Building a Brand, Crisis or no Crisis

Summary:

Identical twins Raissa and Joyce de Haas got an early start in entrepreneurship. When they were 5, the Dutch sisters made and sold paper flowers on the beach and sold corn bought from local farmers.

Two decades later, Raissa and Joyce are the founders of Double Dutch Drinks, selling soft drinks developed specifically for pairing with high-quality spirits including gin, whiskey, rum and tequila. The sisters were inspired to launch Double Dutch after they moved to London to study tech entrepreneurship and found the beverage scene lacking.

In 2015 Double Dutch Drinks won the retail category at the Virgin StartUp Foodpreneur Festival and last year the twins were recognised on the prestigious Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

The brand has sold 10 million bottles and raised £1.9 million to date. Double Dutch Drinks is carried in 4,500 outlets worldwide, including Michelin-star restaurants and luxury hotels such as The Savoy and the Mandarin Oriental.