UK drinks company secures UAE contract worth more than Dh20m

Contract will see soft drink appear on shelves in 500 UAE shops

One of the company's co-founders said it was 'really exciting' that the drink will be sold in the UAE. Getty Images

A soft drinks company based in the UK on Wednesday announced it had secured a deal with an importer to see its drinks stocked in the UAE.

Never Felt So Good, based in Cheltenham, produces a “natural recovery drink” which it says is based on a 100 year old Italian family recipe.

The drink, named Overhang, is a preservative-free, natural blend of ginger orange and lime, with other ingredients including milk thistle, burdock, raspberry leaf and vitamins.

The contract, which could be worth as much as £4.29 million (Dh 20.28 million) over five years, will see the drink stocked in 500 shops across the UAE.

NFSG co-founder William Wilkinson said: “The prospect of our treasured family recipe being shipped abroad and enjoyed by people in the UAE for the first time is really exciting.”

But the soft drink entrepreneur said Brexit had caused some worries about exporting the product overseas.

“I will be the first to admit that Brexit played a major role in our initial reservations about exporting,” he said.

“Businesses need to just carry on and utilise the international opportunities because there is no time to waste,” he added.

In the UK, the recovery drink can be found in retailers including Sainsburys, Morrisons, Tesco and ASDA.

Mr Wilkinson said the business idea came to him after he ended up on a boat in Bristol after a night out. In need of revitalisation, he phoned his dad for the family recipe.

Paul Shand, head of trade at the Department of International Trade, said: “There is strong overseas demand for British food and drink, presenting the perfect opportunity for UK producers to capitalise.”