
(18:01):
but in a way in which you'reputting your own free spirit in
front and exploring that, whichtalks into that whole
empowerment message, a very puremoment of connection.
Tracey (18:12):
I love that messaging.
I absolutely love it.
And correct me if I'm wrong, butalso Fera, Gaia coming from
Latin and Greek meaning wildearth.
Jamie (18:22):
Yes, correct.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So yeah, combination.
Two ancient languages and.
Feragaia is all about that senseof that feeling that you get,
you have it, you're spoiled withit.
In Canada, when you step outsideand you look up at the
mountains, it can be anywhere.
It could just be if you've got awalking through a park or you've
got a small sort of flower a fewhouse plants.
(18:43):
But equally, the bigger bits ofinspiration is, windswept, coast
lines, walking up in themountains, being deep in the
forests.
These senses where you feel themight of nature and natural wild
around you, almost a bit of aninsignificance, which to me is
always quite comforting.
But that sense of reconnection,that being grounded to wild
earth is, the foundation of thisdrink and the experience that we
(19:08):
want to give people.
So that's everything thatinstructs, the marketing and the
visuals, the aesthetics, thepartnerships, and everything
that we do is.
Really to reinforce what thisexperience is about.
because I mean it's such a, anin incredible force.
We're all very lucky to be to bein, to be living in
Tracey (19:25):
well, and that's what a lot of people that go alcohol
free and start that journey ofdiscovering themselves.
That's something that a lot ofpeople rediscover.
We all talk about it connectingwith nature, yeah.
It's a huge part of our journeyto connect with ourselves.
Just to have the sunshine onyour face, the fresh air, yeah.
(19:46):
There's something to be saidabout being amongst, the grass,
the trees
Jamie (19:50):
Yeah.
Like it's nothing new.
I think it's the simplicity ofappreciating.
What there is around us.
What we can get.
We're talking about one, theself and nurturing our own
identities and bringingconfidence to the self.
And then we're also talkingabout the natural world, which,
we're a part of whether we likeit or not we just are.
(20:11):
And so we are really just callit back to a really simple point
of, We're not trying to harnesswe're so insignificant compared
to nature and wild earth.
We just want to point people inthe direction and be a part of
helping people see just thatsimplicity of these little
changes that you can make inyour life that you can find some
(20:32):
real satisfaction and reallyreal fulfillment out of.
Yeah, I think that's great.
Lindsey (20:36):
So I question about the product.
What's in it and for me, beingalcohol free Yeah.
I'm really into nourishing mybody and I love, exploring
greens powders and othersupplements and stuff like that.
So are there any benefits to theingredients in the product?
Jamie (20:57):
Yes.
Okay.
I'll start with the.
And section of your question,and that was around the
functionality of it.
We've got the basic stuff of itjust being alcohol-free,
sugar-free, gluten, vegannaturally are very low calorie.
We have these wild earthproperties.
We distill, we pick a lot of thebotanicals that are native to
Scotland Chamonmile black,current leaf, bay leaf wow.
(21:20):
Yeah, bay black currant leaf,sorry, lemon, beana and
Chamonmile.
And then we also have a seaweed,which is from the wild West
coast of Scotland on a peninsulacalled Den American.
And, those native botanicalsalone.
You look at the properties andwhat we do is we extract all
these essences in the, theseoils which is forms the base of.
(21:42):
What we then distill in a potstill with Feragaia.
But when you look at the healthproperties of, Chamonmile is an
obvious one.
That's soothing, calm.
You've got beana great forimmunity.
It's very strong onantioxidants.
Sugar kelp has a lot ofinteresting sort of vitamins and
nutrition in it.
And so whilst the product isn'ta functional product.
(22:03):
We don't say it's somethingthat's gonna make you feel this
way.
However, we use five times more.
Botanical mass in ourdistillation runs and gin would,
because we don't have alcohol tobreak down the botanicals.
We need to supercharge thisstill with as much botanical
matter in essence, to be able toget the character depth that we
(22:24):
achieve with Feragaia.
And we have all of these allsand essences that makeup, the
taste and make.
There are some reallyinteresting wild earth
properties we'd like to say, forus, that whole drinking
experience, it's all about thatreconnection piece to Feragaia
to wild earth.
And so this sort of immunitysense of being like restored but
(22:45):
then also feeling more groundedand connected.
So that's the soothing elementsof, the Chamonmile et cetera
gives, I think a really niceidea of what this fair guide
drink is really set out to do,to talk about.
We've got 14 land seabotanicals.
Five of them are native toScotland.
That, we've gotta grow ourbotanicals on a small farm just
down the road from thedistillery.
(23:07):
That's something that we're veryproud of.
We're very proud of our localsupply chain and the
transparency.
We just opened Scotland's firstAlcohol free distillery which
you know, is a very.
It's a big landmark, from a landthat's known for so many
alcoholic distilleries.
And so we're really excited tobe opening that up for people to
come and see learn and justappreciate the craft that goes
(23:29):
into it.
Cause it takes two months tomake bottle.
Whoa.
We, and it's the same care andattention that goes into a
bottle of gin or whiskey.
Absolutely.
Goes into a bottle of Feragaiaand I think it's an important
thing, like you look at analcohol free drink or juice when
you in a bar versus a great beeror wine and just on the basis of
(23:51):
how much time it is taken tomake this alcoholic drink versus
alcohol free drink.
This imbalance creates like itis formed in your mind.
And that craft and that effortthat goes into Feragaia is
obviously it's a premium productand priced as such.
You can care as much about ouralcohol free products as you can
and our quality.
I think that's an importantpoint.
The stages of distillation thatwe go through.
(24:14):
Where the botanicals come from,how we macerate, how we distill
how we then blend it together,use of Scottish water.
We age it for a bit and then webottle it and then it's out
there.
And then you've got this, theflavor of it is all.
So we talk about layers andcomplexity and this depth of
flavor.
It's like having length anddepth is what slows you down.
(24:35):
So you take your time.
When you're drinking Feragaia,that's what makes it different
from a tea, a soft drink juicethat you might have during the
day.
And it makes it more of a drinkthat you can take your time over
and have that, those puremoments of connection with
yourself and those people aroundyou.
That's really how we set out tocreate the flavor and the
(24:56):
character of this drink.
But not having a benchmark ofsaying it has to be like a gin
or whiskey or tequila or rum.
Lindsey (25:03):
I love hearing all that because I feel if I got my hands
on it, I would feel good aboutdrinking it.
It's good for your mental healthtoo, Yeah, there's something
about taking a supplement that'sreally pure from the land.
It's processed really well.
I'm all about that.
I wanna know how it's made,where it comes from.
Is it organic?
Is there crap in it?
(25:24):
Are there fillers in it?
Yeah.
I really wanna know all that.
So how would somebody drink thisthen?
Jamie (25:29):
Yeah, so the perfect serve is Feragaia and Gingerale.
Oh, sweet.
It's a slightly different I talkabout the length and the depth
of Feragaia.
We've noticed as we've spentmore time in America in the last
six months, that there's, thatthe approach to Feragaia is very
different in America to, in theUK.
(25:50):
You've got a lot of Gin andtonic drinkers in the UK.
I would say that I probablydrink it more with tonic than I
do with gingerale a but thegingerale matches really nicely
with the Feragaia because itgives a little bit of a sweet
note which, even though peopledon't like sugar, they still
appreciate a little bit ofsweetness.
Generally my experience.
And they've got this really nicedry habitous depth and make
(26:11):
that, makes it into a reallywell-rounded drink that is
refreshing.
It's got that refreshing depthof flavor, so perfect.
Serve, Feragaia gingerale sliceof lime.
It's fantastic versatile productand whether it's you wanna sipe
neat which, we found there's alot more appreciation for it's
flavor profile and I think itmatches a slightly different way
of drinking that you have overin American Canada.
(26:34):
But it's great with tonic.
And also if you step up intosome of the great restaurants
and bars they've been creatingamazing cocktails, I think one
of my favorites is a sour sortof spice pair sour, but you can
create whether it's using appleor various other ingredients to
create like the velvete sort ofweight of the sour drink is
just, it's a really justfantastic drink with Feragaia
(26:57):
Paloma Bramble got some greatold fashions out there, and I
think it's a really great thing.
You can have it simple mix withGingerale.
But actually once you get intoit, Let's explore it and let's
find, what you want to use thatsort of refreshing depth with.
And people, whether they liketequila or they like Bram or
they just wanna exploresomething, it's a different
(27:17):
flavor profile or pair somethingwith food.
I think it's exciting that youcan at some stage hand it over
to the drinker and actually say,this is how we drink it now,
we're inviting you to explore itand here are some ideas and
here's how other people areusing it.
I think the versatility of it iskey, but Feragaia Gingerale
great service.
Tracey (27:35):
I have a little card here, Jamie, with a bunch of
different cocktails on it that Igot Yes.
From Amanda.
So I'll share that on our socialmedia.
Jamie (27:44):
Brilliant.
Yeah.
We've got plenty more on that,where that came from
Tracey (27:47):
yeah.
I know you have some on yourwebsite too, so that's awesome
because I haven't tried any yet,but I'm looking forward to doing
so.
Yeah.
We'll
Jamie (27:55):
to, we'll be sorting that out very soon.
Mike (28:00):
I got a question for you.
Yeah.
Excuse me.
Have you ever done any type ofblind taste testing with people
who drink alcohol on a regularbasis to say, give our drink a
try without telling them ordisclosing them what they're
drinking and what the responseswere like?
Jamie (28:14):
This reminds me of an advert that I've seen, which I
really love.
And it's just seeing those rawresponses to it.
The answer is that I haven'tconducted a formal version of
that test.
I would love to do that.
I think what I could say to thatis that over the last three and
a half years, the team Bill andI have been at so many different
events and meeting so manydifferent people who have a
(28:37):
different relationship withalcohol and some people that, I
have I had the discussion of, ifa taste is too complex or too
like alcohol, certain peoplethat don't drink don't want it
to be too similar to that sortof alcoholic taste that they
remember.
You can never please everyone,and especially when you're
trying to do something that is abit braver, a bit more creative
(29:00):
in like we are establishing thisoriginal free spirit category.
It's a futile endeavor to thinkthat you can keep everyone
happy.
Of course, I sometimes do thosetastings with people that don't
drink and for them, thecomplexity and the length of
depth of Feragaia gives it toomuch of a sort of a steer
towards something thatrepresents something that's
(29:21):
alcoholic for them which, Irespect that position and,
everyone has their own personalreasons about drinking, but in
my own eyes, it's if I'vechallenged someone's palette
with Feragaia enough to makethem think that actually, there
is something more to this thanjust a juice or a soft drinker
tea, et cetera, then that's whatwe're trying to do here.
(29:42):
We're trying to create this sortof category of a sophisticated
drinker.
You can take your time over.
And it slows you down and itchallenges your palette just
enough so that you have thatmoment of reconnection, cuz
we'll live fast lives so I thinka lot faster than like
generations before did.
We do need to slow down.
We do need to have some headspace for ourselves to connect
(30:04):
with people around us.
There's been some prettyhilarious responses to the taste
of fairer that.
Some good, some bad, butgenerally, obviously there's a
real appreciation for what weare trying to achieve with that
drinking experience.
That we're investing behind asthe whole premise of this idea
is the value and the interestand the potential is all.
And the fact that we arecreating this new category free
(30:24):
spirit.
It's this new sort of drinkingnew way to look at alcohol-free
drinks should really shift thethe balance.
Mike (30:33):
I got a buddy that drinks old fashions.
Jamie (30:36):
Yes.
Mike (30:37):
Religiously.
Not religiously, sorry.
But if I ever go out with them,he'll get an old fashioned, I
see it all the time.
The reason my question I thoughtof him as I was saying, I wonder
if I could say, Hey, I'm gonnamake you an old fashioned my way
and see what his response was.
Jamie (30:55):
Obviously when I come out to Canada, when Feragaia is
doing great things over there,which I'm sure it'll be soon we
can go out for a drink with yourbuddy and I can make my famous
smokey old fashioned, which alittle bit tea and know.
We'll see.
We'll see how we get on.
Good stuff, coach.
Spin to it.
Mike (31:12):
Okay.
Good stuff.
Tracey (31:14):
I love how, oh, sorry Tracy.
You guys are, yeah, no problem.
I just wanted to say I love howyou guys are bridging that gap
because there is that gap andthat kind of gray area of
people, like you said, wantingto drink less and transitioning
and alcohol free beverages are agreat way to transition.
(31:35):
I know when I first gave upalcohol, I drank a lot more kind
of alcohol free things.
Yeah.
I'm at a place now where I'vebeen alcohol free almost three
years, so I don't so muchanymore.
I don't gravitate towards thatstuff.
I've just gone, yeah.
Straight old, like soda withlemon and lime.
Jamie (31:52):
Is that your go-to.
Tracey (31:53):
Yeah, that is my go-to.
So if I'm out in socialsituations, like we've talked
about I bring my own soda if I'mgoing to a friend's place and
Yeah.
Yeah.
Or tea, like I drink a lot oftea at night when I'm at home
where I used to have wine.
And I'm huge advocate ofChamonmile.
That's my favorite.
Yes.
Made many jokes about that onthis podcast.
(32:15):
So yeah and absolutely it's gotthat calming effect.
It's good for anxiety and for, alot of us, we experience anxiety
and I was experiencing a lotmore when I was drinking.
That's been my go-to.
But I think it's a greattransition.
Like I said, when I was, nervousabout those social situations,
it was easy to go to an alcoholfree beverage, at a restaurant,
(32:39):
have an alcohol free beer orwhatever, and you feel more like
you're participating.
And it's like that gradual moveaway from the alcohol
Jamie (32:47):
yeah.
What I find interesting is thathow participating things, like
you're still having toparticipate in this alcoholic
thing when actually I think, theaccess has been shifted to when
you've got someone who'sdrinking a really great looking
drink, great tasting alcohol,free drink, that's then the
people that you know are doingwhat everyone's always been
doing.
Drinking alcohol and doing thatsame olds of merry-go-round of
(33:11):
social interaction.
I start to see more of aninterest in that sort of alcohol
free drink from the group justgeneralizing than there's ever
been before.
And I think that's reallyencouraging because if there's
that talkability, that curiosityabout Oh yeah I think it shows
that the appetite that exists.
(33:32):
In those moderators, the peoplegot the confident people like
yourself.
You found that, your method ofdoing it and leaning into it and
owning it, I think the majorityof people are still in that
moderation space.
Yeah.
And they need to have thatconfidence And I think that it
just shows that, we can see allthe stats of how drinking habits
are changing.
(33:53):
I think that's always the thingthat I look at the most when I'm
just speaking to my friends orin a different event and you can
see their appetite and theirinterest.
Not the level of engagement thatyou wanna see yet.
I think it's still moving.
But the interest is certainlythere.
Tracey (34:09):
I love that you were doing those experiments, as you
were saying, with people andpushing them outside their
comfort zone to be in thosescenarios without the alcohol.
Yeah.
And I just wanted to say or askhow do you entertain these
conversations with people
Jamie (34:27):
So I'm talking mainly about an experience that we had
in Scotland.
We took a group of people out tothis beautiful place in the
Highlands.
And I think that's, reallyenough when it comes to.
Having that sort of, that shiftof that departure from a usual
life into a new realm.
But actually in terms of thesocial interactions, I dunno if
(34:47):
you've ever come across they'recalled, connection cards.
It's there's a couple ofdifferent ones.
It's called the Skin Beat.
It's called the, we're notreally strangers.
Tracey (34:54):
These the like question cards., I use the table talk
ones.
Yes, table talk ones too.
Jamie (35:02):
They're such a simple but clever things, well posed
question, let's put our phonesdown and let's have these talks.
That's been one thing that I'vereally enjoyed.
But then I think you look at allof the great things about
humanity and the way that humansinteract with each other and
through the creative realms ofwhether it's music or poetry or
storytelling.
Then activity and, we talk a lotabout whether it's outdoors or
(35:24):
walking cold water, swimming welove less the stuff that's
powered by, it's a man-madeengine.
And more of the generative stuffof slowing down, you seeing,
appreciating exactly what'sthere around you.
Those are some different ways inwhich we've found this.
Excitement for this differentexperience of when you're not
(35:45):
drinking, but you're stillhaving a really great time
connecting with people.
Lindsey (35:49):
I was gonna say get it now, like the classification as
a free spirit instead of alcoholfree.
I really love that.
And just talking about,Consuming alcohol-free beverages
when we're out and people areconsuming alcohol, why are we
trying to participate?
(36:09):
Yeah.
That just made me think why am Itrying so hard to still
participate in this culture, butdoing it with an alcohol-free
substance, maybe a product likethis where you're creating your
own category, free spirit and wejust do our thing.
With everybody else.
This is what I'm drinking.
I'm not trying to participate inyour alcohol.
(36:30):
Drinking is gonna spark them towanna participate in what we're
doing.
Jamie (36:35):
A hundred percent.
That's great.
That's it.
Nailed that, Lindsay.
Yeah.
10 outta 10.
Lindsey (36:39):
I get it now.
I'm like, ok, I like this.
I like that.
We're doing a differentcategory.
It's not alcohol free.
We're free spirit and yeah.
Everyone's welcome toparticipate in it.
Jamie (36:48):
That is the empowerment and it's it's just doing you.
It's the whole thing aboutputting other people's needs in
front of yours.
And certainly you're not gonnago and make someone love feeling
comfortable and awkward, but whycan't you lean into what you
want in that moment and not justpersuaded by public opinion or
what other people's insecuritiesare fueling.
Tracey (37:08):
Yeah.
Being in your own uniquecategory.
Really
Lindsey (37:11):
love that.
That's what I'm getting.
Yeah.
Like you said, that's gonna justtrigger people to be more
curious.
Too about what you're doing.
Jamie (37:19):
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's a harder way to get to doit.
I've seen what alcohol free ginshave done, or alcohol-free Apple
spritzes have done it's a simplereplication of something that's
alcoholic so people can join inon.
It's that confidence as thiscategory rolls on the culture
around not drinking changes.
(37:39):
There's gonna be a time where Imight actually hang on that.
Why the hell are we just we'retrying to participate in what's
already been is that we shouldbe departing from this to
something new, something that'srelated.
It's just the irony ofalcohol-free drinking now is
that it's defined by alcohol andmost of that.
Then you look at the biggestdrinks companies now who sell
(38:03):
the most booze in the world.
They now have all the alcoholfree, the biggest alcohol free
market out there.
There's a lot of sort of mixedmessages of you have a alcoholic
bottle of gin alcohol freebottle of gin
Lindsey (38:15):
Because it's a business, right?
Yeah.
This is where we have to becareful.
We have alcohol companies nowcapitalizing on the fact that
alcohol free is now becoming athing because people are waking
up to the fact that alcohol ispoison what it does to the body,
how it alters the brain.
Yeah.
And it's oh, this is a placewhere we can make money now.
They don't really care about thepeople.
Jamie (38:37):
But also it's like the messaging.
So hang on.
What are you saying?
Saying something here?
You're saying something here.
It's the same brand and doesn'tmatch what Doesn't match.
Doesn't match.
Yeah.
It's out of alignment.
Yeah.
But the fi the funny thing isthe market at the moment, it
works.
But this is where, we're tryingto strive and set out a new set
of rules for what, a free spiritcategory should be.
(39:00):
I'm obviously in this sort ofday in, day out, 24 hours a day.
I live and breathe it, but tome, it's like the simplest thing
of why does alcohol definealcohol free habits?
And so I never thought of thatbefore.
Let's let's change the game.
Let's create something that canreally inspire a different way
of drinking and socializing ina.
(39:21):
More empowerment in the self,who you are and ultimately, like
that's gonna lead to betterexistence.
It's a big statement.
I'm not saying Feragaia gonnasave your life sort of thing,
but it saved the world even.
But I do think these smalllittle choices that we can make
that have a big positive knockon benefit, and you guys are,
living proof of that.
Tracey (39:41):
I love how thoughtful you guys have been, Jamie, and
the whole concept of this brandand that I really feel like you
aligned it with what theultimate goal is for most people
that are going alcohol free.
To rediscover themselves.
To reconnect.
Yeah.
And that whole self-discovery,that whole free spirit, to free
(40:05):
ourselves because being attachedto alcohol is very restricting
and it consumes a lot of us, andit, yeah, it does diminish our
free spirits.
Yeah.
Jamie (40:17):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And I know I, yeah, and theeducation of saying that you're
creating this new product andthis new category and all this
stuff it's the biggest challengefor us.
It's, we need people likeourselves having, giving us a
space to be able to ask usquestions and be able to talk
about it.
But it just feels like the wayit has to go.
Cuz this sort of slightlysleepwalking phase of what we're
(40:38):
in right now, to me is not theultimate.
If you look at any drinkingcategory of people are always
looking for something that isgood Lindsay, you're talking
about where things are from,like what goes into it, how
things are made, who's behind itare they doing it the right way?
Is there some purpose link tothe brand that stands up to what
I believe in?
And, that's what we do.
We support local challengecharities at the moment trying
(41:00):
to rewire different parts ofScotland or, stand up for things
that are very much integral toour brand.
I think the brands that I reallyengage with, other brands that
obviously do create a greatproduct, have that transparency.
Then also, An act of purposethat I believe in.
So you're happy to pay morecause you know that this company
(41:21):
is gonna be helping what you'repassionate about as long as it
that represents, a brand of whatyou're happy to put yourself
your own identity too.
Collectively, if you can getloads of businesses across all
sectors who have that purposefulvision, then it's gonna be the
quickest way for.
Humanity to turn around a lot ofthe issues that, we currently
(41:44):
face.
I think that's, it's an excitingtime.
It's a challenging time to be ina business, but I think exciting
in that respect.
Tracey (41:50):
I love your passion too.
You can really feel that comethrough your passion for it and
that's amazing.
Jamie (41:58):
Yeah.
Thank you.
Tracey (42:00):
Do you guys have any more questions for Jamie?
No, other than where can peoplefind you?
Jamie (42:05):
Yeah.
So if you give us a follow@feragaia on social media.
We've got a stockish map on ourwebsite, but we're really, we've
got a very exciting six, 12month period now coming up.
Last year we upgraded ourbranding.
We opened up a distillery, we'veexpanded the team.
We're learning more and moreabout who we are and where we
sell well who our real consumersare.
(42:28):
And so the next six to 12 monthsis all about a growth and
expansion.
And we are gonna be spendingquite a lot of time over in the
states, I think first of all atBar Con Brooklyn in June, where
we are launching our newpackaging.
And we've got some fantastic.
Business like restaurants, somethree michelan star restaurants
(42:49):
in New York at the moment whoare doing some fantastic things
with Feragaia yeah, please, Iwould say get on social
channels.
There's gonna be a lot ofinformation coming through about
these different events,different tastings.
And we are also available inacross Canada and we've got
great distribution in Ontariowho We can definitely put you in
touch with if there's anybusinesses that wanna try and
(43:09):
experience.
I know there's a great affinitybetween Canada and Scotland and
so it seems somewhere that weneed to be spending more time
and putting more energy andeffort in.
I was gonna say most of ouraudience is in North America, so
Yeah.
Where is the best way for someto get information of where they
could get your product in NorthAmerica?
(43:30):
Okay there's a website thatwe're list live on that can ship
to all states called Proof NoMore.
Oh, okay.
Perfect.
If you go onto the website,you'll get through from there.
But I would encourage anyone whois interested to go via website
to learn a little bit more aboutwho we are, what the brand's
about, where we can find it.
Cuz it's, it is all there.
(43:50):
And we are very happy to help.
Ask us questions and we canpoint you in the right
direction., we're good atgetting a bottle of almost
anywhere in the world now toanyone who wants to experience
this, the refreshing depth offlavor and start to explore
their own original free spirit.
Tracey (44:06):
Okay.
That's amazing.
We'll put all that in the shownotes for you, Jamie.
So we can direct people to wherethey can find you and find more
information about Feragaia.
We are fantastic.
We are so excited that we gotthe opportunity to sit with you
again.
Thanks everybody foraccommodating the schedule.
For our listeners, you knowwhere you can find us, you can
find us on Instagram at LAF LifePodcast.
(44:29):
You can find us on our communitypage on Facebook at LAF Life.
And again, thank you so much.
Until next time, keep laughing.
Kelly (44:40):
Thank you for listening.
Please give us a five starrating like and subscribe, share
on social media and tell yourfriends.
We love getting your feedbackand ideas of what you'd like to
hear on upcoming episodes of thelaugh life podcast.
If you yourself are livingalcohol free and want to share
your story here, please reachout.
Welcome to the LAF life podcast, a lifestyle podcast
based on living alcohol free anda booze soaked world.
My name is Kelly Evans andtogether with my friends, Tracey
Djordjevic, Mike Sutton andLindsay Harik.
We share uncensored.
Unscripted real conversationsabout what our lives have been
like since we ditched alcoholand how we got here by sharing
(00:25):
our individual stories.
We'll show you that there isn'tjust one way to do this, no
matter where you are on yourjourney from sober, curious to
years in recovery and everyonein between, you are welcome
here, no judgment and a ton ofsupport.
Tracey (00:42):
Hello everyone and welcome back to the LAF Life
podcast.
Today we have a very uniqueguest joining us, and we are
very excited to introduce you toJamie Wilde.
Jamie is the founder of acompany called Feragaia.
Feragaia is a free spirit thatis alcohol free.
(01:03):
We are excited to learn aboutJamie and his company.
He's coming to us all the wayfrom the UK so we are doing a
special recording today toaccommodate everybody's time
here.
So I thank everybody foraccommodating our regular
recording schedule to make thishappen.
Very unique to us.
He is the first guest we arehaving that is from a non
(01:25):
alcohol company, so we're veryexcited to learn more about him.
Jamie, why don't you start bytelling us a little bit about
your history or relationshipwith alcohol and how that kind
of brought you to starting yourbusiness.
Jamie (01:41):
Great.
Firstly, it's it's great to behere with you guys and talking
from the other side.
Of the Atlantic and great to seehow much, how far this alcohol
free movement is rolling and thepace at which, it's been
embraced.
It's it's really encouraging andpositive.
It started for me, I come fromquite a traditional British
drinking background.
And think one of the things thatI always remember, I'm not
(02:04):
entirely sure why I thinksomeone was talking about
alcoholic companies and how theywere good to invest in because.
People drink whether they'rehappy, sad, or just feeling
normal.
And I think that's probablyquite a good basis on which my
relationship with alcohol wasfounded.
I think there was al it's alwaysa drinking moment when the
(02:27):
family come together or oh, whatare we having?
What are we drinking?
It's so much of a focus of thatalcoholic moment that I've grown
up in I think that's quitetypical for a lot of people in
our culture and in the UK.
That took me through touniversity and again, great
drinking culture in universityin the UK like the run the rest
(02:47):
of the world.
And after that, I went into, Agreat sort of small startup gin
company.
And after that I went to one ofthe world's biggest drinks
companies working in spirits,champagnes, beers, whiskeys,
everything.
So I found myself at the age of25, 26, actually, like
reflecting back.
And right now, Monday to Fridayat work, I'm just exposed to
(03:12):
alcohol the whole time.
And then you go on to theweekends, you go home, you see
your friends, you're with yourfamily.
It's the same thing.
It's like it's day in, day out.
There is very little relief andit's quite hard.
It's to be able to find your ownconfidence and actually standing
up for what you want, takingbetter control for your own life
and what's important to you inthese environments where there
(03:35):
are a lot of people that arevery used to that social sort
of, Routine and social system ofhaving alcohol and drinking
alcohol.
And if you're not drinkingalcohol, then it's somehow
negative to that environment andthat atmosphere that you're
trying to create.
That's really my background andthe sort of the inception point
of making this shift, in my lifefrom a career point of view and
(03:58):
a bit of a journey from my pointof view in terms of how I can.
Better improve my relationshipwith alcohol.
That's really where it all camefrom.
And took me to the point in sortof 2018, I think it was January,
2018, where Bill and I, myco-founder, sat down and started
(04:19):
to develop this idea that's nowI'm really delighted to say,
spreading around the world andit's, it stands for a really
exciting new category.
In drinking.
That's far more inclusive andpositive.
Tracey (04:31):
Did you find that when you were working in the alcohol
industry, like you were saying,obviously a lot of your life
then revolved around alcohol anddrinking.
I have two questions actually.
Did you find that was affectingyour life?
I also wanna get your ideaaround, cuz I know people that
have lived in the UK and I knowthat the mentality there is a
(04:53):
very drinking mentality.
And don't get me wrong, it'sthat way around the world, but I
think the UK is more known forit almost, it seems then
anywhere.
It's yeah, you get off work andyou go to the pub.
And then I've even heard storiesabout how at 11 o'clock, like
the streets are a nightmarebecause they let everybody out
(05:13):
of the pub and they're alldrunk, right?
Yeah.
By then.
Jamie (05:17):
Firstly, I think the British drinking culture is no
secret, and I do think thatthere are lots of countries
around the world that are knownfor.
Having quite extreme drinkinghabits.
And I'd say that it's fair tosay that the UK is definitely
one of those.
There's a long way to go and Ithink there's no surprises that
the UK is one of the mostdeveloped alcohol free markets.
(05:38):
Now it's one of the mostcompetitive, if not the most
competitive in the world.
because I think that there isthis mass consciousness and
realization of like how we gotto this stage of.
Alcohol being infused and lacedinto every single interaction
that we are having.
So I think that sort of reallyshows in the way that people are
shifting and changing andactually moving to to it and
(05:59):
that so consciousness ishappening in different places
around the world for obviousreasons, given we're talking
now, but my own experience,it's, we all know what happens
when you drink too much and butI think the biggest frustration
for me is that, I've neverparticularly, picked up things
too quickly.
I've always had to like reallywork quite hard at things to be
(06:22):
able to, whether it's understandthings and learn at the rate
that I want to learn.
I'm curious, but it's I need toconcentrate and I need my
attention and energy to be ableto do it.
And I think the thing that Ilacked the most when I had that
sort of routine weekend weekout, weekend week Just back to
back was that I really lost thatsense of control about who I am
(06:45):
and the independence and what Iwas passionate about in my life.
you can talk about the healthand the headaches and lots of
different elements of thatproductivity, but for me it was
that loss of control of who Iwas and the person that I wanted
to become.
I found it quite a sad.
Realization for me, and that'swhat I've based my whole sort of
shift in change on.
And it's very common, we've allexperienced that.
(07:08):
That's a huge reason why all ofus gave up alcohol.
For me, it just completelykilled my motivation.
So it was like a drive killer,and I've always been a very
motivated, driven person, sothere was a key indicator for me
that it wasn't serving me well.
It's a numbing agent, right?
So it's gonna numb the good, thebad, the ugly, it just numbs
(07:31):
every sensation.
Yeah.
It's a tough image for manypeople to imagine themselves in
a situation where they're notdrinking and they don't have
alcohol by their side to, toguide them.
But in my experience, and we'vedone different retreats or
different likes of weeks awaywith different people from
(07:52):
hospitality, from journalisminfluencers who come together
and I sense the nervousness whenthey know they're coming for a
Feragaia sort of experience.
They're worried about the factthat there isn't any alcohol
there.
And we're with these people thatwe dunno and it's all quite
intimidating and strange you cansee that need people have for
alcohol.
(08:12):
But I see this sort of once, andyou obviously know this but you
break through that barrier ofrealizing that you don't need
it.
And out the other side of it,think you get this.
You're drunken in the sense ofyou are happy with the fact that
you're putting yourself outthere in a very true and
authentic way, and that's beingreceived by the people around
(08:33):
you.
And it's such a liberating andexciting thing.
So in these experiences thatI've had, it goes from this
nervous sense of I'm not surehow I'm gonna act in this
situation to actually almostlike a.
If you walk into a room, youreally wouldn't have any idea
that there is no alcohol beingdrunk in this room.
So everyone is being themselves,being happy, putting themselves
(08:55):
out there and being seen andinteracting on a real level
rather than this sort of drunkenor alcohol haze or character or
personality that comes out ofthat drinking culture.
Tracey (09:06):
It's almost empowering, you're empowering those people
to realize they don't need to bedependent on it.
Yeah.
And then you're absolutelygetting a more authentic version
of them.
It's so empowering knowing thateveryone's got everything that
they need.
They don't need to have alcohol.
They certainly don't need tochange their character to be
able to fit in.
Then you look at the knock oneffects of that and mental
(09:27):
health and I think anyone whocan get a greater understanding
of who they are, and I thinkthat probably takes a lifetime.
No one really gets the sense ofthat true self.
But if you're working on thatand.
Leaning into that and being moreconfident.
I think, such a great message.
So positive, inclusive.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Lindsey (09:44):
I remember feeling that way, going to events and when I
was drinking and if there wasn'talcohol or I couldn't have wine,
I was like, what the hell?
I'd get mad.
Yeah.
And it's holy cow.
This is a poisonous substancethat I'm mad about not being
able to consume Yeah.
Crazy.
And then when you're consumingit, it's oh I'm relaxing and I
(10:06):
deserve this.
And it's a reward and but you'reborrowing from tomorrow.
Because you're gonna feel likecrap the next day, so you're
borrowing from tomorrow to relaxtoday.
Now that I'm out of it, cuzbefore, I didn't think, oh, I'm
never gonna drink again.
I was like, I need to alter myrelationship with alcohol
because of all of the negativeimpacts it's having on my life,
(10:30):
my relationships, everything.
And now that I'm almost fouryears into this life, it's like
I'll never go back.
Yeah.
I just know too much.
I know too much about the newresearch.
It's sad looking back at thatversion of myself, or I would be
upset when there wasn't alcoholat an event.
That's crazy to me.
(10:51):
That'd be like, oh, there's nococaine here.
I'm not going oh my God.
Yeah.
So yeah, to have an environmentwhere, you're celebrating or
drinking something that is analcohol free alternative, it's
an option and just making itnormal.
Jamie (11:07):
It becomes more about the experience and less about the
fact that, I was a good friendof mine who still loves to go
out and it's very sociable.
When they meet drink friendsthat used to drink with, it's
explaining it in the fact that,when you're going for a drink,
the focus is all on, all you'rehaving a couple of pints and
you're literally focusing,sitting in between each other
with two pints of alcohol.
(11:28):
And that's a great sort ofillustration I think of how it
is.
Alcohol is this sort of blocker.
Between the two of you and hesays this look like when he
explains it to his friends, youdo still have that traditional
relationship with alcohol.
Let's just put the drink to oneside here and let's just focus
about what this really is about.
It's about the two peoplesitting in front of each other
(11:48):
and it's about that connection.
And I always think it's funnylike people are dating, and I'm
definitely guilty at this.
You go on your first date andyou get absolutely wasted by
just drinking.
Five or six cocktails and you'regoing on a date to meet someone
who can understand you or seeyou as who you are.
But the irony of it is thatyou're drinking and moving
further and further away.
(12:09):
It's the same thing let's behonest with what this is about.
It's about, humans needconnection to other humans and
this has shared experience andlet's not let alcohol get in the
way of that.
Lindsey (12:20):
I just experienced a date like that.
Somebody who's dating I went ona date with a guy, he had seven
whiskeys.
I had to drive his vehicle homeand drop his friend off.
And I'm like, so that's when youmeet somebody for the first time
or you're going out like.
That's the best version of youthat you're gonna show me.
That's what you choose to showme about yourself.
Yeah.
It was obvious that it wasn'tabout getting to know me.
(12:41):
It was about having the goodtime.
And I'm like, yeah, okay.
Jamie (12:46):
I think that's all the insecurity of actually people
they're wanting to put theirreal self out there, but they're
feeling like, okay, for me toget that acceptance, I need to
be.
This legend that drinks sevenwhiskeys and does some crazy
stuff that everyone will talkabout the next day.
But I think it's so widespreadand I was hugely guilty of doing
that.
But I always find it reallyfunny.
(13:06):
So human situation that is justvery commonplace and accepted.
And it just illustrates for me.
Tracey (13:13):
Mike, you're a legend, aren't you?
Your own right.
Mike (13:18):
Was
Lindsey (13:18):
Mike's like what
Tracey (13:22):
was for sure.
It's like you're not getting toknow the person.
If you're meeting them for thefirst time and they're wasted,
it's like that's not really whoyou are.
Like you're showing me analtered version of you.
And you're right.
Maybe there is someself-confidence issues, or the
person is just really nervous,or they're scared to be
(13:44):
vulnerable and be themselves.
So they're relying on thissubstance to open them up,
right?
Yeah.
Okay.
Yes.
Yeah.
Mike (13:51):
All of it.
All of them, all it.
Good points, Jamie.
Really good points.
So that kind of led you intotaking a thought about, where
your life was going, and thenultimately coming up with a plan
to start a new business.
Jamie (14:05):
Yes.
Yeah.
I think that was the point ofyou feel the resistance, but
you, I felt like wholly.
Ill equipped to be able to takeon this like actually just claim
back the control myself.
And actually a great way toclaim back a little bit of
control and have people look atyou and actually say, oh, he is
taking that seriously, is toactually build a business around
(14:26):
it.
Mike (14:26):
Did you have an aha moment type of thing to get you down
that road?
Or did you wake up one day andgo, what the hell?
You just tied one on for twodays with the boys.
Yeah.
And it was just like, I can't doit anymore.
I think there was a, therewasn't the aha moment of I woken
up.
It's like that is it.
It's a series of events thatoccurred.
(14:47):
Whether it's drinking with thelads or family events or just
working spending a week, you goto a music class when you go
back to work and you end upgoing to five different cocktail
bars in an evening, you justcome back and you feel pickled.
And so after all of theseinteractions, I think I was.
Consciously trying to get out ofthese situations of I'm saying
(15:09):
no to Gin and Tonic now when Iget home because I don't really
want it.
But then I think the combinationof all those different
experiences led me to a point ofthis is actually I want, it's a
selfish endeavor.
I've gotta find this and Billshared in that.
The moment that the idea ofFeragaia came about was this.
(15:29):
For me, it was all about thissort of the confidence of how an
alcohol free drink is put infront of you.
And it's that whole thing ofthat alcohol free, it's like you
we're still defining this drinkby what it isn't.
And so for us, it was I wantoriginality and I want
confidence.
And so building it off theframework of this spirit, this
(15:50):
liquid, we can't touch alcohol.
And it also, Cannot replicate agin, a whiskey or tequila ram.
It has to be this new territory,new vision of how you can look
at the strengths, like a new eraof drinking.
And from Bill's point of view,he's Scottish from a beautiful
county called Fife just outsideof Edinburgh.
(16:11):
And like many Scotts he's veryproud of where he is come from.
But as we know, Scotland's worldrenowned for scotch, single
malts, the great premiumdistilleries of the world.
The, I think most people wouldprobably say Scotland in the
top, probably top one, top two,top three places in the world of
premium distilled products.
So that heritage.
(16:32):
And the sort of idea ofinnovation and pioneering this
new category in this place,which is literally almost
defined by an alcoholic spirit.
It's quite an interestingconcept of combining this real
confidence and originality andalcohol free with this rich
heritage of this very famous andbeautiful place in Scotland.
(16:55):
The combination of those twoelements and Bill and myself.
That was the moment that, wereally felt that this is the
concept that we wanna hit go on,and we wanna build Feragaia
around.
Tracey (17:05):
I wanna mention, Jamie, that I absolutely love your
guys' marketing because I knowyour tagline is distilled to be
different, your original freespirit.
Yeah.
And I love that.
I think that speaks volumes.
Jamie (17:18):
Let's just grab the I've got the bottle here.
There's a paragraph on thefront.
Which before we talked all aboutthe botanicals and distillation
and all that, but actually Ithink we've come to learn that
the experience of Feragaia isreally what we need to
communicate.
And so we put on the frontFeragaia is the moment you step
off the path, a balanced blendof wild flavors, a complexity
(17:40):
that invites you to pause, toreconnect, to appreciate the
people around you and the groundbeneath your feet distilled to
be different.
Here's your original freespirit, that whole, you're going
through a bit of a journeyyou're cutting your own path.
It's the sort of wild flavors.
It's this sort of slowing downand then actually connecting,
(18:01):
but in a way in which you'reputting your own free spirit in
front and exploring that, whichtalks into that whole
empowerment message, a very puremoment of connection.
Tracey (18:12):
I love that messaging.
I absolutely love it.
And correct me if I'm wrong, butalso Fera, Gaia coming from
Latin and Greek meaning wildearth.
Jamie (18:22):
Yes, correct.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So yeah, combination.
Two ancient languages and.
Feragaia is all about that senseof that feeling that you get,
you have it, you're spoiled withit.
In Canada, when you step outsideand you look up at the
mountains, it can be anywhere.
It could just be if you've got awalking through a park or you've
got a small sort of flower a fewhouse plants.
(18:43):
But equally, the bigger bits ofinspiration is, windswept, coast
lines, walking up in themountains, being deep in the
forests.
These senses where you feel themight of nature and natural wild
around you, almost a bit of aninsignificance, which to me is
always quite comforting.
But that sense of reconnection,that being grounded to wild
earth is, the foundation of thisdrink and the experience that we
(19:08):
want to give people.
So that's everything thatinstructs, the marketing and the
visuals, the aesthetics, thepartnerships, and everything
that we do is.
Really to reinforce what thisexperience is about.
because I mean it's such a, anin incredible force.
We're all very lucky to be to bein, to be living in
Tracey (19:25):
well, and that's what a lot of people that go alcohol
free and start that journey ofdiscovering themselves.
That's something that a lot ofpeople rediscover.
We all talk about it connectingwith nature, yeah.
It's a huge part of our journeyto connect with ourselves.
Just to have the sunshine onyour face, the fresh air, yeah.
(19:46):
There's something to be saidabout being amongst, the grass,
the trees
Jamie (19:50):
Yeah.
Like it's nothing new.
I think it's the simplicity ofappreciating.
What there is around us.
What we can get.
We're talking about one, theself and nurturing our own
identities and bringingconfidence to the self.
And then we're also talkingabout the natural world, which,
we're a part of whether we likeit or not we just are.
(20:11):
And so we are really just callit back to a really simple point
of, We're not trying to harnesswe're so insignificant compared
to nature and wild earth.
We just want to point people inthe direction and be a part of
helping people see just thatsimplicity of these little
changes that you can make inyour life that you can find some
(20:32):
real satisfaction and reallyreal fulfillment out of.
Yeah, I think that's great.
Lindsey (20:36):
So I question about the product.
What's in it and for me, beingalcohol free Yeah.
I'm really into nourishing mybody and I love, exploring
greens powders and othersupplements and stuff like that.
So are there any benefits to theingredients in the product?
Jamie (20:57):
Yes.
Okay.
I'll start with the.
And section of your question,and that was around the
functionality of it.
We've got the basic stuff of itjust being alcohol-free,
sugar-free, gluten, vegannaturally are very low calorie.
We have these wild earthproperties.
We distill, we pick a lot of thebotanicals that are native to
Scotland Chamonmile black,current leaf, bay leaf wow.
(21:20):
Yeah, bay black currant leaf,sorry, lemon, beana and
Chamonmile.
And then we also have a seaweed,which is from the wild West
coast of Scotland on a peninsulacalled Den American.
And, those native botanicalsalone.
You look at the properties andwhat we do is we extract all
these essences in the, theseoils which is forms the base of.
(21:42):
What we then distill in a potstill with Feragaia.
But when you look at the healthproperties of, Chamonmile is an
obvious one.
That's soothing, calm.
You've got beana great forimmunity.
It's very strong onantioxidants.
Sugar kelp has a lot ofinteresting sort of vitamins and
nutrition in it.
And so whilst the product isn'ta functional product.
(22:03):
We don't say it's somethingthat's gonna make you feel this
way.
However, we use five times more.
Botanical mass in ourdistillation runs and gin would,
because we don't have alcohol tobreak down the botanicals.
We need to supercharge thisstill with as much botanical
matter in essence, to be able toget the character depth that we
(22:24):
achieve with Feragaia.
And we have all of these allsand essences that makeup, the
taste and make.
There are some reallyinteresting wild earth
properties we'd like to say, forus, that whole drinking
experience, it's all about thatreconnection piece to Feragaia
to wild earth.
And so this sort of immunitysense of being like restored but
(22:45):
then also feeling more groundedand connected.
So that's the soothing elementsof, the Chamonmile et cetera
gives, I think a really niceidea of what this fair guide
drink is really set out to do,to talk about.
We've got 14 land seabotanicals.
Five of them are native toScotland.
That, we've gotta grow ourbotanicals on a small farm just
down the road from thedistillery.
(23:07):
That's something that we're veryproud of.
We're very proud of our localsupply chain and the
transparency.
We just opened Scotland's firstAlcohol free distillery which
you know, is a very.
It's a big landmark, from a landthat's known for so many
alcoholic distilleries.
And so we're really excited tobe opening that up for people to
come and see learn and justappreciate the craft that goes
(23:29):
into it.
Cause it takes two months tomake bottle.
Whoa.
We, and it's the same care andattention that goes into a
bottle of gin or whiskey.
Absolutely.
Goes into a bottle of Feragaiaand I think it's an important
thing, like you look at analcohol free drink or juice when
you in a bar versus a great beeror wine and just on the basis of
(23:51):
how much time it is taken tomake this alcoholic drink versus
alcohol free drink.
This imbalance creates like itis formed in your mind.
And that craft and that effortthat goes into Feragaia is
obviously it's a premium productand priced as such.
You can care as much about ouralcohol free products as you can
and our quality.
I think that's an importantpoint.
The stages of distillation thatwe go through.
(24:14):
Where the botanicals come from,how we macerate, how we distill
how we then blend it together,use of Scottish water.
We age it for a bit and then webottle it and then it's out
there.
And then you've got this, theflavor of it is all.
So we talk about layers andcomplexity and this depth of
flavor.
It's like having length anddepth is what slows you down.
(24:35):
So you take your time.
When you're drinking Feragaia,that's what makes it different
from a tea, a soft drink juicethat you might have during the
day.
And it makes it more of a drinkthat you can take your time over
and have that, those puremoments of connection with
yourself and those people aroundyou.
That's really how we set out tocreate the flavor and the
(24:56):
character of this drink.
But not having a benchmark ofsaying it has to be like a gin
or whiskey or tequila or rum.
Lindsey (25:03):
I love hearing all that because I feel if I got my hands
on it, I would feel good aboutdrinking it.
It's good for your mental healthtoo, Yeah, there's something
about taking a supplement that'sreally pure from the land.
It's processed really well.
I'm all about that.
I wanna know how it's made,where it comes from.
Is it organic?
Is there crap in it?
(25:24):
Are there fillers in it?
Yeah.
I really wanna know all that.
So how would somebody drink thisthen?
Jamie (25:29):
Yeah, so the perfect serve is Feragaia and Gingerale.
Oh, sweet.
It's a slightly different I talkabout the length and the depth
of Feragaia.
We've noticed as we've spentmore time in America in the last
six months, that there's, thatthe approach to Feragaia is very
different in America to, in theUK.
(25:50):
You've got a lot of Gin andtonic drinkers in the UK.
I would say that I probablydrink it more with tonic than I
do with gingerale a but thegingerale matches really nicely
with the Feragaia because itgives a little bit of a sweet
note which, even though peopledon't like sugar, they still
appreciate a little bit ofsweetness.
Generally my experience.
And they've got this really nicedry habitous depth and make
(26:11):
that, makes it into a reallywell-rounded drink that is
refreshing.
It's got that refreshing depthof flavor, so perfect.
Serve, Feragaia gingerale sliceof lime.
It's fantastic versatile productand whether it's you wanna sipe
neat which, we found there's alot more appreciation for it's
flavor profile and I think itmatches a slightly different way
of drinking that you have overin American Canada.
(26:34):
But it's great with tonic.
And also if you step up intosome of the great restaurants
and bars they've been creatingamazing cocktails, I think one
of my favorites is a sour sortof spice pair sour, but you can
create whether it's using appleor various other ingredients to
create like the velvete sort ofweight of the sour drink is
just, it's a really justfantastic drink with Feragaia
(26:57):
Paloma Bramble got some greatold fashions out there, and I
think it's a really great thing.
You can have it simple mix withGingerale.
But actually once you get intoit, Let's explore it and let's
find, what you want to use thatsort of refreshing depth with.
And people, whether they liketequila or they like Bram or
they just wanna exploresomething, it's a different
(27:17):
flavor profile or pair somethingwith food.
I think it's exciting that youcan at some stage hand it over
to the drinker and actually say,this is how we drink it now,
we're inviting you to explore itand here are some ideas and
here's how other people areusing it.
I think the versatility of it iskey, but Feragaia Gingerale
great service.
Tracey (27:35):
I have a little card here, Jamie, with a bunch of
different cocktails on it that Igot Yes.
From Amanda.
So I'll share that on our socialmedia.
Jamie (27:44):
Brilliant.
Yeah.
We've got plenty more on that,where that came from
Tracey (27:47):
yeah.
I know you have some on yourwebsite too, so that's awesome
because I haven't tried any yet,but I'm looking forward to doing
so.
Yeah.
We'll
Jamie (27:55):
to, we'll be sorting that out very soon.
Mike (28:00):
I got a question for you.
Yeah.
Excuse me.
Have you ever done any type ofblind taste testing with people
who drink alcohol on a regularbasis to say, give our drink a
try without telling them ordisclosing them what they're
drinking and what the responseswere like?
Jamie (28:14):
This reminds me of an advert that I've seen, which I
really love.
And it's just seeing those rawresponses to it.
The answer is that I haven'tconducted a formal version of
that test.
I would love to do that.
I think what I could say to thatis that over the last three and
a half years, the team Bill andI have been at so many different
events and meeting so manydifferent people who have a
(28:37):
different relationship withalcohol and some people that, I
have I had the discussion of, ifa taste is too complex or too
like alcohol, certain peoplethat don't drink don't want it
to be too similar to that sortof alcoholic taste that they
remember.
You can never please everyone,and especially when you're
trying to do something that is abit braver, a bit more creative
(29:00):
in like we are establishing thisoriginal free spirit category.
It's a futile endeavor to thinkthat you can keep everyone
happy.
Of course, I sometimes do thosetastings with people that don't
drink and for them, thecomplexity and the length of
depth of Feragaia gives it toomuch of a sort of a steer
towards something thatrepresents something that's
(29:21):
alcoholic for them which, Irespect that position and,
everyone has their own personalreasons about drinking, but in
my own eyes, it's if I'vechallenged someone's palette
with Feragaia enough to makethem think that actually, there
is something more to this thanjust a juice or a soft drinker
tea, et cetera, then that's whatwe're trying to do here.
(29:42):
We're trying to create this sortof category of a sophisticated
drinker.
You can take your time over.
And it slows you down and itchallenges your palette just
enough so that you have thatmoment of reconnection, cuz
we'll live fast lives so I thinka lot faster than like
generations before did.
We do need to slow down.
We do need to have some headspace for ourselves to connect
(30:04):
with people around us.
There's been some prettyhilarious responses to the taste
of fairer that.
Some good, some bad, butgenerally, obviously there's a
real appreciation for what weare trying to achieve with that
drinking experience.
That we're investing behind asthe whole premise of this idea
is the value and the interestand the potential is all.
And the fact that we arecreating this new category free
(30:24):
spirit.
It's this new sort of drinkingnew way to look at alcohol-free
drinks should really shift thethe balance.
Mike (30:33):
I got a buddy that drinks old fashions.
Jamie (30:36):
Yes.
Mike (30:37):
Religiously.
Not religiously, sorry.
But if I ever go out with them,he'll get an old fashioned, I
see it all the time.
The reason my question I thoughtof him as I was saying, I wonder
if I could say, Hey, I'm gonnamake you an old fashioned my way
and see what his response was.
Jamie (30:55):
Obviously when I come out to Canada, when Feragaia is
doing great things over there,which I'm sure it'll be soon we
can go out for a drink with yourbuddy and I can make my famous
smokey old fashioned, which alittle bit tea and know.
We'll see.
We'll see how we get on.
Good stuff, coach.
Spin to it.
Mike (31:12):
Okay.
Good stuff.
Tracey (31:14):
I love how, oh, sorry Tracy.
You guys are, yeah, no problem.
I just wanted to say I love howyou guys are bridging that gap
because there is that gap andthat kind of gray area of
people, like you said, wantingto drink less and transitioning
and alcohol free beverages are agreat way to transition.
(31:35):
I know when I first gave upalcohol, I drank a lot more kind
of alcohol free things.
Yeah.
I'm at a place now where I'vebeen alcohol free almost three
years, so I don't so muchanymore.
I don't gravitate towards thatstuff.
I've just gone, yeah.
Straight old, like soda withlemon and lime.
Jamie (31:52):
Is that your go-to.
Tracey (31:53):
Yeah, that is my go-to.
So if I'm out in socialsituations, like we've talked
about I bring my own soda if I'mgoing to a friend's place and
Yeah.
Yeah.
Or tea, like I drink a lot oftea at night when I'm at home
where I used to have wine.
And I'm huge advocate ofChamonmile.
That's my favorite.
Yes.
Made many jokes about that onthis podcast.
(32:15):
So yeah and absolutely it's gotthat calming effect.
It's good for anxiety and for, alot of us, we experience anxiety
and I was experiencing a lotmore when I was drinking.
That's been my go-to.
But I think it's a greattransition.
Like I said, when I was, nervousabout those social situations,
it was easy to go to an alcoholfree beverage, at a restaurant,
(32:39):
have an alcohol free beer orwhatever, and you feel more like
you're participating.
And it's like that gradual moveaway from the alcohol
Jamie (32:47):
yeah.
What I find interesting is thathow participating things, like
you're still having toparticipate in this alcoholic
thing when actually I think, theaccess has been shifted to when
you've got someone who'sdrinking a really great looking
drink, great tasting alcohol,free drink, that's then the
people that you know are doingwhat everyone's always been
doing.
Drinking alcohol and doing thatsame olds of merry-go-round of
(33:11):
social interaction.
I start to see more of aninterest in that sort of alcohol
free drink from the group justgeneralizing than there's ever
been before.
And I think that's reallyencouraging because if there's
that talkability, that curiosityabout Oh yeah I think it shows
that the appetite that exists.
(33:32):
In those moderators, the peoplegot the confident people like
yourself.
You found that, your method ofdoing it and leaning into it and
owning it, I think the majorityof people are still in that
moderation space.
Yeah.
And they need to have thatconfidence And I think that it
just shows that, we can see allthe stats of how drinking habits
are changing.
(33:53):
I think that's always the thingthat I look at the most when I'm
just speaking to my friends orin a different event and you can
see their appetite and theirinterest.
Not the level of engagement thatyou wanna see yet.
I think it's still moving.
But the interest is certainlythere.
Tracey (34:09):
I love that you were doing those experiments, as you
were saying, with people andpushing them outside their
comfort zone to be in thosescenarios without the alcohol.
Yeah.
And I just wanted to say or askhow do you entertain these
conversations with people
Jamie (34:27):
So I'm talking mainly about an experience that we had
in Scotland.
We took a group of people out tothis beautiful place in the
Highlands.
And I think that's, reallyenough when it comes to.
Having that sort of, that shiftof that departure from a usual
life into a new realm.
But actually in terms of thesocial interactions, I dunno if
(34:47):
you've ever come across they'recalled, connection cards.
It's there's a couple ofdifferent ones.
It's called the Skin Beat.
It's called the, we're notreally strangers.
Tracey (34:54):
These the like question cards., I use the table talk
ones.
Yes, table talk ones too.
Jamie (35:02):
They're such a simple but clever things, well posed
question, let's put our phonesdown and let's have these talks.
That's been one thing that I'vereally enjoyed.
But then I think you look at allof the great things about
humanity and the way that humansinteract with each other and
through the creative realms ofwhether it's music or poetry or
storytelling.
Then activity and, we talk a lotabout whether it's outdoors or
(35:24):
walking cold water, swimming welove less the stuff that's
powered by, it's a man-madeengine.
And more of the generative stuffof slowing down, you seeing,
appreciating exactly what'sthere around you.
Those are some different ways inwhich we've found this.
Excitement for this differentexperience of when you're not
(35:45):
drinking, but you're stillhaving a really great time
connecting with people.
Lindsey (35:49):
I was gonna say get it now, like the classification as
a free spirit instead of alcoholfree.
I really love that.
And just talking about,Consuming alcohol-free beverages
when we're out and people areconsuming alcohol, why are we
trying to participate?
(36:09):
Yeah.
That just made me think why am Itrying so hard to still
participate in this culture, butdoing it with an alcohol-free
substance, maybe a product likethis where you're creating your
own category, free spirit and wejust do our thing.
With everybody else.
This is what I'm drinking.
I'm not trying to participate inyour alcohol.
(36:30):
Drinking is gonna spark them towanna participate in what we're
doing.
Jamie (36:35):
A hundred percent.
That's great.
That's it.
Nailed that, Lindsay.
Yeah.
10 outta 10.
Lindsey (36:39):
I get it now.
I'm like, ok, I like this.
I like that.
We're doing a differentcategory.
It's not alcohol free.
We're free spirit and yeah.
Everyone's welcome toparticipate in it.
Jamie (36:48):
That is the empowerment and it's it's just doing you.
It's the whole thing aboutputting other people's needs in
front of yours.
And certainly you're not gonnago and make someone love feeling
comfortable and awkward, but whycan't you lean into what you
want in that moment and not justpersuaded by public opinion or
what other people's insecuritiesare fueling.
Tracey (37:08):
Yeah.
Being in your own uniquecategory.
Really
Lindsey (37:11):
love that.
That's what I'm getting.
Yeah.
Like you said, that's gonna justtrigger people to be more
curious.
Too about what you're doing.
Jamie (37:19):
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's a harder way to get to doit.
I've seen what alcohol free ginshave done, or alcohol-free Apple
spritzes have done it's a simplereplication of something that's
alcoholic so people can join inon.
It's that confidence as thiscategory rolls on the culture
around not drinking changes.
(37:39):
There's gonna be a time where Imight actually hang on that.
Why the hell are we just we'retrying to participate in what's
already been is that we shouldbe departing from this to
something new, something that'srelated.
It's just the irony ofalcohol-free drinking now is
that it's defined by alcohol andmost of that.
Then you look at the biggestdrinks companies now who sell
(38:03):
the most booze in the world.
They now have all the alcoholfree, the biggest alcohol free
market out there.
There's a lot of sort of mixedmessages of you have a alcoholic
bottle of gin alcohol freebottle of gin
Lindsey (38:15):
Because it's a business, right?
Yeah.
This is where we have to becareful.
We have alcohol companies nowcapitalizing on the fact that
alcohol free is now becoming athing because people are waking
up to the fact that alcohol ispoison what it does to the body,
how it alters the brain.
Yeah.
And it's oh, this is a placewhere we can make money now.
They don't really care about thepeople.
Jamie (38:37):
But also it's like the messaging.
So hang on.
What are you saying?
Saying something here?
You're saying something here.
It's the same brand and doesn'tmatch what Doesn't match.
Doesn't match.
Yeah.
It's out of alignment.
Yeah.
But the fi the funny thing isthe market at the moment, it
works.
But this is where, we're tryingto strive and set out a new set
of rules for what, a free spiritcategory should be.
(39:00):
I'm obviously in this sort ofday in, day out, 24 hours a day.
I live and breathe it, but tome, it's like the simplest thing
of why does alcohol definealcohol free habits?
And so I never thought of thatbefore.
Let's let's change the game.
Let's create something that canreally inspire a different way
of drinking and socializing ina.
(39:21):
More empowerment in the self,who you are and ultimately, like
that's gonna lead to betterexistence.
It's a big statement.
I'm not saying Feragaia gonnasave your life sort of thing,
but it saved the world even.
But I do think these smalllittle choices that we can make
that have a big positive knockon benefit, and you guys are,
living proof of that.
Tracey (39:41):
I love how thoughtful you guys have been, Jamie, and
the whole concept of this brandand that I really feel like you
aligned it with what theultimate goal is for most people
that are going alcohol free.
To rediscover themselves.
To reconnect.
Yeah.
And that whole self-discovery,that whole free spirit, to free
(40:05):
ourselves because being attachedto alcohol is very restricting
and it consumes a lot of us, andit, yeah, it does diminish our
free spirits.
Yeah.
Jamie (40:17):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And I know I, yeah, and theeducation of saying that you're
creating this new product andthis new category and all this
stuff it's the biggest challengefor us.
It's, we need people likeourselves having, giving us a
space to be able to ask usquestions and be able to talk
about it.
But it just feels like the wayit has to go.
Cuz this sort of slightlysleepwalking phase of what we're
(40:38):
in right now, to me is not theultimate.
If you look at any drinkingcategory of people are always
looking for something that isgood Lindsay, you're talking
about where things are from,like what goes into it, how
things are made, who's behind itare they doing it the right way?
Is there some purpose link tothe brand that stands up to what
I believe in?
And, that's what we do.
We support local challengecharities at the moment trying
(41:00):
to rewire different parts ofScotland or, stand up for things
that are very much integral toour brand.
I think the brands that I reallyengage with, other brands that
obviously do create a greatproduct, have that transparency.
Then also, An act of purposethat I believe in.
So you're happy to pay morecause you know that this company
(41:21):
is gonna be helping what you'repassionate about as long as it
that represents, a brand of whatyou're happy to put yourself
your own identity too.
Collectively, if you can getloads of businesses across all
sectors who have that purposefulvision, then it's gonna be the
quickest way for.
Humanity to turn around a lot ofthe issues that, we currently
(41:44):
face.
I think that's, it's an excitingtime.
It's a challenging time to be ina business, but I think exciting
in that respect.
Tracey (41:50):
I love your passion too.
You can really feel that comethrough your passion for it and
that's amazing.
Jamie (41:58):
Yeah.
Thank you.
Tracey (42:00):
Do you guys have any more questions for Jamie?
No, other than where can peoplefind you?
Jamie (42:05):
Yeah.
So if you give us a follow@feragaia on social media.
We've got a stockish map on ourwebsite, but we're really, we've
got a very exciting six, 12month period now coming up.
Last year we upgraded ourbranding.
We opened up a distillery, we'veexpanded the team.
We're learning more and moreabout who we are and where we
sell well who our real consumersare.
(42:28):
And so the next six to 12 monthsis all about a growth and
expansion.
And we are gonna be spendingquite a lot of time over in the
states, I think first of all atBar Con Brooklyn in June, where
we are launching our newpackaging.
And we've got some fantastic.
Business like restaurants, somethree michelan star restaurants
(42:49):
in New York at the moment whoare doing some fantastic things
with Feragaia yeah, please, Iwould say get on social
channels.
There's gonna be a lot ofinformation coming through about
these different events,different tastings.
And we are also available inacross Canada and we've got
great distribution in Ontariowho We can definitely put you in
touch with if there's anybusinesses that wanna try and
(43:09):
experience.
I know there's a great affinitybetween Canada and Scotland and
so it seems somewhere that weneed to be spending more time
and putting more energy andeffort in.
I was gonna say most of ouraudience is in North America, so
Yeah.
Where is the best way for someto get information of where they
could get your product in NorthAmerica?
(43:30):
Okay there's a website thatwe're list live on that can ship
to all states called Proof NoMore.
Oh, okay.
Perfect.
If you go onto the website,you'll get through from there.
But I would encourage anyone whois interested to go via website
to learn a little bit more aboutwho we are, what the brand's
about, where we can find it.
Cuz it's, it is all there.
(43:50):
And we are very happy to help.
Ask us questions and we canpoint you in the right
direction., we're good atgetting a bottle of almost
anywhere in the world now toanyone who wants to experience
this, the refreshing depth offlavor and start to explore
their own original free spirit.
Tracey (44:06):
Okay.
That's amazing.
We'll put all that in the shownotes for you, Jamie.
So we can direct people to wherethey can find you and find more
information about Feragaia.
We are fantastic.
We are so excited that we gotthe opportunity to sit with you
again.
Thanks everybody foraccommodating the schedule.
For our listeners, you knowwhere you can find us, you can
find us on Instagram at LAF LifePodcast.
(44:29):
You can find us on our communitypage on Facebook at LAF Life.
And again, thank you so much.
Until next time, keep laughing.
Kelly (44:40):
Thank you for listening.
Please give us a five starrating like and subscribe, share
on social media and tell yourfriends.
We love getting your feedbackand ideas of what you'd like to
hear on upcoming episodes of thelaugh life podcast.
If you yourself are livingalcohol free and want to share
your story here, please reachout.
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