Simon Gray tells us about his new drinks venture, why gut health is the next big thing in soft drinks, and why he’s driven by the democratisation of wellbeing.
Simon Gray is best known as the founder of Boost Drinks, the energy drink brand he built from scratch in 2001 and sold to AG Barr in December 2022. After the Boost brand was fully integrated into AG Barr at the end of 2024, Simon didn’t rest on his laurels. In September 2025, he launched Fizz with Purpose, a new soft drinks business with gut health at its core and a mission to make wellbeing affordable.
“Even before COVID, the world was on a better-for-you journey,” says Simon. “COVID accelerated it. But the challenge with wellness is that it tends to be expensive. Look at the pay-as-you-go gyms – the affordable ones are doing brilliantly. Anything that delivers wellness at a price that works for everyday people will find a mass market.”
The gap Simon identified was in gut health drinks. The science around fibre is well established – the recommended daily intake is around 30g, yet most people on a general diet consume somewhere between 15g and 20g. In the US, the category has exploded: Poppy, a fibre-based drinks brand, grew dramatically over five years before being acquired by Pepsi. It has recently arrived in the UK and British brands have followed. But Simon saw a consistent problem: “They’re all very expensive – anything from £1.75 to nearly £3 a can, which is a lot when you want to consume something every day. The Boost DNA was always value for money and convenience retail. I looked at this market and thought there was a real opportunity to democratise wellness. To bring something genuinely good for you into the places where people usually buy their drinks at a price that makes sense.”
The result is It’s Giving, the first brand to launch under the Fizz with Purpose umbrella. The name comes from Gen Z social media shorthand – meaning something that evokes a particular feeling or mood – though Simon is quick to point out it works just as well for everyone else: “For anyone outside that age group, it kind of does what it says on the tin. It gives you functionality in your drink.”
It’s Giving launched in three flavours – apple, mango and passionfruit, and black cherry – each containing six grams of fibre per can, with low calories, low sugar, and no artificial sweeteners, at £1 a can. Distribution follows the same convenience-retail model that made Boost a success, with stock rolling into major wholesaler depots and onto shelves across independent retailers, convenience stores, and petrol stations this spring.
The research and development process was aided by Simon’s ongoing relationship with AG Barr: “They’ve been very supportive and gave us access to their laboratories and product engineers. It allowed us to move fast and to get the recipe right. Getting fibre into a drink that tastes genuinely good takes real expertise.”
Beyond the drink itself, Simon is clear about the bigger purpose behind the business: “Obesity, mental health, and gut health are real issues. If we can create something that tastes great while genuinely doing good for people at the same time, that feels like the right reason to be doing this.”
After Boost, Simon has taken on advisory roles, charity work, and trustee positions. All fulfilling in their own way, but something was missing: “Building something of your own again, with people you know, in an industry you love – that’s what gets you out of bed in the morning.”
