Page 24 - Food&Drink August 2022 magazine

BEVERAGE PRODUCTION
Mullin over a new wine
Conversations with tea growers in Sri Lanka inspired Julie Hirsch to add to her beverage brand portfolio and help combat climate change. Kim Berry writes.
growing practices to fight climate change in Sri Lanka.
The chair of Forest Garden Growers Society, Dr Durka Chellaram, is a pioneer of sustainable forest gardens, a process in which home gardens are converted over many years into mini-forests with multiple layered growing canopies.
Chellaram says the forest gardens are “both eco-friendly and trained to conserve the natural resources”.
QWHAT ABOUT ITS PRODUCTION? Finding a market for Fairtrade certified spices is at the core of why we developed Mullin.
Using Julie’s background in tea blending, we replicated the flavours that usually take hours to infuse in mulled wine and landed on our current recipe of bright citrus and warm spices, including clove, star anise and “true” cinnamon, Cinnamomum verum.
As a Fairtrade certified product, we keep as much of our supply chain with our Fairtrade partners as possible, so all of Mullin’s ingredients are sourced and manufactured through them in Sri Lanka.
QTELL US ABOUT
YOUR PACKAGING? We made every effort to incorporate sustainability into our packaging. The single-serve infusers are made of Soilon mesh. Derived from plant starch, Soilon mesh is 100 per cent biodegradable.
Our product insert and exterior label are made of similarly biodegradable paper, which can be recycled along with other paper products.
We also opted to package Mullin in a sturdy tin, which we hope customers will re-use for jewelry, knick-knacks, coins and other creative uses!
Q
We have a direct-to-customer ecommerce store and are starting to be stocked in some bottle shops and gifting companies like BlackHearts & Sparrows and Sans Drinks.
We are just gearing up for our next production run with our Fairtradepartners. ✷
IN 2019, Julie Hirsch was in Kandy, Sri Lanka, sourcing ingredients for her recently launched tea business, Eloments Organic Vitamin Tea.
Talking to local farmers, the conversation turned to climate change as they showed Hirsch blistered tea leaves caused by changing mist patterns impacting farms in the region.
about how she could do just that. It was only a year earlier that
Hirsch and co-founder Nicole Lamond launched Eloments, a vitamin enriched tea range using a patented water processing method, founded firmly on Fairtrade principles. Now her mind turned to how she use the same ethical practices with spices. The result is Mullin.
to take the hassle out of making mulled wine. Simply heat a cup of red wine, steep with one Mullin spice infuser, and enjoy.
Q
Working through the many iterations for the Mullin spice blend was one of the more enjoyable R&D phases! In contrast, developing Mullin from concept to production during Covid, with a team based on three different continents, was challenging.
Our biggest takeaways from this experience – and most of the last two years – has been around being patient, flexible, and kind. We have all been through a masterclass in focusing on the things we can control and trying to let the rest play out naturally.
When we all finally got to hold the finished product in our hands it was very exciting.
We worked in partnership with the Forest Garden Growers Society in Sri Lanka. The society is a Fairtrade cooperative revolutionisingbiodiverse
WHAT WAS THE
R&D PROCESS?
“ Each mulling infuser is filled with a vibrant blend of rich spices and bright citrus.”
“I asked the general manager of the local Fairtrade cooperative how we could support Fairtrade farmers in the face of climate change. His answer was simply, buy spices,” Hirsch says.
It turns out that planting cinnamon, clove, and other spices alongside tea in small family-owned gardens adds biodiversity and increases resilience against climate change impacting a single crop.
Hirsch, not one to shy away fromachallenge,beganthinking
Food & Drink Business speaks to Hirsch and co-founders Sony Salzman and Raegan Allsbrook about launching the brand.
Itisanovelproductdesigned
WHAT’S NEXT
FOR MULLIN?
Q
WHAT IS MULLIN?
Mullin is a Fairtrade product that makes mulling wine as easy as brewing tea. Each mulling infuser is filled with a vibrant blend of rich spices and bright citrus, ethically and sustainably sourced from Fairtrade farms in Sri Lanka.
24 | Food&Drink business | August 2022 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au