Live a little Pura

Shane McLave, managing director of Excel Recruitment speaks to ex rugby star Paul Wallace about his new business venture, a range of low calorie drinks called Pura

Although Paul Wallace retired from professional rugby twenty years ago we still see him on TV regularly on Sky Sports or hear him on the radio talking with vast knowledge and passion about the sport that he excelled in during his career from playing with UCC, Munster, Leinster, Saracens, Ireland and the British and Irish Lions. Wallace started out during the period before professional rugby was even a thing and talking to him last week after Munster won the URC you can tell that his enthusiasm for rugby is equally matched by his enthusiasm for his new venture “Pura”.

Pura Distributed by Natio is a range of 100% natural ingredients based canned sodas and infused fruit drinks in cartons aimed at kids, with no colours or preservatives and it is low in sugar. I met with Paul recently to taste some of the products and chat to him about his new business venture.

How did you end up in the drinks industry?

I was lucky in my rugby career in that I got to travel a lot for games and I made some lifelong friendships and it was my time playing in South Africa that a friend I made there contacted me to see if I would be interested in coming on board with Pura. I studied Business in UCC and have worked in the international commercial property sector since I stopped playing professional rugby.

There are plenty of drinks on the market with zero calories. What makes Pura different or healthier than them?

Pura is a low calorie drink, not a no calorie one and a fantastic range of mixers that we would see replacing many current favorites. Shaking up the traditional mixer market, our products are made from 100% natural ingredients. We do have a small amount of sugar in our products but they are natural and as sugar has been around a very long time we know what the pros and cons are, whereas with the many zero calorie products that are available the only way this can be done is with artificial additives which we don’t even know the long term affects of yet. People look at zero calorie beverages and think that it must be okay to drink in high quantities daily, but this is sadly not the case. As a father of two five-year-olds I know well how many products out there are aimed at kids and are full of nasty stuff and I personally believe there should be a tax on artificial sweeteners and not just on sugar. I think any kind of soda, whether it is aimed at kids or adults needs to be a special treat.

As somebody who sells beverages with a healthier natural USP what is your opinion on alcohol when it comes to the sponsorship of sports?

I think when it comes to sporting organisations many of them rely heavily on the sponsorship that they receive and would struggle to continue if this funding was banned altogether but at the same time the approach to this needs to be based on common sense. I think the zero alcohol movement has been a good compromise as sport and alcohol don’t mix in many ways. I have always been big on fitness and I think that with the level that many sports are played at now across many different disciplines if you want to be at the top of your game you would be advised to steer clear as much as possible. Don’t get me wrong, I love to go for a few pints of Guinness in Franks of Monkstown or Doheny & Nesbitt and I love the atmosphere that you can find when you go into many of the fantastic pubs we are blessed with in Ireland so I am not anti-alcohol but just like sugar you have to think of it as a treat and drink responsibly.

Check out Pura at www. livealittlepura.com to find out more about Wallace’s new products. n