Non-alcoholic beverages

If you’re looking for something refreshing to sip on, Finns have got you covered. But it’s not all about beer and long drink – in fact booze-free options are in abundance. Read on to discover what intriguing non-alcoholic Finnish drinks are on offer!

A MODERN TAKE ON AN ANCIENT DRINK: THE GOOD GUYS KOMBUCHA

This major player in the Finnish kombucha market offers a modern take on the beverage that has been known and consumed for thousands of years, primarily in Asia. Established by a group of friends, The Good Guys Kombucha has found its way to the shelves of supermarkets across Finland and people’s kitchen corners in EU countries via its online shop.

The product range contains organic kombucha in different mouth-watering flavours, starter kits and equipment for brewing your own beverage at home, loose-leaf tea, and more. Quite enough to replace the unhealthy soda pop with all-natural kombucha.

“The best kind of feedback for us is to hear people say that drinking our kombucha genuinely makes them feel better,” noted co-founder Krister Häll.

AUTHENTIC FINNISH FLAVOURS: POIKAIN PARHAAT

Aiming to make authentic Finnish flavours available to everyone, Tampere-based Poikain Parhaat makes premium lemonades, iced tea, artisan meads, seasonal beverages and a variety of other products using the best ingredients from Finnish nature.

Run by two young entrepreneurs, the company was born in 2016 out of an idea to make the perfect glögi (Finnish mulled wine) for their local Christmas market. The aromatic drink was a big success, and Poikain Parhaat continued its journey towards more products and flavours.

“We will continue to aim for growth,” said founder and CEO Nikolas Jokisalo. “We are developing new products and new ways to produce them […]. We are also constantly looking for new and unique Finnish natural raw ingredients.”

NON-ALCOHOLIC SPARKLING WINES: KONTIOMEHU

Fancy a glass of sparkling wine? This Joensuu-based family company that has been farming and cultivating berries for over 40 years has a non-alcoholic alternative to your usual bottle of bubbles.

KontioMehu produces over 100 000 litres of non-alcoholic sparkling wines a year that come in five fascinating flavours: blackcurrant leaves, bilberry, cranberry, lingonberry and rhubarb. The company’s product range also includes unsweetened and sweetened juice drinks, produced by cold pressing and rich in vitamins.

Lehtikuohu, a sparkling beverage made from hand-picked blackcurrant leaves, has become KontioMehu’s key revenue generator. It is popular with both individual and corporate clients, including large event venues.

“Many enterprises are stepping away from alcohol, which has increased the popularity [of our product],” CEO Pasi Kiiskinen noted. “Lehtikuohu, being similar in colour to sparkling wine, is considered an excellent alternative to, for example, alcoholic welcome drinks.”

ORGANIC BIRCH WATER: NORDIC KOIVU

Harvested in Finland over a very short period in early spring and manufactured using pioneering methods and technologies, Nordic Koivu’s birch sap is now being drunk in many countries. A glass of high-quality organic birch water is a perfect way to quench the thirst and get a vitality boost.

With natural products becoming increasingly popular around the world, Nordic Koivu is not only producing birch sap for consumers, but also constantly carrying out research on utilising birch sap as raw material for the cosmetics and food and beverage industries.

Having a great nutritional profile, birch sap has for centuries been known and praised for its potential health benefits. That, however, should not be taken too literally.

“We’re not even trying to claim it’s a medicine of any kind,” emphasised executive vice president Susanna Luostarinen. “It’s a healthy natural product.”

TASTY SPORTS DRINKS: NOSHT

Whilst there are many Finnish juice producers satisfying non-alcoholic taste buds, such as Robert’s Berrie, there is naturally also room in this space for thirsty sporty types. There's nothing worse than when a strong exercise session is ruined by the wrong energy intake. As a cyclist spending long days on the bike, some years ago Petteri Kankkunen was struggling with gut problems and wanted to find out what he could use to fuel his system without bugging his stomach.

His company Potential Foods’ first brand, Nosht, is the first step on the journey, offering gentle sports foods and drinks developed safely and sustainably from natural ingredients and flavours, to also leave behind as little waste as possible.

Among the beverages on offer are a high energy sports drink and a winter sports drink, along with mix-it-yourself options to aid recovery.

"It’s great to see our clients first comment on the excellent taste of our products and, only later, notice they’re really gentle on the stomach, too,” Kankkunen said.