The founder of anti-hangover brand Seoul Tonic has revealed the New South Wales-based business is in its ‘expansion phase’ after scoring $250,000 as the joint winner of the first season of Boost Juice founder Janine Allis and Gordan Ramsay’s Food Stars Australia . Seoul Tonic, a hangover relief tonic created from the native extracts of two Korean Pears and Hovenia Dulcis (oriental raisins), was officially launched by founder Sophie Hood in November 2022. Within the first year of operation, Hood says she was able to import more than 200,000 units from Korea to Australia to keep up with the demand.
Currently Seoul Tonic only has two part-time employees, a commercial director and a creative director. After building Seoul Tonic from the ground up, primarily from her garage in Bondi Beach, Hood is now planning to take the brand global, after being featured at Paris Fashion Week and launching into Ireland and New York. Hood told SmartCompany Seoul Tonic originated from her obsession with Korean culture and preventative East Asian medicine.
“I became hyper-fixated on ingredients grown exclusively in East Asia, that have been scientifically studied to support alcohol recovery, liver detoxification and general wellbeing,” she says. “Seoul Tonic uses an innovative patented extraction method to extract Korean Pear and Hovenia Dulcis to create a super-powered, liver detoxifying and anti-inflammatory tonic with a formula that exists nowhere else in the world. ”I believe the .