Innovator Paul puts healthy fizz in moves to tackle nation’s fibre crisis
PAUL McCreery, the founder of a recent start-up enterprise, is aiming to help solve a current health problem with an innovative fizzy drink.
A Go Succeed NI client, innovator Paul launched Fibre UP in Belfast to help address the nation’s fibre crisis. Paul also received significant support from InnovateUK, a body which assists entrepreneurial activity, and is a winner of its Young Innovators Award.
“There’s a fibre crisis and not enough people are talking about it. Only one in 10 of us is getting enough fibre in our diet. Fibre is one of the most powerful tools we have for better health – supporting digestion, balancing blood sugar, lowering cholesterol and reducing the risk of chronic diseases like heart conditions and type 2 diabetes,” explains Paul, a keen sports fan and coach.
Government guidelines say our dietary fibre intake should increase to 30g a day as part of a healthy and balanced diet. As most adults are only eating an average of about 20g day, there is an accepted need to find ways of increasing our intake of fibres, often referred to as roughage.
A former management consultant in London and graduate of the University of Nottingham, Paul founded Funki Drinks in 2023 “out of equal parts curiosity and concern” on his return to Northern Ireland.
Fibre UP carbonated drinks are the outcome of that initiative and of expert support from Quadram Institute in Norwich on product development.
“As someone passionate about health and nutrition, I kept seeing the same problem: fibre was overlooked, undervalued and heavily under-consumed,” he adds.
So, he got to thinking about how to make fibre easy, effortless and most importantly, enjoyable for everyone to consume every day.
Fibre UP was born from this thought process.
“We developed our drinks to contain half of the recommended daily fibre intact,” he continues. “They are made with natural ingredients and do not contain added sweeteners,” adds Paul.
After extensive research into ingredients and flavours, the 250ml carbonated cans feature natural tasty flavours such as raspberry lemonade, mango and passionfruit, and apple and elderflower.