The founder of anti-hangover brand Seoul Tonic has revealed the New South Wales-based business is in its ‘expansion phase’ after scoring $250,000 as the joint winner of the first season of Boost Juice founder Janine Allis and Gordan Ramsay’s Food Stars Australia.
Seoul Tonic, a hangover relief tonic created from the native extracts of two Korean Pears and Hovenia Dulcis (oriental raisins), was officially launched by founder Sophie Hood in November 2022.
Within the first year of operation, Hood says she was able to import more than 200,000 units from Korea to Australia to keep up with the demand.
Currently Seoul Tonic only has two part-time employees, a commercial director and a creative director.
After building Seoul Tonic from the ground up, primarily from her garage in Bondi Beach, Hood is now planning to take the brand global, after being featured at Paris Fashion Week and launching into Ireland and New York.
Hood told SmartCompany Seoul Tonic originated from her obsession with Korean culture and preventative East Asian medicine.
“I became hyper-fixated on ingredients grown exclusively in East Asia, that have been scientifically studied to support alcohol recovery, liver detoxification and general wellbeing,” she says.
“Seoul Tonic uses an innovative patented extraction method to extract Korean Pear and Hovenia Dulcis to create a super-powered, liver detoxifying and anti-inflammatory tonic with a formula that exists nowhere else in the world.
”I believe the success has been down to removing my ego and being willing to be an accountant, a sales rep, a delivery driver, and be the face of the brand in the media and on TikTok.
“Transparently, wearing all those hats at the same time is not easy, however I am across every single element of the business which is imperative for a small business to grow. I also believe that being able to pivot quickly and being agile has been instrumental when growing Seoul Tonic.”
Hood says winning a reality TV show, or even being on one, was never originally on the business roadmap.
“But the exposure, media training and connections it has given me has been so pivotal for the business,” she says.
“Spending time with Gordon Ramsay and Janine Allis was a masterclass on how to grow a successful business and personal brand.
“The constant feedback from each of them after every challenge meant that in a one-month filming period, I felt I had learned years’ worth of knowledge.
“If you compare pre- to post-show e-commerce sales, the Seoul Tonic e-commerce site grew by 1000% with a 500% uplift on Amazon.”
There were two winners of the Australian Food Stars, who each won $250,000: Seoul Tonic and First Nations-owned business Blak Brews.
Husband and wife team Troy and Cerisa Benjamin are the founders and operators of Victorian-based Blak Brews, which produces tea using native ingredients.
As well as the funding, Hood also won a year’s worth of mentoring from Janine Allis.
Hood confirmed the $250,000 will predominantly be used to support working capital and cash flow to ensure the business can continue to grow.
“I have bootstrapped the entire business, which is difficult at times, so the money will help fill that gap,” she says.
“The mentoring with Janine Allis is one-on-one in-person catch-ups monthly, which have predominantly taken place on the Northern Beaches of Sydney.
Allis has supported and coached the founder in a number of key areas.
“Some that stick out are around how to have difficult conversations, how to structure your business effectively, including specific contract terms to include, as well as working through some real-life challenging business problems of mine,” says Hood.
“Janine has been very open with sharing her experiences in business — both things that have gone wrong, and I can learn from, and best practice ways of doing things as well as often the hard truths that I need to hear.”
The future is all about international expansion and growing Seoul Tonic’s distribution locally, says Hood.
“I want Seoul Tonic to be in every liquor store, grocer and health food shop,” she says.
“There are a lot of opportunities arising for Seoul Tonic internationally — admittedly most of which have come to me without actively seeking them out.
“I am scaling internationally at a rate I can sustain, and afford for now.”
With the launch into Ireland, a focus on the US rollout next year, continuing conversations with New Zealand and various parts of Asia, and customers in Ireland and the UK being able to order online with products being shipped from a local Irish address, Hood says there are some very exciting things on the horizon.
“But what we have already done within 18 months of launch is launch into cult New York City beauty retailer Senti Senti [and] launch into Ireland via a distributor, as well as back into South Korea through a range of very trendy breweries,” Hood says.
“We collaborated with premium sculptural jewelry brand Charlotte Chesnais as part of their Paris Fashion Week showroom and that was a huge success, with a couple more opportunities arising from that.
“I will continue to bootstrap and see how far I can get with funding these expansions but there will be a time that I will need external help to properly grow and launch into these markets,” she adds.
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