Trip was initially known as a CBD brand: but its since evolved and broadened its focus into a wider positioning around mental health and calm. And that strategy’s paid off: it’s the top selling drink on TikTok; the sixth largest carbonated drinks company in the UK, and a rising superstar in the US.
Crowned as The Beverage Forum’s ‘Brand on Fire’ Europe edition, Trip has attracted an impressive list of celebrity backers and ambassadors: including Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s fund EQS, Ashley Graham, Millie Mackintosh, Estee Lalonde, Kori Sampson, Roman Kemp, Georgia Toffolo, Sophie Haboo, Grace Beverley and Paul Wesley.
But success hasn’t just come off the back of TikTok videos. Trip’s ascent has been much more complex: it’s been about identifying the top trends and riding that wave; and creating a brand that’s about a need state and not just an ingredient.
It’s also been a case of finding the right partnerships and understanding what consumers want – and then delivering.
Where it all began
Trip was founded in 2019 by Olivia Ferdi and Daniel Khoury. It came out of a personal crisis: just weeks before the duo were due to get married, Daniel was injured playing football. He turned to CBD and was inspired by the results: the pair then quit their careers in law to create their beverage brand.
But today the brand’s key focus is around promoting ‘a little bit of calm in everyday chaos’. Its portfolio now includes CBD drinks (15mg CBD), Magnesium drinks, powders, gummies and more.
Its Mindful Blend, launched in 2024, is formulated with Lion’s Mane (100mg), Magnesium (120mg), and Ashwagandha (100mg). Flavors include Cucumber Mint, Blood Orange Rosemary, Elderflower Mint and Raspberry Orange Blossom.
There’s no CBD in these drinks: it’s the idea of calm that’s now central to the brand.
“We talk about everyday chaos, and everybody’s experience of chaos is very personal and very different,” said Olivia Ferdi, speaking at The Beverage Forum Europe.
“I think a big part of how we built the brand is we never preach one type of calm, or one type of experience. Your night is different to my night. I think that’s really important when we’re talking about stress and mental well-being.
“So it’s about staying close to the customer, and understanding their evolving needs of stress.”
The product’s branding is part of that: designed to ‘translate that feeling of calm without having to shout about it’ with its pastel cues and calming look.
A key move in 2025 has been the launch of its partnership with Calm: an award-winning app created to help people sleep better, stress less and live for mindfully with guided meditations, sleep stories and more.
People who buy a can of Trip can use the dedicated code to get three complimentary months on Calm.
This first-of-its-kind collab aligns the missions of the two brands.
‘We’re riding two waves... and Trip is a pretty good surfer’
Shortly after Trip’s launch, the pandemic hit. But this was a time when people were looking for calm, and the brand turned this crisis into an opportunity.
But it’s also been about looking at the macro-trends in the industry and responding accordingly.
“Trip sits at the intersection of two main trends: the better-for-you one, where people are replacing sodas and beverages with healthier alternatives, less sugar, some functionality,” explained Khoury. “And on the other side, you have the alcohol reduction trend.”
What the brand has done is found a way to tap into both of these key trends with a drink that offers a better-for-you product; but also one that can replace alcohol with ‘something to take the edge off’.
“It’s amazing to have to two big waves like that… and for that, you need to have a good surfer – and I believe Trip is a pretty good surfer,” said Khoury. “It is very much about navigating both sides of these blurred lines between better-for-you, and reduction in alcohol.”
In better-for-you drinks, Trip’s functional ingredients are a key selling point.
In alcohol-free, analogues (think alcohol-free beer, alcohol-free wine, alcohol-free spirits) dominate the market for those seeking to moderate consumption: but Trip is carving out the position for soft drinks (not least as the official soft drink for Dry January in 2024).
Trip has turned these blurred lines into its advantage: positioning it as a drink that fits different moments and different occasions. But navigating those blurred lines means thinking creatively.
“We all sit behind strategy decks and explain the trends,” said Ferdi. “But shoppers shop in a much more emotional way. They’re looking for refreshment, excitement, a treat, playfulness. People should be saying: ‘Oh, what are you drinking, tell me about that! We really wanted to flip the script.
“Think about the evening take-home occasion: people love the flavor, they connect with the brand, they come back to it for the afternoon 2pm pick-me up. We’re building all these moments and need states in a much more complex and layered way than just traditional non-alc, mocktail positioning; or just better-for-you.”
Moving away from a focus on CBD
In the US, Recess has followed similar strategy.
Having initially made waves as a CBD brand, it's now built up around the idea of the relaxation category.
"Recess' brand architecture is focused on marketing the feeling of relaxation and building a lifestyle brand world around the beverage," founder Ben Witte told us.
"Yes, we launched with a CBD product, where CBD was one of four functional ingredients. But consumers weren't thinking about a CBD brand, they were thinking about a relaxation brand. We wanted to market the solution, not the ingredient."
TikTok sensation
Having identified the trends, Trip then focused on social media. It’s got 176K followers on Instagram and 42k on TikTok.
But it’s been about more than just building up numbers: it’s about being in the right place on social media and speaking to the right people on social media and using that to build up a fandom that’s propelled it into the sights of major retailers.
“It’s very easy to launch a functional beverage,” said Khoury. “Anyone can put magnesium, CBD, you name it, in a beverage. But it’s not easy to play on those blurred lines. Being a replacement for alcohol, Gen Z need to discover you on platforms like TikTok, like Instagram, they need to see the sober influencer recommending you. They look for aspiration brands to be their go-to beverage instead of alcohol. It’s a really exciting space.”
That social media following is then something that propelled the brand into the sights of retailers. In the US, it’s available in Sprouts, Whole Foods, Target and many more. And in the UK, it’s stocked across all top national retailers: Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, M&S, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Boots, Superdrug, Ocado, Co-Op, Holland & Barrett and SPAR.
