For those who don’t immediately feel like a glass of alcohol or don’t want a hangover the next day, there’s The Mocktail Club. The first Belgian brand for ready-to-serve mocktails. From your home to a starred restaurant. In 2021 the Claessens sisters mix, shake and blend more than 11,000 litres of mocktails per month. The mocktails are prepared with fresh fruit and herbs in their own workshop. Eight different flavours. One by one premium, alcohol-free aperitifs with an eye for quality. Pleased to meet you Marie & Kaat!
From LEFT TO RIGHT: MARIE CLAESSENS AND KAAT CLAESSENS
“There are surprisingly few good alternatives to alcoholic drinks. Those who do not drink alcohol quickly end up with a glass of soft drink or fruit juice in their hands, and that is such a shame. More than ever, people are consciously concerned about their health. We consciously respond to that by offering them high-quality, alcohol-free, healthy aperitifs.”
– Marie Claessens
Could you briefly explain the history of your business?
Marie discovered at eighteen that she was intolerant of alcohol. What she first considered a minor drama, she soon turned into something positive. In 2015 she started a blog where she shared recipes and inspiration. We were increasingly asked if these mocktails were also for sale and spontaneously our blog grew into a webshop. She also served mocktails at many events. In 2017 we bottled the first bottle and The Mocktail Club grew into a real business. A year later Marie was chosen as the most promising entrepreneur of East Flanders. In 2019, Kaat came on board because Marie could no longer manage on her own. Now we are in a lot of nice shops and restaurants, including some star shops.
How did you experience your personal course?
We are still young so our professional track record is very short. Marie started her blog during her student days and thus started as a student entrepreneur, right out of school into entrepreneurship. After her studies, Kaat worked at a production house that makes various TV programmes. She was looking for a new challenge and joined The Mocktail Club. Marie has also developed the recipe for the official mocktail for Tournée Minérale four years in a row!
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Kaat, who or what have you learned the most from?
Entrepreneurship is in our blood. Hard work and perseverance is something we inherited from our parents. They always took us with them wherever we went, which gave us a lot of knowledge. They regularly took us to fantastic restaurants, so now it’s no problem for us to go in and propose our mocktails. Seeking creative solutions to problems is a must in entrepreneurship and we’ve seen that happen many times at home.
What would you not do again?
Trying to wait too long to outsource something. As a result, you can’t work on your business but are mainly working in your business. We have done the production ourselves for a long time, from pressing the limes to labelling the bottles. It is not easy to find a good partner to outsource the tasks of your business but, the search is more than worth it!
Which achievement are you most proud of?
It’s always a boost when a good chef is enthusiastic about our mocktails. It’s nice to get recognition from people with knowledge of the trade.
Marie and Kaat, I have one last question for you. What is your big next goal – business and/or private?
We would very much like to expand beyond the Belgian borders with The Mocktail Club. We are going to fully dedicate ourselves to this in the coming years.
Thank you Marie & Kaat and good luck with everything!
All information about The Mocktail Club can be found here: Website The Mocktail Club
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