Ellie Webb

Mindful drinking advocate, founder of Caleño Drinks & host of ‘The Joyful Drinker’ podcast

Ellie Webb is a Mindful Drinking Advocate, founder of Caleño Drinks and host of ‘The Joyful Drinker’ podcast.

She is one of only a few solo female founders in the No & Low drinks category in the UK, having launched her tropical non-alcoholic spirits brand, Caleño 4 years ago.

Caleño is a range of tropical non-alcoholic spirits inspired by the sun-drenched flavours of Colombia - Ellie's homeland. It’s now stocked in most major retailers across the UK and more recently, available in Europe and the USA too.

Ellie is an active Mindful Drinking Advocate, speaking at events around the country and hosting her own podcast, 'The Joyful Drinker', where she discusses the moderation drinking movement with special guests.

BACKGROUND:
The lightbulb moment came when Ellie was doing Dry January and went out dancing with friends. She was disappointed by the lack of choice on offer when it came to grown-up non-alcoholic drinks and realised there wasn’t anything accessible that suited her lifestyle or reflected her sense of adventure when it came to drinks.

Ellie worked on her idea for a new non-alcoholic spirit for two years before quitting her day job, during which time she explored and experimented with different botanicals in her kitchen and took a trip back to Colombia for more inspiration and research.

The word ‘Caleño’ means ‘of Cali’, the Colombian city where Ellie’s mum is from, a place famous for its salsa dancing, cuisine, and culture. Colourful Colombian towns like Cartagena and Guatape provided inspiration for Caleño’s distinctive bottle designs.

Finally in 2018, at age 27, she decided to take the plunge. She left to set up the business. In 2019, shortly after launching, Caleño landed a major national listing in nearly 500 stores, which was the major turning point. Suddenly having the support of one of the big supermarkets made people sit up and take notice of the no-and-low alcohol category.

Since then, the brand has gone from strength to strength, and it’s now the second fastest growing independent non-alcoholic brand in the UK, and now sold in Sainsbury's, Waitrose M&S, and Ocado as well as thousands of bars and restaurants, nationally.

“We’re on a mission to create more moments of JOY and change people’s perceptions of what it means to not drink,” says Ellie. “Just because you’re not drinking alcohol, it doesn’t mean you can’t have fun and enjoy a delicious drink!”

KEY TOPICS:
- Mindful Drinking
- Health & Wellness
- Women in business
- The benefits of living a healthier lifestyle
- Reducing alcohol consumption

Keep up with Ellie on Instagram: @TheJoyfulDrinker
Find out more about Caleño: www.calenodrinks.com

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