DISCOVERING the often questionable ingredients in children’s soft drinks was a revelation to new mother Kelsey Moore when her son was born

“I was horrified,” she admits. “It is so unfair. These drinks are marketed for children, but can be full of really awful things …I’d never create a product I didn’t want to consume myself.”

Self-confessed ‘health addicted foodie’ Kelsey and her husband Alan co-founded drinks company You + I (formerly Clever Kombucha) around three years ago.

The couple were big fans of kombucha, a fermented, lightly effervescent tea made using a SCOBY, a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast, and considered by many to be much healthier than traditional soft drinks.

Eligh

Eligh

“I’m from Canada, and you can get kombucha everywhere there,” she explains. “When Alan and I were travelling, we drank it every day, and when we came back to Scotland, we really missed it.”

Kelsey, who grew up in Vancouver Island, originally trained as a make-up artist. She met Alan, whose background is in business, during his gap year travelling 12 years ago and the couple settled in Glasgow, where they live with five-year-old Eligh and new twins Alder and Evrin.

“Kombucha was so hard to find in Glasgow, hardly anyone had heard of it, so we decided to try making our own,” says Kelsey. “We started with one oak barrel in our top floor flat, and it went really well. Oak gives it a smoothness, compared to brewing it in stainless steel.”

She adds, with a laugh: “There was a lot of learning involved, a lot of research online and a huge amount of trial and error.

“When we first started, we used fresh fruit from local shops like Locavore and Roots and Fruits, but when you scale up, your methods need to change.”

You + I have branched out into botanical teas and barley waters, not to be confused with the stuff your granny used to give you when you were little.

“Barley water is not a new drink at all, it has been around for years and it’s full of dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals,” says Kelsey.

“But we wanted to create something a bit more sophisticated. I think lockdown has made people think a lot more about what they are consuming, and they want to make healthier choices.”

READ MORE: Cooking with Mrs Conetta - 'We should inspire our children to be passionate about food'

The business now employs two full time staff and its taproom is based in the Gorbals railway arches on the south side.

Last year, after giving birth to twins during lockdown, Kelsey ‘took a step back’ from operations, handing over the reins to a new head brewer.

Kelsey and Alan

Kelsey and Alan

“That was something I never imagined I could do,” she admits. “This was my passion. But Fraser is fantastic, he has a great palette.

“Having the twins and a five-year-old at home while running a business is pretty challenging, and it has been tough, keeping things going, and introducing a new product and a rebrand, all during lockdown.”

Kelsey smiles: “But the twins have brought light into our lives, and having all this quality time with Eligh has been amazing.”