- 14 hours ago
On this week's Shop Essence Live, we talked to Pauline Idogho, founder of Mocktail Club, a line of non-alcoholic drinks with sophisticated flavors. She came up with the concept of Mocktail Club when she was working in Corporate America while expecting and looking for exciting and healthy non-alcoholic options. Unfortunately, she found limited options that had rich and interesting flavors. In her quest to maintain social experiences and inspired by her global travels, she began creating bold and daring flavors that are typically not found in non-alcoholic beverages like her "Bombay Fire" flavor, which contains pomegranate, tea, and chili peppers! All her flavors also contain apple cider vinegar giving you some health benefits as you enjoy these delicious libations!
Shop the show now on Essence IG page!
Shop the show now on Essence IG page!
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome, welcome. It's Thursday, so you know what time it is. This is Shop Essence Live.
00:06My name is Noni, Vice President of Video here at Essence, and we have a great episode for you.
00:12Coming up in a little bit, we're going to be joined by Aaliyah of Sugar Dough. Her waxing,
00:17her sugar waxing has gone viral, and I am going to do a live waxing with her on myself, live
00:24with you guys. I'm taking one for the team. There's nothing we would not do for our Shop
00:29Essence Live shoppers, so we're going to review it here live on the show. But up first, what we have
00:35is a treat for you guys. Pauline, if you are in the comments somewhere, please, please do
00:43request to go live with me. We're going to be joined by Mocktail Club up first, and she has some amazing
00:50drinks. I'm over here making myself some mocktails right now. But again, if you are just tuning in,
00:57this is Shop Essence Live. We are in partnership with the New Voices Foundation. They have over 25,000
01:04companies, and you could be one too. Okay, Pauline, I see you in the comments as well. The New Voices
01:10family, they're going to be in the comments and letting you know if you have a small Black-owned
01:14business and you want to be featured on Shop Essence Live and have people buy directly from
01:18you, please, please do join. All right, here we go. I'm adding her right now. We're going to get
01:25into these Mocktails, honey. Here we go. It is just being as stubborn as it wants to be.
01:33Here she comes. I can't wait to try these. They are spicy. All right, stand by, everybody.
01:41She is joining us. Oh, my goodness. I am amazing. So, I am determined to get your beautiful Nigerian
01:54last name right. Let's try. Let's try. All right. Go for it. This is Pauline Idoho. Perfect.
02:02You did amazing. Of Mocktail Club. Now, before we get into these products, I'd love for you
02:09to talk a little bit about your journey, how you came up with this incredible product.
02:15So, I mean, the journey started when I was at a swanky bar. I was celebrating with my colleagues
02:21and everybody was ordering wine and food and I was eight months pregnant and I wanted something
02:27professional for me. I wanted something that was for an adult palate that was sophisticated,
02:33that I could sip and enjoy in a nice glass and really enjoy the experience. And that is how I
02:39started a Mocktail Club journey. And a lot of the flavors are inspired by my travel. So, you're going
02:45to see some fun names like Havana Twist, Caprice Spritz. And it's all about journey and just enjoying
02:53yourself, even if you're not drinking.
02:55See, I love that. And there are a lot of people, for whatever reason, either you're not a drinker,
03:01or like you said, you were pregnant at the time, or if you're breastfeeding, you are not drinking
03:06when you go out. But we know that drinking can be seen as very social. And you don't want to be like
03:11me always ordering Shirley Temples. So, now you got another, you got another option.
03:16You got amazing options now. So, I love it. So, why don't you take us through the flavors that you have?
03:23Very interesting combination.
03:25Thank you. So, we've got three out of the four flavors actually use apple cider vinegar. So,
03:31it actually works for you. So, you're getting your prebiotics. And we also use super fruits.
03:37Manhattan Berry is the first one. And it's ginger driven. So, it's got blackberry, pear tea,
03:43and a little bit of ginger. So, typically, what I do is I just pour it in a great glass, a little coop.
03:53And then I just add a little garnish, like this. And, you know, it's already ready to drink. So,
04:03you don't have to do any work. But it's nice and nuanced and unique. And it's got that really
04:09great ginger kick to it.
04:11Yeah, you smell the ginger as soon as you open it. And it just, it tastes incredible.
04:17Thank you. And then next, thank you. And then next off is Havana Twist. So, the feeling we're evoking
04:26here is summer on a tropical beach. So, think of your sort of mojito, caipirinha type drink.
04:33This has cucumber mint lime, cardamom and my toast. And I just also like pouring it in a nice glass.
04:42This could be my margarita.
04:43Exactly. Ooh, I love that. I love the salt. I mean, I just do lime as well.
04:50Sometimes I could add a little mint as well, if you want to just top it up a little bit. But
04:55the beauty about all of these, it's ready to drink. All you have to do is pour a glass, get some ice.
05:01And so, the next one is Capri Spritz. And I made this up when I was thinking of Italy.
05:09If you're in a great island in Italy, in Capri, what would you drink?
05:13Yeah.
05:14It has a bit of a Cosmo feel to it. And also a little Aperol Spritz with a little bitters.
05:21So, what I like to do with it is I get this glass, put a little wedge in there, pour it in,
05:31toss it around.
05:35And you have the amazing work.
05:39I mean, it is just delicious. It's like going to a top mixologist at a bar. And it really,
05:46you don't miss the alcohol in it because you're kind of getting that kick of the ginger of the
05:52special ingredients you have in there. And it feels like you're having like a mojito or one of
05:57those specialized drinks or Cosmo. You know, it's absolutely incredible. I love it.
06:03Thank you. And then the last but not the least is Bombay Fire. It has a little heat to it.
06:10I see chili peppers on there.
06:12It has some chili peppers, but it's actually really smoky.
06:17Okay.
06:17It's more like a heat. So, if you were sort of a bourbon-ish type drinker,
06:21it has that kind of burn. And it's not really about the peppery spicy. So,
06:28so I like to get a little, little orange peel. You can even get a cherry in there. Pour it in.
06:38It's just a nice heat.
06:39Oh, that is interesting.
06:41Oh, exactly.
06:42It takes you on a little journey.
06:44Yeah.
06:44First, it's like a little sweet. And then you get the kick of the chili pepper. That is good.
06:49It's a nice little fall. And so these four come in our nice little variety pack. And they're super
06:56cute too. And you can just try different, unique flavors. And I think about this journey,
07:03it's really about, it's just having alternatives. It's not about whether you're drinking or not.
07:09Right.
07:10It's Monday,
07:11Wednesday, you may not want to come back from work or from something and, and have a,
07:17you know, a glass of wine. You might just want that sip and that occasion of drinking in a nice
07:22class, but not necessarily alcohol. You can do that Friday to Sunday, or you could just decide
07:27to just try something else. So that's what this is about. It's about having better options for you.
07:34I love that. And I see the H lounge in the comments say,
07:38we eat these amazing drinks in our lounge in NOLA.
07:41I love it.
07:42NOLA.
07:42I love it.
07:43I love it.
07:44I love it.
07:45But yeah, this is incredible. So I see the New Voices family there in the comments,
07:50letting you know how to join the family. You are a part of this incredible community.
07:54Can you talk a little bit about, as being a black female entrepreneur,
07:59how has a New Voices family kind of propelled you in your business?
08:03NOLA. I mean, when I think about them, I think of love and community. And it's really about
08:11finding other wonderful entrepreneurs that are part of this journey with you that support you.
08:17And New Voices has been amazing. Just finding all these great opportunities to help us boost
08:24our brands and also educate us. And, you know, they actually also give grants and capital to
08:31to entrepreneurs. So they're doing an amazing job of just helping us through this journey of really
08:38building great companies. So super excited to be part of this great family.
08:43NOLA. Yeah, absolutely. And remember, everyone, I would just adhere to what the New Voices family
08:50is saying in the comments. You can join this incredible community and have a chance to be featured
08:56on a future episode of Shop Essence Live. It is not unattainable. All you got to do is say,
09:01that's going to be me and make it happen. Right? I am sorry. This is a live show for a reason.
09:07I see you guys in the comments asking your questions. So let us get to these questions.
09:12If you have any questions for Pauline and her mocktails, it could be about her product,
09:16it could be about her journey as an entrepreneur. I see one comment asking,
09:21can this be served as a mixer from Eclectic Lay-In?
09:25It can. It can. And, you know, I think our brand is really about
09:31having redefining the social drinking experience. So it's, it's not judging whether you're drinking
09:37or you're not drinking, it's options. And if you want to mix it and put a little less alcohol,
09:43that's another journey as well, because you're actually putting a little less,
09:47you're still getting that flavor and sophistication that you loved. And you might even be cutting down
09:53just by doing that. So. Oh, I love that. And think about how impressive you're going to seem to your
10:01friends of like, I got this fancy, you could give it a name, you could give it your own little name
10:06and everything. But I think that these like you have ingredients, let's just go through the ingredients
10:12one more time. So Bombay Fire, this has pomegranate tea chili peppers as the main color flavor palette.
10:19I don't know. And then Havana twist, lime, cardamom and cloves. Incredible. And then three spritz,
10:30pomegranate, cranberry, lemongrass, and a little gentian to give some bitters.
10:36Mm hmm. And then Manhattan Berry. PH Lounge is favorite here. Blackberry, pear, apple cider vinegar,
10:47tea, and ginger. Super popular in New Orleans. When I tell you, these drinks all taste amazing.
10:56If you want to look, I see other people, where can I buy? This is what Shop Essence Live is about. So
11:00you can actually buy direct from Pauline. I'm flying up the products. She has each of these
11:06individually. If there's a flavor that is just screaming at you, you can buy it individually.
11:11Or if you want to try everything, she has this wonderful variety pack. And really great pricing,
11:16by the way. Absolutely. So make sure that you guys are buying, buying, buying. Can you buy your
11:23products on Amazon? Donald wants to know. Yes, you can. You can buy it on Amazon, or you can buy it right
11:29here. Shabbat inside. Put it in your car. Put it in your car. Um, funny. Um, the variety pack is only
11:36on our site. So if you want to try all four, it's the right place to get up. Trust me, you guys, you
11:43want to try all four, especially in your friend circle. There's probably something for everyone
11:48within that circle. Give it a shot. Give it a try. Pauline, I'd love to hear from you.
11:55Not only do consumers watch this show, but a lot of entrepreneurs also watch this show and get tons
12:00of inspiration for where they can go on their journey. I know the entrepreneur journey is not
12:06an easy one. A lot of the times we're just looking at the results, right? Oh, this person's in Tigrin,
12:10and this person's balling now, but they don't see all the blood, sweat and tears that led up to that.
12:16So if you can just tell us what has been your secret to keep going, right? You came from a
12:22corporate world and then you kind of started over into a life of an entrepreneur. What has been your
12:28secret to maintain and keep going with your mission? Um, I think it's definitely a community,
12:33whether it's your family, whether it's your husband, your kids, mentors, just, just really
12:40surrounding yourself with great, smart people. Um, and, and that's super helpful in the journey.
12:46And I think, um, just believing in yourself and leaning into you. Um, I think half the time we're
12:53always focused on, you know, competition and how do we find our own secret sauce. Mine was my,
13:01my background. So I'm from Nigeria, lived in London. I love to travel. I would just go on a trip around the
13:08world by myself, even before, um, I started working at the world bank, but that was passion.
13:14And I, I leaned into that to create these flavors and that's actually where we get our secret sauce
13:20from. And it's, it's for me. And so there's so much in you in terms of your journey that you can
13:25bring into entrepreneurship and that's what makes you stand out. Oh, I, I love that. And what you said
13:33in there is like, I am the secret sauce, right? A lot of people get stopped because they're like,
13:38somebody else is doing kind of the same thing. Maybe, you know, this is not for me,
13:42but you saying, look, I am the secret sauce is what makes this stand out and what makes it special
13:48and what makes it, you know, has it keep going. I think that is an incredible lesson for everyone
13:53to hear. Pauline, you are incredible. I cannot wait to entertain and act like I know how to mix drinks.
14:01Am I in action?
14:03Absolutely great. Shout out to everybody watching live purchasing. I'm seeing the shopping cart going
14:10crazy. People saving people, putting it in their cart. Incredible. If you're watching on the replay,
14:15make sure you're purchasing. Again, this is shop essence live. When you purchase here,
14:20you are purchasing directly with these small black owned businesses. So do try the products,
14:26do support and the products are all essence approved. So you know, they're incredible
14:31essence and new voices, family approved. All right. So thank you so much, Pauline.
14:36You would have some amazing. So excited to watch too. So yeah. Oh yeah. Yes, exactly. So what she is
14:44referring to is coming up, we're doing a live waxing with sugar dough, sugar waxing products. I have never
14:52waxed myself, but Hey, what better time to try it than live in front of a bunch of people. So we're
14:58going to do that in a few minutes. I'm going to stop this stream and come right back. Pauline,
15:03you are incredible. Thank you. Good luck to you. I can't wait to see what the future.
15:08I appreciate it. Thank you. Bye guys. Bye. Bye everybody.
Comments