Aloe and more from Just Drink

Fine Food with

Charles Campion

Food writer and critic

• It’s time to go left field rather than safety-first
• “Fashion or for keeps?”
• “New year and new possibilities”
• “What is in a name?”
• “The art of shopping”

Speciality Food speaks to sales director Devin Chohan.

A range of Premium Aloe drinks currently making an impression on the shelves of farm shops and delis really owes its existence to the efficacy of the aloe vera which Just Drink’ sales director Devin Chohan was using to treat a complaint which was thought to be Crohns disease. “The doctor couldn’t say for certain what had caused the dramatic improvement in my condition,” Devin tells Speciality Food. “But he said, whatever you are taking, keep taking it, because it’s doing you good!”

Because clinical research has still to establish Aloe’s health benefits, the new range is being marketed on the strength of its taste and ability to refresh taste buds which have become tired of the samey soft drinks currently available, he says. However, the drink made from this versatile plant, which is sourced from plantations in the Far East and bottled within a short time frame to avoid loss of nutrients, is generally thought to aid the digestion, aid detoxing the body and improve well-being. It was originally produced because Devin wanted something more palatable than the bitter-tasting Aloe product he was already taking. Now, as well as the original Grape flavour, this small company produces Lychee, Pomegranate, Mango and Passion Fruit varieties. This summer sees the launch of a new Strawberry flavour.

All the drinks, Devin says, contain 30% real aloe vera and, unlike some drinks made by competitors, a healthy 10% of real fruit juice concentrate, rather than fruit juice flavor or fruit flavor from powder. His aloe drinks offer a point of difference for drinks chillers and shelves in that the smooth taste and suspended bits of aloe stand out among other soft drinks. It can be an acquired taste for some, he admits. “Some people aren’t prepared for the bits unless they read the label or we tell them about it,” he says. However, what the customer wants has been thoroughly researched by Devin and his team.  When it came to product development, “we actually started with the customers,” he says.

“We didn’t just go out and make 60,000 bottles are start selling them! We trialled it in shopping centres for the first year of our business. We were selling it directly to the consumer in retail merchandising units around Essex. From doing this, we learned whether they liked or didn’t like a particular flavour, whether it needed tweaking a bit more, whether it was too sweet and whether they liked bits in their drinks –  remember that some people don’t like even orange juice to have bits in it.” 

During these tests, we found that we were one of the most successful stalls in Essex’s huge Lakeside shopping centre. We were only a very small stall and selling drinks for £1.50 - £2, yet turning over more than most other stalls per day. It was clearly a profitable business. That was three years ago and that’s when we decided to take our ship and set sail towards the cash and carries and the shops in and around the M25 and London. Now we are expanding into the Midlands and the North and towards Devon as well.

“We sell directly as we don’t have a distributor at present who distributes to farm shops. Farm shops such as Ashlyns Farm Shop in Essex phone us every month for an order.” Feedback has been all important to the company’s development and growth.  “The only way we will continue to grow and innovate is by listening to what the customer says he or she wants,” Devin says. “That’s why we have spent the last seven months perfecting a Strawberry flavour for this summer.”

The drinks were were officially launched into shops at the Natural and Organic Exhibition in 2012 and then at the IFE, which was where the company opened routes into Europe and Africa and sales are now very promising, Devin says. “We were one of the first producers of aloe vera drinks in UK,” he says. “Larger companies saw what we were doing and mimicked us. The difference between us and them is we stick to our guns and use real fruit juice and are also specialists in aloe vera products. We also try and support all stockists in anyway and I believe that continuity and maintaining an honest & open relationship is the key for a long term healthy business.” For point of difference and real refreshment, Devin says that his Just Drink Premium Aloe Drinks are the ideal summer stocking choice.