Team Luxe Designers is excited to unveil their pick of Fab Female (duo) Entrepreneurs under 30.
Double Dutch Drinks, sells soft drinks developed specifically for pairing with high-quality spirits including gin, whiskey, rum and tequila. The sisters were inspired to launch Double Dutch after they moved to London five years ago to study technology entrepreneurship and found the beverage scene lacking. The Netherlands is the birthplace of gin, they grew up with a big passion for better-quality spirits and better-quality drinks. There was movement in the spirits industry and especially in the gin market, but the tonic waters and mixers were really boring.
As students, Joyce and Raissa made tonic waters for their friends and family, as they felt the current offering of tonics were lacking in taste. Alongside their mixology hobby, both sisters studied a Masters in Technology Entrepreneurship at the University College of London. It was here they first trialed the idea of the Double Dutch concept and was awarded the UCL Bright Ideas Award for the most promising start-up. As a result of this award, the sisters received cash investment, free office space for the year and mentorship. They launched their first products in 2015 and now export a million bottles a month of tonics and mixers to over 25 countries worldwide. Double Dutch is in more than 4,500 bars and restaurants across the UK and distributed by a range of online retailers Double Dutch’s other accolades include Richard Branson’s Virgin Foodpreneur award for most innovative and disruptive food and beverage product in the UK in 2015. The award followed this for Best Adult Soft Drink at the World Beverage Innovation Awards in 2016. In 2019, both Joyce and Raissa featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe Retail and E-commerce List.
They would like to encourage a new generation of entrepreneurs and offer them mentors, as well as vocal male advocates for women in business and vocal female role models that can share how they have taken ideas to grow their own brands. They had a lot of support launching their business and they want to give back by creating a network to help other women grow their brands and businesses. Double Dutch has been putting this aspiration for change into practice. They have recently launched a scholarship and mentoring programme to help support, train and empower aspiring female mixologists. The initiative has been designed to help foster up-and-coming female talent in the form of training, mentoring and financial support.
Apparently, female mixologists are on the rise in the UK!!
The post Meet the twin sisters Joyce and Raissa de Haas, founders of Double Dutch who are spicing up your cocktail mixers. appeared first on Luxe Designers.