Happy Drinks: alcohol-free with a kick

To make non-alcoholic drinks more exciting, Wind has developed alcohol-free drinks with a kick and a special twist, with names such as Forest Walk 2.0, Pink Paradise or The Battery. Happy Drinks have been developed as an alternative to alcohol at festivals, school parties and the social scene. The official launch took place on 22 June. 

According to Pierre Wind, all Happy Drinks have a kick. This makes them a serious competitor to alcohol. Happy Drinks such as Sex on a Bike, Danger, or KomKommie have ingredients such as chilli peppers, coriander, apple cider vinegar or sweet chilli sauce. The recipes are made available free of charge to bars and restaurants, festival organizers and schools. As Wind says, Happy Drinks is an entirely new product category. It is neither alcohol nor soda; it is alcohol-free with a kick. He believes it is exactly what has been lacking for years on bar and restaurant menus. According to Wind, a clever entrepreneur will be able to probe new markets with Happy Drinks and make a tidy profit. 

During the Pinkpop festival Happy Drinks were served for the first time on a mass scale. They were a great success; in three days more than 10,000 Happy Drinks were served. For the regional GGD health and addiction services, 40 small mobile bars have been designed for use in at locations where youngsters aged between 16 and 18 gather to party. The mobile bars can also be deployed to inform parents and young people about 'Saying No to alcohol before 16'.

On 22 June the website happydrinks.nl was also launched, where all Pierre Wind's Happy Drink recipes can be downloaded, as well as various materials for the catering industry or for those in charge of school parties, who want to adopt Happy Drinks.

Happy Drinks forms part of the youth campaign to promote resistance towards drinking, smoking and cannabis use: ' More fun with self-control'.

More information: Marjan Heuving