Portrush: home of the Aloe Vera drink

A Portrush man has launched a pioneering new soft drink for the UK market - made from aloe vera!

The green bottled Aloe Vera drink can now be seen in shops across Northern Ireland and is the brainchild of Chris Martin, Managing Director of the Natural Import Company.

Chris decided to tap into the global drinks industry after having worked for the British Consulate in Amsterdam for the past three years.

“While I was in Holland I saw aloe vera soft drinks introduced to the market and after three years the Dutch versions of Tesco, Asda etc stocked the product, which got me thinking,” he told The Coleraine Times.

“I researched to find out if the U.K or Ireland had these drinks and when I realised they didn’t I found my own manufacturer, created and began my own company, set it up in Portrush and began trading when my first container arrived at the beginning of August.

“I have created the market here and work closely with many Northern Ireland businesses. I have also just been taken on by Invest N.I, becoming one of the first ever businesses that imports goods from outside NI that has been deemed worthy of their full support, largely because we have such a strong Northern Ireland identity.”

Although new to the Province, aloe vera drinks have been selling all over the world for the past decade in places such as Europe, the Amercas and Canada.

“This totally unique, refreshing, delicious drink has sales fgures in the billions,” says Chris.

“We have chosen our supplier in Thailand because of the quality of the product and how it is manufactured, as well as the high levels of consistency made possible by the effcient management of the factory.

“Every aloe vera plant used in our drink has been grown for at least one year before it is harvested. The transformation from plant to drink happens only hours from the farm itself.

“This guarantees we get the most consistent, high quality product possible with a favour unrivalled by any other company across the world.

“Our aloe vera drink has no added colours, preservatives or fat and it contains real pieces of aloe vera. It is a product with massive potential in the U.K soft drinks market.

“Our taste tests show that 87% of people prefer our aloe vera drink to any other on the world market - a very positive result for our fagship product.

“There is nothing else on the world market that tastes like an aloe vera drink - kids as well as adults seem to really like the taste.”

For more information on NIC’s Aloe Vera drink contact Chris Martin at [email protected] or call 07879674333