Eugene and Ivor Patterson impressed judges at Venturefest in Wolverhampton, winning the tough Dragon’s Den-style Pitch Up competition.

They proved that Birmingham’s nickname, ‘the city of a thousand trades,’ is still well earned.

Inspired by Ivor’s Caribbean roots, the drink has grown into a high street brand stocked by Ocado, featured on the Virgin Atlantic menu, and set to launch nationwide in Holland & Barrett and another major retailer in the coming weeks, alongside a new range of superfood powders.

They came up with the idea for Revibed Drinks during the COVID lockdowns and now produce their flavoured water from premises in Birmingham city centre.

Winning Pitch Up brings a £15,000 investment, funded by Venturefest WM and a donation from Emeritus Professor at Aston University, Mark Hart.

They will also receive unprecedented access to a network of mentors, potential investors, and industry contacts to help fuel their ambition of growing their brand to rival global smoothie giant Innocent Drinks.

Eugene (pictured) said: “Being a co-founder can be a lonely place and winning Pitch Up has unlocked mentorship and meetings with the sort of people you would normally struggle to get time with. And, of course, the £15,000 prize is going to help massively for the business

“We’re going to spend it wisely by investing it into the development of the superfood powder range and turning that into meaningful sales growth for the brand. Success for us is to grow as big as Innocent Drinks. We see them as the champions in the superfood space and we want to do it in a natural and authentic way.”

Eugene and Ivor have already created a real sense of authenticity with their range of drinks inspired by the flavours Ivor used to make a refreshing superfood drink for friends and family.

 His recipe mixed together hibiscus, ginger and lime, all known for their health benefits, including supporting heart health and aiding digestion.

After graduating Eugene had the idea of tapping into the growing market for healthy drinks made from natural ingredients and with zero sugar, and set about taking his dad’s homemade drink from the family kitchen and scaling up production.

The Revibed Drinks range now includes three flavours with a growing national network of retailers – but with its roots firmly in his home city.

Eugene said: “I’m born and bred in Birmingham, and I wouldn’t want to do this anywhere else.

“The West Midlands has played a huge role in our journey so far, and we’re proud to be building Revibed here in Birmingham. The ecosystem of founders, mentors, accelerators and investors really does make a difference.”

Venturefest West Midlands is the largest gathering of entrepreneurs and innovators in the region. It is co-hosted by West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and Innovation Alliance for the West Midlands, and was this year sponsored by NatWest and Medilink Midlands.

Pitch Up is run by the Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at Aston University, University of Birmingham Enterprise and Minerva Business Angels, part of the University of Warwick Science Park.

Also chosen to pitch for this year's prize on the day were Motion Dynamics Ltd, Innovation Factory Limited, Fibraxis Limited, Eco Ninjas, Sportworks.io, EVolution Therapeutics Ltd, and MIXD Reality.