Apple Cider Vinegar: Your Daily Ritual

Interview With JOMO Club X ACV Drinks

As we all take a closer look at what we are consuming, from the ingredients in our food and drinks, to how our daily rituals impact our mental and physical wellbeing, there has been a closer spotlight on apple cider vinegar. JOMO Club included ACV's Sparkling Apple Cider Vinegar Lemon & Mint drink in the May Spring box. 

Perfect for a gut friendly, lemon twist on a Mojito.

Q: Welcome for the very first time to our monthly box. Can we start with an introduction to ACV Drinks? 

Hi, I’m Salka, and we’re Apeal Wörld ACV, a UK Organics company inspired by the health benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar, probiotics and glucose regulation and a way to make the vinegar hack delicious.

Q: What was the passion and inspiration behind ACV Drinks?

We wanted to make a daily dose easy and great tasting, cutting through vinegar with clean label, all natural ingredients and no sugars. We have three flavours, DEFENCE with ACV and Ginger, METABOLISM with ACV, cinnamon, clove and vanilla and ACTIVATE with Lemon and mint

Q: Why did you decide to use Apple Cider Vinegar in your drinks range?

Apple Cider Vinegar was integral in both our lives. I took it daily diluted in water, my husband took in supplement form. The benefits being probiotics help keep energy and curb cravings. The taste was the only drawback, it’s not for everyone; so we aimed to make the vinegar hack delicious, easy and accessible without the faff of morning preparations. There was nothing else on the market, so we wanted to fill the gap with something we loved. We were primarily interested in the glucose regulation, something that can level out spikes after carb and starch heavy meals and help keep energy and avoid crashes after eating and exercise.

Q: What exactly is gut health and should we all be paying close attention to it? 

We need to look after the live microbiome in the gut, maintaining diversity to keep a healthy digestive system. The gut brain barrier is something vital to our balance, performance and mental health. Some top tips. Eat diverse produce, fibre, fresh veg & seeds, pre & probiotics. Try to add fermented foods into your diet: ACV, Kefir, Kimchi & Kombucha. Minimise sugars and prioritise protein.

Q: Why was it important to ensure your drinks were without sugars?

Sugar, even fruit sugars, induce spikes that lead to inflammation in the body, the root cause of many diseases. The immediate effect of sugar, such as low moods, fatigue, cravings and brain fog are also linked with glucose spikes. Organic certification and the cost of ingredients are a hard problem to solve in any volume product. This was a non-negotiable for us however, as chemical free ingredients and no sugars was the only way we could ensure the effects of the ACV remained authentic

We wanted a great tasting drink the body could metabolise without spikes and crashes; typical of brands that try and hide the taste of vinegar with fruit, sugar and complicated flavourings. We do believe in organic farming and supporting UK producers, although until scaled we all pay the price – I think it’s worth it.

Q: Today, we have Activate. What can you tell us about this drink and what is your favourite way and setting to enjoy it? 

This is the most summery flavour bursting with Lemon and mint cutting through the vinegar brilliantly. The balance of Organic lemon juice (not from concentrate) and lemon oil, with a distinctive fresh garden mint aftertaste, makes this a sunny well-balanced and seriously refreshing flavour profile. I like to drink it ice cold, and if I’m not on the go, in a champagne glass with some extra mint.

Q: Have you ever used it in a cocktail and can you share your favourite one with us?

Yes, I have used Campari with ACTIVATE and it was delicious, especially if you are a Campari and soda person. Enjoy with an alcohol-free aperitif such as Wilfred’s Aperitif, Pentire Coastal or Rebels Spritz to make something similar. Any non-alc gin works well with all three flavours. Lemon and Mint with Almave Blanco (non-alc tequila) and a fresh lime works too. The taste is fortunately sophisticated enough to have with or without a spirit, whatever the occasion.

Q: Since your launch, how have you seen the drinks landscape change, especially when looking at functional/natural drinks?

What do you expect the next year has in store? We are two years in come May and yes, even in our short time on the market we have seen changes. There is a movement towards clean label products. Consumer awareness of wellness, hinged no doubt by a saturation of content and influencers, is creating an abundance of useful health hacks. The interest in alternatives to conventional ingredients is also exposing the reality of over processed foods and health implications of sugar and more traditional soft drinks. The functional drinks market seems to be booming now, the only issue is fridge sizes and what is going to be displaced to make way for it.