Have you ever heard of fermented soft drinks? We at RGmania, and the blog RGLife, we are always looking for new trends in the world of drinking-well, and that's why today we want to offer you a story about the future, rebirth, and the vanguard. What does this have to do with enology? We explain it to you below, in theinterview we conducted with company contributors Feral Drinks.
Let's start with the origins: how did you decide on your name?
It was a personal decision by Madda. Maddalena Zanoni, our founder, was born in Trento, where, however, she stayed very little: after her studies between Milan and Barcelona, with a subsequent career between Milan and Brussels as a manager in large multinationals, she went back to her origins, working for two months in a mountain hut in the middle of nowhere in Val di Non. The premise, the thought from which this project originated was: how to combine a market need with wanting to enhance forgotten vegetables, spices, roots, woods? This is how Feral was born. From an intuition, of course, but also from a kind of impatience: in a gastronomic world where everything seems composed and Instagrammable, I wanted something that arrived crooked, wild, a little off-axis. Madda found herself at a time in her life when she really felt feral, the so-called 30-year crisis where you want to break free from what you are or are becoming, and take another road full of freedom and difficulties, but definitely freer and wilder, precisely. Hence the name FERAL, which in English means return to the wild state after a period in captivity.
How did the project come about?
It all started with a question: what if there was a nonalcoholic drink that was not yet another sad alternative? We wanted to create something that was inclusive, curious, surprising. A drink that said, "You can be at the table, enjoy it, without alcohol, without compromise." The protagonist? The beet, a product of the earth snubbed by almost everyone. We took it, pampered it with fine botanicals, fermented it with maniacal care. The result? A unique drink that does not imitate alcohol, but defies it. In strokes of aroma, depth and style.
How is a bottle of Feral created?
With patience, testing, love, and a pinch of 'good' madness. It starts with ingredients chosen with surgical care, goes through beet fermentation (our beating heart), and then infuses with botanicals, spices, roots, woods. Each element is treated with Zen-like respect, but with scientifically tough methods. The result? A grown-up, complex drink with layers upon layers of flavor. To be sipped with slowness or awe. Or both.
Why beet in particular?
Because it is the ingredient that everyone looks askance at. The 'dirty', forgotten one that leaves your hands red. And those are precisely the reasons why we love it. We wanted to give back a voice to the excluded in the garden. And the beet responded to us with all its intensity. It will not always star in our future recipes, but the spirit remains: to give a second life to nature's outsiders.
We have noticed that you have also expanded outside Europe: which country is most receptive and sensitive to your product to date? What is the target customer base that chooses Feral the most?
Definitely the most receptive country in terms of numbers is Italy, which is our biggest market, followed by the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. In general the northern countries show a lot of interest in this type of product, certainly in Italy it is growing a lot and being an Italian start-up we are getting a lot of support, more than we expected, but as a mentality that of northern Europe is addressed to this market much more than ours. The target audience varies a lot from country to country, but generally from 35 years old and up, but also people who care about their health and choose for various reasons not to consume alcohol, pregnant women, but above all, curious people in gastronomy, chefs and innovators. We sell to both individuals and the horeca sector.
What are your plans for the future?
We definitely have big dreams, we would like to become a big business but without necessarily entering the large-scale retail sector. Feral drinks are gastronomic, suitable for the horeca world or the end consumer.
Have you encountered 'prejudices' regarding the launch of an alcohol-free product?
Regarding the launch of an alcohol-free product there are many prejudices but above all there is a lot of curiosity and innovation, so we do not see too much difficulty because we perceive that the market is really changing; of course we do not want to replace the wine world, it is not our job. Above all, we think they are two realities that can continue to coexist, sharing only the moment of consumption, but one can exist alongside the other quietly.
Now let's talk about the tasting. When you offer a tasting, is there a 'ritual' you follow for pouring and serving?
The glasses are the same in the wine world, white and red, with the difference also for the one dedicated to the bubble. In tasting we usually have an order, based on the profile and tasting note of each product: 5, 1,2,4,3: in this way, no product covers the taste notes of the other. We keep #3 at the end because it is the most full-bodied, with thyme and black pepper, while #5, our latest creation, an ancestral fermentation bubble, is definitely the most citric and fresh, suitable for aperitif time.
