The rise of non-alcoholic beverages is one of the top 10 food tech trends. Entrepreneur Diederick Evers learned this early on from his mom, Bernadette, a Dutch chef who runs a cooking school in Amsterdam.
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The Birth of SAPINCA: A Response to Alcohol-Free Demand
During her workshops and food events, guests started asking if she could serve alcohol-free drinks, but she wasn’t happy with the available options.
This inspired the mom-and-son pair to create SAPINCA, a non-alcoholic beverage brand that also aims to be healthy and powerfully tasty, thanks to exotic ingredients.
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SAPINCA’s Unique Ingredients: A Blend of Exotic and Forgotten
“Sap” means juice in Dutch, but it is the second half of the brand’s name, Inca, that reveals its other favorite ingredients. Besides fruits, SAPINCA drinks contain roots from South America, such as ashwagandha, maca, yacon and tapioca, whose flavors Diederick became fascinated with while traveling around the world.
The duo is also convinced that these “forgotten” ingredients have medicinal properties, and this selling point will resonate with some.
The company even goes one step further by referring to its products as “magical elixirs,” while noting that its name is also a nod to the monarch of the Inca Empire, the Sapa Inca, or “son of the sun.”
Luckily for the Evers, neither “divine” nor “magical” are protected designations. But since this brand positioning has a somewhat niche appeal, the company also makes sure to cater to clients who are more interested in knowing that SAPINCA drinks are vegan and organic, for instance.
The Dutch brand has more down-to-earth arguments on hand, such as its high shelf life, as well as the absence of added sugar — another key concern of consumers these days.
All of this places SAPINCA within a category that includes first mover GIMBER and its ginger-based drinks, which are also available as ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages.
Similarly to its competitor, SAPINCA hopes that its product range including elixirs, RTDs and power foods will be available through multiple channels.
These include direct to consumer (DTC) through SAPINCA’s site, with the advantage of offering delivery across Europe, but with the challenge that prospective clients won’t know what the products taste like. Unless, of course, all they need to know is that the drinks boast a “unique taste sensation and the color and power of the sun.”
Because shelf presence helps a lot, the company is also seeking to grow its B2B sales, both through organic stores and big retailers, where it expects that most of its clients will be women above the age of 35 with an active lifestyle.
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Future Growth: SAPINCA’s Expansion Plans and Investment Opportunities
The dynamic Evers mother-and-son duo also plans to use their participation in SIAL Startup Invest next fall to seek new business and an investor that can help them grow in Europe. After branching out of their home country into Belgium and the Baltics, they more recently expanded into France and Spain, with their eyes set on Bulgaria and Scandinavia in the near future.