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Kin Brings Wellness To Non-Boozy Nightlife Through Euphoric Beverages

by Rudy Sanchez on 07/25/2019 | 4 Minute Read

While many millennials are cutting back on alcohol, it doesn’t mean they aren’t looking for some of the positive effects of boozy libations like loosened inhibitions or the sense of calm that might wash over you when you crack open a beer.

Of course, that’s not without health consequences. According to one recent study, even a single alcoholic beverage a day can increase your risk of getting cancer or some other noteworthy disease.

While working in the wellness and hospitality industry, Jen Batchelor, founder and CEO of Kin Euphorics, noticed that the concept of “wellness” was being commoditized carelessly, focusing on selling extreme diets and detoxing while rewarding bad behavior and creating an unsustainable lifestyle.

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This observation led Jen to develop Kin, a beverage that provides the things people like about drinking without all the negative consequences.

“I would watch people work so hard to keep a balanced and healthy lifestyle throughout their workweek, only to throw away all their progress over the weekend and restart their 'detox' on Monday," Batchelor says.

"Eventually, that cycle made me realize you need to meet people where they are, and they also need something sustainable to aspire to," she adds. "At the bar, that meant a more sophisticated drink option for their end-of-day and start-of-weekend social scenarios, one that could reduce stress and offer the warm and buzzy feeling of their favorite adult beverage of the more intoxicating variety."

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Recreating the buzz of booze was not an easy path, but Batchelor was confident that the right mix of herbs and nootropics, a class of supplements that are purported to enhance cognitive brain function, would do the trick.

While the herbs and supplements found in Kin have been available in pills or 2oz shooters for some time, Batchelor says she faced a reluctant industry, one that thought patrons wouldn’t drink vitamins at the bar.

“When we launched, people came out of the woodwork to try it,” Batchelor says. “Ultimately, there were a lot of polarizing assumptions and preconceived notions around how our habits were dramatically shifting when it comes to socializing and general well-being, which scared people away from even trying.”

“But until we came on the scene,” Batchelor adds, “there wasn’t a beverage maker around who was equipped or willing to fill ingredients like these in glass bottles. It took a lot of convincing, research, and relationship building to get Kin out into the world the way we did.”

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According to Batchelor, the belief that we are moving into a new age of conscious consumers inspired the brand language and design. That was why Batchelor set her sights design agency RoAndCo to help create the branding and gorgeous packaging. The Kin ready-to-drink Spritz emits a warm glow and hints at the feeling of euphoria held within while High Rhode has a minimally-pleasing design and wouldn’t look out of place on your bar cart. Plus, Jen says that Kin’s packaging contains only 5% plastic, all of which is in the antimicrobial caps and safety seals.

Of course, Kin Euphorics isn’t the only “alt-ohol” on the market—Heineken recently launched a 0% ABV version, Lagunitas created a THC brew, there's CBD sparkling water galore and even distilled, non-alcoholic spirits.

“We’re complex people, and we should have literally thousands of reasons to get up, get out and just be together,” she says. “So for each of those, we will craft a euphoric to deliver a function and a flavor you can feel good about choosing.” Ultimately, Kin wants to provide a beverage for every social occasion and person, not just provide a functional alternative to alcohol. Kin sought to create a nightlife that is fueled by conscious connection instead of intoxication. Instead of initial euphoria followed by progressively worse states of inebriation ending in a hangover, Kin wants customers to find a healthier way to alter their mood.

“It’s a world where we can seek and achieve pleasure in the moment, whatever that means to you, by first reaching homeostasis, and then going where you want to go from that place,” Batchelor adds.

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Indeed, there is a world of herbal and nootropic supplements that can be blended into a functional, mood-altering beverage. Some nootropics, whether synthetic or natural, are mood modifiers, such as L-Theanine; others, like caffeine, will boost energy. Some claim to improve brain functions like critical thinking and memory like ginseng and ginkgo biloba, and that's not to mention all of the other synergistic “stacks” of different supplements.

It’s euphoria without all the vomit and regret.

This approach to specialized wellness drinks based on an individual or activity is akin to the modern cannabis market, where brands and cultivators breed specialized strains and isolate and extract particular cannabinoids to produce a marijuana-based product tailored for a specific effect or activity.

If alcohol consumption's downtrends continue, we might just be toasting with a euphoric drink instead of booze in the not-too-distant-future.