Chesterfield woman's tasty idea after life-threatening bar fall

A Chesterfield woman who stopped drinking alcohol after a life-threatening fall has set up a new business selling tasty soft drinks for the growing tee-total market.
Sabrina Brooks and Richard Barltrop. Picture by Bronac McNeill.Sabrina Brooks and Richard Barltrop. Picture by Bronac McNeill.
Sabrina Brooks and Richard Barltrop. Picture by Bronac McNeill.

Sabrina Brooks suffered brain trauma resulting in memory loss, anxiety and depression after the serious fall in a bar in Turkey.

The need to avoid booze for an extended period gave Sabrina the idea for her new business, Peel and Spice, an alcohol and sugar-free range of soft drinks, flavoured with fruit peels and spices.

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Sabrina, 26, said: "After the fall, I tried to keep going, but I wasn't taking proper care of myself and my mental health suffered. Eventually my doctor said I should take time off and begin medication to get things in order. This also meant cutting out alcohol."

While socialising without booze, Sabrina found herself longing for a non-alcoholic drink which was healthier than Coca-Cola or lemonade - and that is when she got the inspiration for Peel and Spice.

She said: "I mentioned the idea to my co-founder, Richard Barltrop, and we decided to do something with spices. After all, ginger beer is one of the world’s most popular soft drinks, but there aren’t many spice-flavoured drinks available."

In June, Sabrina expects to launch the first two flavours of Peel and Spice, namely ginger with cinnamon and lemongrass with black pepper.

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She added: "Peel and Spice isn't about preaching. It's about providing a gorgeous drink to the one in four who don’t drink alcohol for a huge number of reasons. Hopefully the public will get behind us and help take our business to the next level."

Sabrina has now entered Peel and Spice into Voom Pitch, a competition in which winners could clinch funding from Sir Richard Branson. Vote for it at www.voom.virginmediabusiness.co.uk/pitches/be-bold-drink-different