Alcohol provides drinkers with a gratifying kick, and coffee gives you a helpful boost in the morning – but both come with a catch. Booze results in hangovers, while a surfeit of coffee zaps energy after the buzz fades. None of this is very good for your mental health. Louie Syred’s nootropic drink – Peak – claims to lift mood and enhance brain function. Neverbland joined him for a can or two over Zoom.

Neverbland: Let’s start with the basics. What is Peak?

Louie Syred: Peak is a drinks brand that I created with my business partner and lifelong friend, Ben Whales. A new kind of drink, though, one that contains powerful, active ingredients designed to give you back control of your mood and – consequently – your life.

NB: How did you come to the idea?

LS: I’ve grappled with undiagnosed ADHD for most of my life. I believe it’s responsible for all of the trouble I’ve ended up in – but also the successes I’ve had. Once I quit relying on coffee and alcohol, Nootropics became an essential part of my daily routine. They help me find focus when I need to tune in and quieten my mind when it’s time to unwind. There is proof that the long term effects of excessive coffee and alcohol are detrimental to the brain. When consumed daily, we aimed to create a drink with positive compounding effects.

NB: What are nootropics?

LS: Few know this, but the key is in the name. Nootropic originates from nous (meaning mind) and tropḗ (meaning to turn). So, I like to describe them as a useful tool to help steer your mind in the right direction. These handy compounds known to improve brain function can naturally occur in specific superfoods or be manufactured in a lab.

NB: So there’s a better way of life than coffee in the morning, booze in the evening?

LS: I think there is. Alcohol and coffee are great and I believe they have their place. But as life gets more serious– jobs are more high stakes, longer hours, family commitments – the hangover from alcohol isn’t conducive to a productive state of mind. There are similar issues with coffee – in the short term, it helps you do stuff, but the crash is inevitable. You drink these things to subsidise the way you feel, but they both come at a hefty price.

NB: Why launch Peak now?

LS: I believe the future relies on creative thinking. This generation wants to be fuelled with something that will make them feel good but without the downsides. We’re positioning ourselves in a new category to serve this new consumer and we’re calling it, ‘mood drinks’.

NB: A drink that acts as a social tonic but doesn’t result in rash decision making and falling off bar stools?

LS: I’m not against the spontaneity that comes with drinking. But I do want to help people make better decisions. The question is: how do you help people build better habits that, over time, result in a better life?

NB: Who is Peak aimed at?

LS: It’s funny; young people immediately understand the concept of Peak. The primary purpose of the youth is to challenge the status quo and this generation is dialed in on consciousness – tuning out is for the boomers. For us, a key growth area is coworking spaces and creative offices … Look at what Huel did to gyms. You can think of Peak as Huel for the brain; coworking spaces are our gyms and inspiring creatives are our influencers.

NB: How do you see Peak evolving?

We have only just got started, but we intend to launch a new variant in autumn 2022 and develop Peak into a digital product.