01:17 What is Seoul Tonic

I’m Sophie Hood. I founded Seoul Tonic which is a tonic using Korean pear and hovenia dulcis which are East Asian native ingredients that have been scientifically proven for many many years to help alcohol metabolism, general well-being and liver detoxification. I became obsessed with South Korea and noticed this well, to be fair I was obsessed with the fashion and the skincare first, but I was obsessed with what else they were doing. I couldn’t find a brand that I aligned to in Australia so I decided to create my own and that is Seoul Tonic.

03:12 From consulting to LVMH to Red Bull

I started with a rotational graduate program at a Big Four consulting firm. I was there for three years. I hated the work, but the relationships I formed are probably second to none. Then I managed to get a job at Moet Hennessy. I recreated my resume to suit the job and just hoped for the best. Interviewing is my thing. That role taught me so much about brand storytelling.

After eighteen months at LVMH I was poached to Red Bull. Red Bull is something else. You are not working for a product, you are working for a brand, you are working for a potential experience. Red Bull even has something called Wings Sessions where they give you paid leave to go and pursue your passion project. I went to Korea both years using Wings Sessions. That is when I became obsessed with Korean culture.

06:29 Creating the product and finding a manufacturer during COVID

My drink uses two ingredients that have been scientifically proven to reduce hangover symptoms when consumed prior to alcohol. They reduce acetaldehyde, the toxin you build up when you drink. In Korea, two-thirds of the population drink something before they drink alcohol. It is like brushing their teeth.

Finding the right manufacturer was the hardest part. I got scammed once. I eventually went through KOTRA, the Korean International Trade Association, submitted my business plan and they gave me a translator and started arranging meetings with the right manufacturers. Sampling happened through DHL for months during COVID. Almost a year of sampling to get the recipe right.

15:59 Winning Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars

Competing on Food Stars was a turning point for distribution and national awareness. When capital is limited, earned media and visibility platforms do the work that advertising cannot. The win opened conversations with retailers that had previously been very difficult to get in front of. It validated the product to a broad Australian consumer audience.

21:04 International expansion and bootstrapping

Seoul Tonic is expanding into international markets. The brand has been fully bootstrapped. Sophie has maintained full equity. Not taking on investors means she controls the product direction, the ingredients, and how international expansion is sequenced. She is also developing a second product for post-drinking recovery to complement the existing pre-drinking tonic.

30:26 Future plans

Seoul Tonic’s future is about two things: expanding the core product into new markets and launching the post-drinking recovery tonic to create a full lifecycle product for consumers. Prevention is the product category with the most headroom, and Sophie sees Seoul Tonic sitting at the intersection of wellness and social culture rather than in either category alone.