Q&A
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - LIFESTYLY DRINKS IN AN INTERVIEW
Michael Brandt, Kees van Tol and Kai Rebhan founded Lifestyle Drinks GmbH in 2015. With great expertise and just as much enthusiasm, the three entrepreneurs sell non-alcoholic premium and functional drinks as well as exotic spirits to customers all over the world who appreciate something special.
Anyone who loves lifestyle and functional premium drinks cannot ignore “Lifestyle Drinks”. Why is that?
Quite simply because we are the provider with the broadest and, above all, most exciting portfolio. We fill a vacuum: with us, customers can already find 40 international brands with around 250 products, most of which they would otherwise never have known. These are niche products - we are not interested in the mainstream. And in the not too distant future we will be presenting 100 brands with 1000 products - we promise!
When can a drink join your “Lifestyle Drinks”?
We have several glasses to choose from: We are primarily looking for high-quality products with a great taste. In addition, there should be great packaging that meets our ecological standards. And last but not least, we are looking for people with whom we can work well and have fun. Those who score with real innovations are not always the big ones, but often the small ones.
Where are you looking for news?
On the Internet, at trade fairs, while traveling - we are definitely something like truffle pigs in a market that is constantly on the move. Many new trends come from the USA and also from Great Britain, with London as the hub. Unfortunately, Germany is several years ago here! Other nations are much more open-minded because they are not primarily concerned with quenching thirst. Nevertheless - the premium water types are definitely among our bestsellers. Water as a healthy basis for any diet.
But your customers also come from Germany?
Also, but not only. Our company is perfect in the sector called “omnichannel distribution”. We sell 360 °, so to speak - to end customers as well as to wholesalers and importers based on another continent. Online and offline. We develop trends further or set them ourselves.
Which trends are currently important?
Only fruit is 90s, coconut water has long been mainstream - what inspires us are new types of performance drinks and coffee drinks that play with extremely unusual mixtures. The many alternative types of milk on the market also still have some development potential. Seedlip, the first non-alcoholic spirit, has particularly hit the market.
What about making your own drinks?
The nucleus of lifestyle drinks is, so to speak, our own beauty drink OCÓO, which shortly after its launch in 2011 won all industry and design awards as the best functional drink. Now our red beauty berry mix is brand new in a deposit-free glass bottle with a sexy design, and we are currently conquering the Arab market with it. Since we now have a lot of expertise, we are sure that in three years there will be ten of our own products in the overall range.
Why is aloe vera drink Allure of the disciplined type and the Puerto Matea by those who value harmony?
Target group research is no longer just about socio-demographic groups, but much more about brain research - keyword “neuromarketing”.
There are certain motives and values that are deeply anchored in people. The subconscious has a lot to do with our purchase decision, and so we have defined various target groups or keywords for our platform lifestyle-drinks.online, to which we can coordinate our products and communication so that the customer can find his new favorite products even though he has them don't even know.
What do you particularly like about your job?
We get bored quickly. However, through lifestyle drinks we are constantly dealing with innovations and exciting people. We also see ourselves as an incubator: as a kind of business angel, we want to promote young talent and help them develop their ideas and bring them to market. Almost everyone fails because of this.
About the founders of Lifestyle Drinks
Michael Brandt (63) - The strategist
In the last 40 years he has worked in all areas involving food and drinks: gastronomy, major events, production and sales. First as a manager in medium-sized companies and in international industry, since 2001 as an entrepreneur.
Kees van Tol (53) - The diplomat
Due to his multilingualism and Dutch roots, he is at home all over the world. Briefly employed in trading, since 1998 he has expanded the convenience company named after him to great market importance in the Netherlands and Europe and has been working on various projects since 2004
Kai Rebhan (38) - the hands-on creative
As a trained media designer, he can implement a lot of creative things in the company himself, which saves money and above all time! Young and dynamic, he also had the idea for the first OCÓO beauty drink in 2010, and has been an entrepreneur with his two partners ever since.