Healthy Food and Drink Trends 2021 with Hugo Hodgson
Speaker 2 (00:05)
So welcome to Amazing Food and Drink. I’m delighted to have Hugo Hudson, who is founder of Longshot. Welcome to the show, Hugo.
Speaker 1 (00:15)
Thanks so much, Cohn. I really appreciate you having me here today.
Speaker 2 (00:17)
It’s great to have you. So Hugo, start by telling us a bit about yourself and Longshot, please.
Speaker 1 (00:23)
So Longshot is a hard seltzer. Many people don’t know what a hard seltzer is. A hard seltzer is simply an alcoholic fruit-infused sparkling water. There are quite a few different brands now out there. Ours is the only one made with all-natural fruit juices. And the big advantage of hard seltzer is it provides a cleaner drink that’s low-calorie, low-sugar. It’s 4% ABV, gluten free and vegan and comes in a 250 mill can.
Speaker 2 (00:53)
Brilliant. So really and truly, it sounds to me like this is going to fall under the category of what you might call healthy food and drinks. Would that be a fair comment?
Speaker 1 (01:04)
You have to be slightly careful with the regulations about referring to alcohol as healthy. We like to think of it as cleaner. You must always drink responsibly. But certainly, I think you touched on the right point there that the food and drink is going healthier on the whole. I’m more talking about non-alcoholic drinks. I think alcohol is getting cleaner.
Speaker 2 (01:28)
Okay, brilliant. So thank you for putting me right, Hugo. Tell me, what trends have you seen happening over the last while in terms of drinks?
Speaker 1 (01:41)
In terms of drinks, I think the big thing over the past few years, we also have things like raw juices that came along. I think whilst people appreciate the need to have less processed juices, I think one of the problems was that came along with people saw that there was too much sugar in fruit juices. But I think on the whole, in a drinks category, there’s been a big boom in the protein world, and that has now translated not just to be originally, we always imagined drinks being protein drinks. We’re seeing that translation to food. Certainly in the alcohol sector, the big innovations have been low and no. And also for us, it’s this cleaner, but still 4 %. So it’s still like your beer, but it’s just a cleaner drink.
Speaker 2 (02:32)
And having tasted it, I can say that it’s very nice, very refreshing.
Speaker 1 (02:37)
Well, it’s very funny to say. The thing is that they aren’t like traditional canned drinks. And a lot of people Well, not a lot. Some people don’t like them because they want that sugar head. But I think if you look at those flavoured seltzer waters that came in the past few years, originally people said, Oh, it hasn’t got enough flavour. And I would I screw with that. And I think our taste buds are coming to a customer to not having such an intense, intense level of sugar and additives. And I think people are realising we don’t need that so much anymore.
Speaker 2 (03:11)
Super. And have you happened to cross any unexpected trends in your journey so far?
Speaker 1 (03:19)
Not, not particularly. I mean, most of it’s been relatively, relatively as per expected. But I think in In the future, I think we’re going to see more in the protein world. I think the protein world is yet to be opened up. I think this idea of convenience food is going to change. I think if you look at brands like Huel, they’re making huge inroads into that. I think going to your supermarket or going to your lunch spot and buying a sandwich and a pack of crisps and a drink, I think that is probably it’s data relatively numbered, and I think that will be changed. Have we seen these yet? I think that they’ve still not even emerged. I think also in the future we will see things like, I think we’ll see further inroads in the alcohol sector. I think you’ll still have spirits will remain broadly the same. There might be a new spirits, and I think things like whiskey, tequila, and rum will come to play a bigger impact. But on the whole, I think, and also to be said, the government is already discussing about new labelling requirements for alcohol, which is, I think, really important in addressing the health and obesity issues that we faced, particularly in the post-COVID world.
Speaker 1 (04:38)
Yeah, I think that really sums it. But I think in the food sector, touching on side of what I’ve said is the new protein that a lot of people are talking about is pea protein. So I think the pea market is going to become huge, not just your mushy pees down your fish and chips. So The less processed pees that actually are finding really, really… They have really, really important proteins. So for the vegan category, which is growing, that will become even more important. It should also be said on that vegan category, I think people think it’s here and it’s arrived. I think it has yet to really hit, if that makes sense. I think increasingly it’s going to get bigger and bigger and bigger because actually, if you look at the total category numbers, it’s relatively small compared to something like the meat industry or the milk industry. And fundamentally, I think also on that is that people will also see the need that they will… I don’t think everyone will go vegan. I think people will see the need to have much more of a balanced lifestyle and diet. So rather than having meat every single meal, you’ll maybe all have it four or five meals a week on a…
Speaker 1 (05:57)
Or whenever that is.. Exactly. There’s terms for everything these days, Colm.
Speaker 2 (06:07)
I’m just thinking about your offering, and maybe you’ve thought about this, maybe you haven’t. But you know that with this cleaner image and moving away from the sandwiches and the fizzy drink and even going into the like, alcoholic beverages for accompanying your lunch. Might that be a market that you could tap into with this cleaner image, having one of your hard salsers rather than your pint in your pie?
Speaker 1 (06:32)
Well, it’s an interesting sector you mentioned. I think the food and drink sector is very different. And I think it’s one thing if you’re a drink brand that’s non-alcoholic, going to the food sector and vice versa. But I think the alcohol sector sits on by itself, partly because of the labelling and the responsible drinking elements that come with it. But certainly, there’s a time and a place for a pint and a pie. But at the same time, I think it’ll be a while before we see the food inroads in the pub market, because when you go to the pub, it’s that spoil yourself moment. Now, you might go for a cleaner drink, but you may still want the pie, or maybe you want the pie, you maybe want the the other way around. So you actually have a healthier meal and a less healthy drink.
Speaker 2 (07:30)
I don’t know. I can see long shot accompanying a super salad of some description.
Speaker 1 (07:38)
I think it’s depends on the location and the customers that come with. And we’re fairly open minded that you don’t necessarily have to say, I’m a healthy lifestyle person to have a long shot. You could just want a nice refreshing drink, and that’s fine. And you may also pick it up and say, Do you know what? I really like long shot because it’s low calories, and I’m counting my calories and trying to push myself onto a better diet. That’s also fine, too. You don’t need to find yourself as a category. I think one of the things that’s happened in the past is people get… We’ve seen it with the vegan trend that veganism was brought about such a force It’s just a source of nature. And whilst it’s fantastic that, it’s also alienated people. And a lot of people have been resistant to try it. Actually, in some ways, it was actually, particularly I found myself five years ago when I first tried it. I wasn’t probably so keen on it until I tried it. And then I realised that it’s just like an Italian or a Chinese or something. It’s another area of food and it’s delicious.
Speaker 2 (08:45)
I just been picturing myself sitting in maybe the River Cafe in the Thames there with a nice salad and a glass of beautiful long shot.
Speaker 1 (08:55)
Maybe. I mean, we don’t see… It might be the River Cafe or maybe It might be somewhere that’s less market. It’s wherever you want to drink it, however you want to drink it. It doesn’t have to be straight from the can. It could be a rice or it was part of a cocktail. But yeah, certainly any way you’d like it.
Speaker 2 (09:13)
Yeah, that’s something that I’d like to explore. I can see having tasted it, that it’d be really good as an accompaniment or part of a cocktail rather than an accompaniment part of it. Have you thought about that? Have you looked into that?
Speaker 1 (09:29)
Yeah. I mean, cocktails traditionally have always been quite specialist occasions. They’ve been you’re going out to a bar, maybe you’re meeting with a friend or other half, and you have a cocktail and it’s brand full of alcohol in a couple of them, and it makes you feel better or worse. We’re having a look at that. For us, our suggested way is to drink it straight from the can or over ice. We have made some cocktails, but they’re much, much lighter than your traditional what you might get in a bar. Now, you could add it to a normal style cocktail, adding some juice adding some additional alcohol. But then you’re probably not going to get most of the benefits of just a straight can at long term.
Speaker 2 (10:24)
Okay, so maybe take a little technique, sit at the back on a nice day, just enjoy it either out of the tin or in a glass, as you say.
Speaker 1 (10:33)
Exactly. Exactly, gone. It sounds like you’ve been there before.
Speaker 2 (10:36)
Once or twice, maybe.
Speaker 1 (10:38)
So tell me, I know you’ve touched on whiskey and maybe rum and gin and tequila and stuff.
Speaker 2 (10:46)
Where do you see hard salsas fitting in? Do you see them maybe expanding along with veganism or maybe they’re not linked? What do you think?
Speaker 1 (10:57)
Well, really, as we sit here talking in May 2021, we’ve yet to see hard salsas kick in. Are we in recovery from the pandemic? Are we coming out of the pandemic? I don’t want to speak too soon. I’m touching a wood here. Me too. I think fundamentally, it’s more of a convenience-based drink. I could see it fitting in your local pub, but I think it probably will replace a gin and tonic. I think it could replace a pint. It slightly depends on what your mood is and what you’re in the mood to drink. You might be daytime drinking and want something lighter, less heavy than a pint or a gin, or maybe you’re in the evening and you don’t want that gin and tonic because it’s much more calorific. So you’re going to go for the long shots. I think on the whole, the gin market is probably the biggest one on the inroads. I think everything’s a slight fashion or reinvents itself. I would say that we’ve had our gin phase, and I think it still will be present, but I think increasingly, consumers are choosing different spirits. So things like tequila, things like vodka and whiskey.
Speaker 1 (12:14)
And I think we will see, particularly tequila and rum, will be the big ones over the next few years.
Speaker 2 (12:20)
Yeah, I think I agree with you. I think tequila is going to be a massive player very soon. So maybe you could have a touch of tequila to some of your drinks.
Speaker 1 (12:28)
Well, maybe. I mean, it’s a difficulty What you see is the perception of things like tequila and vodka. Most people’s experience with tequila or vodka is a shot in a dirty nightclub or a shot in a spoon or something. And it’s not so much the That location is usually the thing you end up regressing the next morning, and it’s warm tequila. And actually tequila is a very sophisticated drink. It’s got a great flavour profile, same with vodka. But I think it just has to be drunk properly and responsibly, I might add. Rum has been a bit more on the scene for a while. We’ve had things like Southern Comfort, which is a rum, and obviously that’s quite a lot of sugar in. But I think we’ll see much more of the spiced rums mixed with all sorts of mixes. Maybe that is a long shot. Maybe it’s something else.
Speaker 2 (13:24)
Have you thought about going bigger in terms of the size of the tins?
Speaker 1 (13:30)
Yes. I can’t reveal too much now, but that is in the pipeline.
Speaker 2 (13:34)
Interesting.
Speaker 1 (13:37)
So, yeah, definitely go for a bigger ten. It’s difficult. The smaller ten, we came as an approach as sophistication and not something that, there’s larger tens can be quite a mouthful. So we’re trying to find the right balance. But, yeah, when we get them made, come on, we’ll send you over some.
Speaker 2 (13:58)
Good man. Tell me, have you thought of going down the supermarket route with long shot Hugo?
Speaker 1 (14:06)
So the other supermarket route is in process. We are in discussion with a number of retailers.
Speaker 2 (14:13)
I’m sorry, I’m stealing your thunder here.
Speaker 1 (14:15)
I don’t mean to. No, no, don’t worry. We can’t quite talk about it just yet. I think it’s been a really difficult year for anyone in business, whether it’s supermarkets or not. Just because people have had people queuing their doors doesn’t mean it’s actually necessarily easier to run a business. So they have been quite less taking up new products and new brands. So the past year is what I’ve been doing with Brexit at the pandemic. They’ve had a pretty important role in the pandemic, making sure that everyone’s got their food. And I think we’re starting to see them be really adventurous once again. And certainly we’ve seen that in the inquiries come in to us. Our big thing is actually we’re just signing on with the distributor, which I can talk about. So we’ve signed on with a company called Thomas Ridley, and they’re a fantastic company. They do predominantly food service distribution. So places, everything from things like student unions all the way through to festivals, pop-up, independent cafés, quick service restaurants, hotels. Yeah, a real range. They have a real an amazing range of clients to work with. And so we’re really excited to be working with them.
Speaker 2 (15:36)
And so, yeah, hopefully- Very impressive. Congratulations.
Speaker 1 (15:39)
Thank you. Hopefully long-shot should be coming to a place near you.
Speaker 2 (15:43)
It is. And tell me, just on the marketing front, what’s your plans? How are you going to tell the world about this now?
Speaker 1 (15:51)
Well, it’s funny, you should say the world. There is a few plans for a long shot, a few a bit further afield. Brilliant. But really, we’ve been trying a lot of different marketing. I think a lot of brands, places like pop-ups and festivals will be a big part of our marketing plan for the future. We’ve gone out into social media following, but also keep championing that, keep trying to grow it along with social media advertising. We’d like to do some more offline ads as well, and that’s something that’s part of our plan. A real range a range of stuff that we’d like to try. Brilliant.
Speaker 2 (16:34)
Well, I think what we’ve done in this brief chat has created a new category of what we’re going to call my Clean Drinks. I really like Clean Drinks.
Speaker 1 (16:45)
Well, yeah. I think that whole sector in clean drinking or drinks, whatever that, whether that’s slightly alcoholic or alcohol, I think it’s a sector that’s real to go. And I think when I increasingly speak people around. A lot of people finally go to the pub and they’re pressured into having a drink or two or three. And of course, by the time you’ve had three, it’s downhill from there. And I think increasingly people are looking to go to the pub and maybe they will only have three alcoolic ones and three non-alcoolic ones. And that’s fine and should be socially acceptable.
Speaker 2 (17:20)
Brilliant. Okay, Hugo, look, as usual, thank you so much for chatting. I really enjoyed it. And I have no doubt we’ll hear from you again soon.
Speaker 1 (17:29)
Thank you so much, really appreciate it. You take care.
Speaker 2 (17:32)
And you. See you soon. All the best.