A new breed of mead launches in Wanaka
Chanelle O’Sullivan - Founder and Director of Borage + Bee Meadery
Wanaka’s newest Startup is taking the world’s oldest alcoholic drink and bringing it into the 21st Century.
Borage + Bee Meadery, founded by Chanelle O’Sullivan, is set to sell a range of sparkling mead – hitting shelves in mid-October.
Never heard of mead? It’s traditionally a still, aged ‘honey wine’ considered the oldest alcoholic beverage known to have been created, Chanelle says.
Borage + Bee has done away with the wine bottle, selling it by the can and adding the fizz - comparative to cider or craft beer with 5% alcohol content.
While travelling in 2018, the idea jumped out at Chanelle after reading an article about sparkling mead.
“I immediately purchased a notebook and started jotting down flavour combinations.”
From first thought to present day, it’s been two years - mixed in with a move from South Canterbury to the Queenstown Lakes in April last year.
Chanelle credits the region for giving her the extra boost she needed when it came to “fully committing” to her idea.
“To be honest I think that if I was still in South Canterbury, I may not have pursued the idea, as craft breweries and people in the industry are few and far between, she says.
“I feel entrepreneurship in this region is much more accepted with better support mechanisms and groups in place.
“Also, everyone is so well connected which makes getting information and people together, much easier.
“To be a family living in this region takes some out-of-the-box thinking and it's a really supportive community to be a part of.”
Chanelle has taken a clean approach to her new brew, think floral and honey flavours yet next to no residual natural sugars or sweetness, naturally fermented with no sulphites, preservatives or “artificial-anything”.
“I refused to believe chemicals, preservatives and additives were the only way to stabilise an alcoholic product.
“So I have worked alongside my consultant to develop a method using heat to make the brew stable and safe with lab testing to back up the method.”
Having been a keen home-brewer for the past eight years, it’s no surprise the mother-of-two decided to take her interest in brewing alcohol to the next level.
Although this is Chanelle’s first taste of the alcohol industry, it’s not her first journey into the world of entrepreneurialism.
Chanelle created a rural women's support group back in 2013, which is now home to 13,000 Kiwi followers, owns and operates a holiday house in Twizel called Highland Escape with her husband David and has co-written a children's travel activity book called XCountry Kiwis.
Throughout her journey, Chanelle has not only foraged for the perfect ingredients for her mead - choosing New Zealand grown herbs, spices, botanicals and fruits, but also her business, bringing on board an array of local contractors to compliment her own skills.
She has also utilised four Otago University Food Science undergraduates to experiment with flavour and methodology trials.
Despite an 8-week bottling delay Covid-19 hasn’t impacted her launch much at all, but there have been other challenges along the way.
Chanelle has had to concoct the perfect brew of self-belief, life balance and passion to get to where she is.
“I have always felt the product, the story and the idea was perfect for 2020. However, having the confidence to plough ahead in a new industry took a while.
“In the end, it was either going to be me, or someone else and I would regret it for the rest of my life.”
When it comes to giving advice to other budding entrepreneurs during these uncertain times, Chanelle has some words-of-wisdom based on her own experiences.
“Take it as an opportunity to recreate your future and find people who are experts in a similar space to walk alongside you.”
“Research your market, does it still exist? How has it changed? What was missing from the world during Covid that could be useful in the future? What transferable skills do you have from past jobs that would make your idea pandemic-proof?”
7 quickfire questions
Q: Name the last film you watched
A: The Fugitive
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world for 24 hours where would you go?
A: France
Q: Cats or dogs?
A: Dogs
Q: Name a food you could eat for a week straight?
A: Toasted sourdough with ricotta and honey
Q: Typing or pen and paper?
A: Typing
Q: If you could have dinner with anyone who ever walked the earth, who would it be?
A: This is a hard one. If I’m not over-thinking it, I feel a 40 year old Johnny Cash would have some great yarns..
Q: Being an entrepreneur is…
A: A rollercoaster, but the most rewarding type if you can hang on for the ride!
