THE MINDFUL DRINKER You might recognise the name Irene Falcone, the clever Sydney mum of four who founded Nourished Life, the fabulous online natural skincare and beauty store. Now that this serial entrepreneur has conquered the beauty world, selling the business after 8 years for a cool $20M, Irene has set her sights on an unexpected industry, beverages. Irene’s decision to practise mindful drinking was the catalyst for her newest business venture Sans Drinks, an online store selling non-alcoholic drinks only. Tell us a bit about your family. We’re a modern blended family, my husband and I have four kids between us. Three boys, one girl. We have three teenagers and my baby of the family is 10! Our oldest is 16 and about to get his drivers license. We’re very tight-knit and not big on travel - we spend our weekends in the backyard playing soccer or splashing about in the pool! My husband works for NSW Ambulance and is a great support to all of my crazy endeavours. My kids and my husband are always helping out in the warehouse too – it’s a family affair!
You’re all about living a natural toxin-free lifestyle. Is this what drove you to start Sans Drinks? Essentially, yes! Around nine months ago I decided to cut alcohol out of my diet and see how it was affecting my wellbeing. Not only did it make a huge difference to my gut health, energy levels and skin, but I also came to realise that it was really hard to find high quality non-alcoholic alternatives. I remember I was standing in a bottle shop asking if they had non-alcoholic wine or beer and they looked at me as though I was absolutely crazy! It was exactly the same look of judgement I received when I walked into a chemist and asked for a toxin-free deodorant back in 2012. This is what really inspired me to start Sans Drinks and we proudly focus on stocking Aussie brands that tick all the right boxes, including natural ingredients, low calories, sugar-free and vegan options. 26
Tell us about your drive to build and succeed in business. The thrill of the challenge is what drives me in building my businesses. I’m passionate about disrupting industries and challenging the norm, all the while providing better shopping experiences for the everyday Aussie. I love spotting unique opportunities and running with them. This year has seen us turn to alcohol and online shopping like never before, so being an online non-alcoholic marketplace, Sans Drinks addresses both those trends in a positive way.
Aussies love a drink, especially in Summer, and dare I say it, mums love a wine! How do you educate people into agreeing they should ditch the booze? For me, when I ditched alcohol I realised pretty quickly how much better I felt without it, and how quickly I stopped craving it. I realised I didn’t really need it, nor did I like the way I felt when I drank, physically or mentally. It’s not really about getting people to ditch alcohol entirely, I just want to make delicious alcoholfree drinks readily available, spread awareness of this alternative and the benefits, and break the stigma around drinking in Australia especially. I haven’t come across anybody yet who hasn’t been excited about swapping their weeknight reds to a non-alcoholic replica and saving the alcohol for the weekend. I think we can all agree there is nothing worse than parenting with a hangover!
