Jamie Wild is nothing if not spirited – if you’ll pardon the crashing pun – when talking about the non-alcoholic drinks brand he is the co-founder of. That and supremely passionate too.
As he enthuses about Feragaia, the non-alcoholic spirit produced in a purpose-built distillery close to the coast in Fife, it’s clear this project combines two of his greatest passions – the coastline and drinks which make a difference to people’s lives.
Feragaia – the name means “wild Earth” in Latin and Greek – is the result of a year of tasting and testing by Jamie and his partner Bill Garnock, both drinks industry veterans whose aim was to challenge negative preconceptions with a truly authentic and confident alcohol-free spirit.
The result is a small batch alcohol-free sprit that is distilled using age-old techniques. Some 14 carefully selected land and sea botanicals are expertly distilled to create an amber-hued spirit with layers and depth.
As Jamie explains: “We set off with big, bold ambitions…the idea was to challenge the norm and provide something different for those who wanted a non-alcoholic spirit.
“For example, one of our botanicals was sugar kelp because we feel this adds weight and body to the drink.”
But not just any old sugar kelp. Feragaia recently partnered with seaweed cultivator Greensea Solutions and cast a seeded seaweed line into the clean Atlantic waters off the Ardnamurchan peninsula on the wild west coast of Scotland. Aiming to educate on the benefits of cultivated seaweed, the Greensea Solutions sugar kelp is now being used as Feragaia’s sea botanical.
Environment matters to Feragaia – the business operates with a zero waste to landfill target, and all packaging is FSC certified and recyclable. Additionally, a minimum of 65 per cent of the glass bottles come from recycled materials, and the cap is made from 70 per cent bio-plastic. No single-use plastic is used in any part of the packaging process.
And for Jamie, who grew up near the coast in Cornwall, being able to work from such an iconic shoreline location whilst pursuing such a passion project is the culmination of a dream. “My only true ambition in life is to be where the sea is within reach,” he concludes.
For more interviews with some of our Coast characters, click here.
