Livingston-based, gut-friendly start-up Fodilicious dives into energy drinks market

Livingston-based food start-up Fodilicious, whose offering is created to boost gut health and help those with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), is now aiming to make a splash with a range of energy drinks.

Lauren Leisk says she founded the business to help the one in five people across the UK suffering from IBS and following a low “FODMAP” diet that restricts certain hard-to-digest carbohydrates, by providing all-natural, healthy, better-for-you products suitable for their dietary requirements, and positioned in the fast-growing “free-from” and gut health sector.

Ms Leisk says that after months of product-development with support from the Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, from which the entrepreneur graduated in 2016, Fodilicious has launched its Energy Infusion Waters that it says are a first globally for being low-FODMAP certified, IBS-friendly natural energy drinks, and are also vegan, plant-based, and contain no sugar, caffeine, or calories.

The drinks are the latest product range developed by Fodilicious, joining its Cookie Buttons snacks, and its Breakfast Granola range that debuted earlier this year. It says all the products are the first of their kind in the UK to be low-FODMAP certified for IBS, free from gluten and allergens, 100 per cent natural and vegan.

The company has already scooped awards including start-up funding competition Scottish EDGE, as well as being part of the Scottish Government’s Unlocking Ambition agenda for high-growth businesses, and it is already exporting, flagging the US and Canada as key markets.

Regarding the new energy drinks, the firm’s MD Ms Leisk said: “As an IBS sufferer, I knew how challenging it was to find energy drinks that are safe for IBS. Feeling ‘sluggish’ is a huge symptom of IBS, and finding an energy boost can be challenging when caffeine is not allowed. Even common vitamin drinks on the market contain high quantities of fruit juice concentrate, which can trigger symptoms and are not IBS-friendly.

“We’re super-excited to bring our brand new Energy Infusion Waters range to the IBS, gut health, and health-conscious market. With three flavours to choose from, packed with energising B vitamins and a unique infusion of antioxidant ingredients, we can’t wait to grow our sales and distribution of this range in order to help those with IBS easily source our products within Scotland, UK and worldwide”.