As the Australian functional beverage market continues to grow, driven by rising health awareness among younger demographics, emerging companies are still finding places to slot in. Alcohol recovery drink, Dodge, hit stores in mid-2022, and has taken off across the Asia-Pacific region with its science-backed formula and striking branding. Food & Drink Business spoke with co-founder Braeden Leahy about the product and plans for the future.
The functional beverage space has taken off in the past several years, with new ready-to-drink formulations targeting nutrition and hydration launching frequently, by established companies and start-ups alike.
Dodge co-founder and head of product, Braeden Leahy, saw an opportunity in the market to perfect his personal hangover cure and help people across Australia curb the rough mornings after drinking with a science-backed recovery beverage.
Starting out
Leahy had previously worked alongside Dodge co-founder and head of operations, Alec Balcombe, on other business ventures, as well as with Monash University's Food Innovation Centre.
“My background is in exercise physiology, so I had an interest in the nutraceutical and functional ingredient space, and the initial formulation was something that I made for personal use,” said Leahy.
“My business partner, Alec, and I decided the time was right for a product like this, and to work together again. We were introduced to Rod Heath, the general manager of Monash Food Innovation, who really saw the vision, and we jumped into it pretty quickly from there.”
Leahy told Food & Drink Business the formulation didn’t change much in terms of ingredients, but there was a lot of tweaking to work out the ratios for effectivity, flavour, and shelf stability.
“There was the initial stage of development with the team at the Food Innovation Centre, making sure everything worked together. It's quite easy to create a formulation on paper, but it's not so easy to develop that into a fully fledged beverage that works and is shelf stable,” he said.
“We also conducted a comprehensive scientific literature review on all of the ingredients, to ensure they were supported by extensive peer reviewed research.
“We were continuously working to improve the product and where we were sourcing ingredients from.”
After finalising the formula, Dodge undertook a minimal viable product launch in mid-2022, aiming to test the market.
“We did an isolated launch with a partner down in Tasmania and got some really great results through retail and on premise, and some helpful feedback on the product,” said Leahy.
“That landed us some interest from distributors, and got us to make some improvements to the product, particularly in the pack format and our manufacturing process, so we could prepare to scale.”
Branding was important for the Dodge team, who wanted to create a bold and distinctive product in a canned RTD format that would fit into the drinking occasion, but also stand out as ‘the last drink of the night’.
The striking can and packaging design was developed by Megan Perkins, who joined the Dodge team as head of brand.
How it works
Made up of more than 10 natural extracts and vitamins, Dodge assists the body in metabolising alcohol – reducing inflammation and nausea, and replenishing vitamins and minerals that may be depleted.
The 200ml beverage is designed to be consumed as the last drink of the night, and is predominantly made up of Korean pear juice and Chinese vine tea extract, both rich in dihydromyricetin, which boosts the body’s ability to metabolise alcohol and reduce acetaldehyde.
“There’s other products on the market that use Korean pear juice, which is a great product, but it's pretty singular in what it can do, so we combined several active ingredients to help the body metabolise alcohol more efficiently,” says Leahy.
“A number of our ingredients help to break down the toxic metabolite of alcohol, acetaldehyde, which is key in decreasing a lot of the negative effects that alcohol has on the body.
“We also have our secondary mechanisms that help decrease symptoms of overconsumption of alcohol, reducing inflammation, supporting your liver, and replenishing depleted vitamins like vitamin B and vitamin C.”
The resulting product is a lemon and ginger infused pear juice, with an all natural flavour and no added sugars.
Production and distribution
Last year was a big one for Dodge, with a roll-out across multiple international markets.
“Currently everything is produced in Melbourne, through a co-manufacturing agreement with a large production facility. That supplies the Australian market, as well as China and the Southeast Asian market that we moved into late last year.
“Our ingredients come from some of the largest natural ingredient suppliers in the world, which will make offshore production easier when we start producing in other markets.”
In October 2024, Dodge landed a distribution partnership with global spirits company, Amber Beverage Group, to support its rollout in major retailers across Australia.
Leahy says while they had interest from international spirits distributors early on, the alcohol recovery market in Australia is still immature.
“Amber Beverage Group rose to the top of our list because of its experience, with its network, and some of the other brands in its portfolio.
It’s a European based company, so it has strong connections in Europe and the UK, he says. ”
Leahy said China and Southeast Asia is quickly becoming the biggest market for Dodge, with sales partnerships in Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore through Yaru Ventures.
“There’s a more mature alcohol recovery market in China and Southeast Asia, but we're finding that bringing this Australian lifestyle brand is showing early results that will set us up for long term success in the region,” he says.
“The cans are popular in retail, but also on premise, especially through bars and karaoke venues.”
He says the company is using consumer feedback he got from the regional markets and is in the process of developing a new product, specifically for the Asian market.
Next steps
“Jumping on the momentum that Amber Beverage Group has been building over the past few months is key. We want to build this brand nationally through liquor channels, and then into some larger grocery channels, and continue to export and move into international markets,” says Leahy.
Leahy and the company are excited for the next few years. As the functional ingredient industry continues growing rapidly, and alcohol recovery is still a niche market segment, there is plenty of room to grow.
This article first appeared in the June/July 2025 edition of Food & Drink Business magazine.
