© Mikko Eevert
The hangover drink developed by a Finnish company is also entering the EU market, according to Health Hack Labs Oy, which manufactures the drink.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has also approved an antioxidant used as a raw material for a hangover drink for food use in the EU. Sales of the beverage developed by the Finnish company have already started in the USA and will soon start in Russia as well.
The active ingredient in the bark of the Japanese raisin tree
Health Hack Labs Oy, which manufactures the beverage, is told that the beverage has not previously entered the EU market because it is completely new. One of the active ingredients in the drink is dihydromyrisetin, an antioxidant extracted from the bark of the Japanese raisin tree, hoveia dulcis, which has not previously been authorized for food use in the EU.
– Unfortunately, the approval process took us more than 1.5 years, says John Niemi, Chairman of the Board of Health Hack Labs Oy.
Following the current EFSA approval decision, the use of dihydromyrisetin in food is still subject to final approval by the European Union. Niemi says that similar processes have taken an average of 3-6 months
– After that, we will also be able to sell the product within the EU, Niemi says.
The product development of the hangover drink Fixu Drink originally started in 2018. It is a drinking shot that is consumed during or immediately after the consumption of alcohol.
Due to the EU sales restriction, sales had to be launched first in the USA and Russia. In the U.S., Fixu Drink is seeking funding for its Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, which ends Aug. 12.
─ Through the crowdfunding campaign, we have generated sales revenue but also found customers and partners interested in the product. According to a user survey this summer, 91.7 percent of those who have tried the drink say it has worked as promised, Niemi says.