“To me, wellness is more than just health; it is happiness and finding balance in your life. Especially in a city like London where people work so hard, it is easy to get caught up in the work cycle. It is so important to find that balance for yourself, which I think delivers on health and happiness in the end. So find time to take care of yourself, whether it may be taking care of your body and going to the gym or eating well – just be sure to also have fun and enjoy life as well.”

Nathan Clemes

Founder of Unrooted Drinks

Our Urban Explorer

Could you please introduce yourself to our guests?

I am Nathan Clemes, the Founder of Unrooted Drinks. I was born in Canada, but the UK is very much where I call home. My father worked for Coca-Cola, so I grew up in a world surrounded by various renowned soft drink brands and was lucky enough to live in many countries around the world. Outside of Canada, I spent about five years in South Africa, which has come full circle since I am now working with baobab trees that flow through South Africa. I have also lived in Austria, Turkey, England, and Belgium throughout my childhood. I have been in the UK now for 17 years.

Unrooted Drinks is super delicious, nutritious, and possesses many health benefits. Did you always have a fascination with the health supplements space?

I actually started my career in the investment banking world, primarily working with numerous drinks companies and other large global food groups. After about five and a half years in finance, I decided that I wanted to bring together the technical knowledge I had gained in the finance world with my personal passion for soft drinks that I probably developed as a child and to do something with that, which has led me here.

How did the initial idea of Unrooted Drinks come into fruition?

I always knew that I wanted to start my own business, specifically in the food and drink sector because of my upbringing. I had a deep fascination and love for drink brands. As a child, we would always get to try new products and I remember I would get so excited whenever a new flavour came out! I always found that really exciting. Then, when I was working in banking and finance, I noticed two big trends emerging in this space: health and wellness on one side and functionality on the other. On the health and wellness side, the drinks were good for you but lacked in taste. It was either zero sugar or they added Omega 3 or Vitamin C to it, but that was the limit of its innovation. Meanwhile, the functional space was largely driven by energy, using primary ingredients like caffeine and sugar that were not so healthy. I spotted an opportunity that was right in the middle – a drink that could be genuinely healthy and give you that boost of energy for the day.

London can be quite a bustling and hectic city. How do you think people here take care of their minds and body?

In London, and in big cities in general, there is certainly more awareness around health and wellness where the options to take care of yourself are there. I always think it is best to build achievable daily habits as opposed to that sort of boom-and-bust cycle where you work out and eat healthy for several weeks and stop for a month, which is super inconsistent. From a food and drinks perspective, there is so much innovation in London and so many healthy foods that you don’t necessarily need to compromise taste for a healthy life.

As the Founder of Unrooted Drinks, what does your day look like on a typical day?

My day is quite varied, as you might imagine. In a day, I could be speaking to investors, speaking to core customers, and getting involved on the sales side. I also try to make time to go to samplings and speak to our consumers. I think it is really important to stay connected with the people who are buying your product and get direct feedback. I like to carve out time as well for bigger “blue sky” thinking around product development and long-term strategy. I sort of bounce around a lot through the day, which keeps things really interesting.

How do you think you fit into the term “Urban Explorer”?

I think, especially in the context of Unrooted Drinks, I get to take full advantage of a city like London where I get to visit over one thousand sites cross the UK and explore new neighbourhoods that I otherwise wouldn’t have if it weren’t for my job. I get to visit every corner of the city and see what is happening and discover these new places. In terms of my own exploration, I love food and I love eating. I really enjoy going to new restaurants and eating my way across the city. And I’d like to think that I can give some good recommendations as well!

Vitality In A Bottle

What does wellness mean to you?

To me, wellness is more than just health; it is happiness and finding balance in your life. Especially in a city like London where people work so hard, it is easy to get caught up in the work cycle. It is so important to find that balance for yourself, which I think delivers on health and happiness in the end. So, find time to take care of yourself, whether it may be taking care of your body and going to the gym or eating well – just be sure to also have fun and enjoy life as well.

Is there one specific product from Unrooted Drinks that you swear by?

It is tough to choose just one! The great thing about our range of products is that each shot really fits into a different time of day. I can enjoy every flavour throughout the day, and it doesn’t feel unnatural. For me, I take the Baobab Boost first thing in the morning, high in fiber high and vitamin C, to give me that extra boost of energy. Then, I will take a Ginger Shot mid-morning and an Apple Cider Vinegar shot after lunch to reduce bloating. To end the day off, I take the CBD shot to help me wind down. We specifically designed the range of shots to be consumed this way to provide support for our customers and help them feel their best.

Could you tell us a bit more about the baobab fruit, since it is a primary ingredient found in your drinks?

In the early days of our research phase, I worked together with a food scientist from Kenya that had been developing products for twenty to thirty years for the biggest companies in the world and he really knew everything about plants and their health benefits. At the time, we started investigating natural ingredients from fruits and plants with micro-nutrient profiles that deliver genuine benefits but also taste really good. We looked at Baobab and we really fell in love with it quite early on. From a flavour perspective, it was really citrusy like vitamin C, which was a great fit for the drink’. From a nutritional perspective, gram per gram, there probably isn’t much, if anything, in the world that could beat it as it has five times more vitamin C than oranges and five times the fiber of oats. It also has double the antioxidants of acai and is high in amino acids, along with a whole host of other micro-nutrients. It is truly an incredible super fruit and have been around for ten thousand years.

Could you walk us through the process of how you came up with Unrooted Drinks?

The development process took close to two years. In the first stage, which took from six months to a year, it was more about understanding the micro-nutrient profiles, the science behind it, and understanding what energy means to various people. We spent a long time understanding these micro-nutrient profiles before I flew out to Kenya for two weeks to learn more about the trees, the fruit, the supply chain, where they come from, and the importance of the tree from a cultural standpoint, in society and its place. Having returned from our trip, we initially wanted to develop a 250ml sparkling drink that embodied the benefits of the baobab fruit, essentially an energy drink that was high in fiber and high vitamin C but without caffeine and sugar. However, we were aware that we’d be launching a new brand into the market with a completely new category, which would be quite difficult. Hence, we went back to the drawing board and settled on developing a range of shots boosted with African baobab fruit, with each shot focusing on delivering one specific benefit where the baobab fruit had real efficacy.

Tell us more about Unrooted Drinks and what guests can expect upon first try?

They are very punchy in flavour, first and foremost. Each bottle is 60ml, so in that small amount of liquid, you are getting a lot of flavour and nutritional benefits – that is the whole point of a shot. It is not something you are going to sit on over the course of half an hour like you would a normal drink. Instead, you are going to down it within the minute!

Travel Inspiration

In your line of work, how often would you say you travel?

We travel across London all the time to visit our stockists. I also do a bit of traveling across the UK to visit our warehouses and our bottling teams, as well as a few stockists up and down the country. Aside from the UK, we now have stockists in Scotland, Ireland, Miami, and the Caribbean so hopefully, there will be more opportunities to visit these places.

So where does your inspiration for travel come from?

For me, it is generally through word of mouth. I was lucky to grow up in different countries, so I have friends in various cities and all over the world. So, whether it is just visiting friends who live in different countries, I just love hearing their travel stories and I get inspired to visit those places.

What other destinations are on your bucket list?

I would probably say Australia, Japan, and Mexico. These are probably the top three!

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