As students, Joyce and Raissa de Haas used to throw parties with homemade mixers. Ten years later, their brand Double Dutch is available in forty countries, Richard Branson awarded them an innovation prize, and the Heineken family is helping to set the strategic course. RetailDetail spoke with the Dutch twins about expansion, hospitality as a growth engine, and their ambitions.
“We made our own mixers out of frustration”
“Mixers should be as innovative and exciting as the spirits you drink them with,” say Joyce and Raissa de Haas, founders of the premium tonic and lemonade brand Double Dutch. The twins now work from London, but are of Dutch origin – which explains the name. “When we started organizing parties ourselves, we quickly came to the conclusion that there were many great spirits on the market, but that the choice of mixers was limited. There was certainly no innovation in terms of flavor. We made our own mixers in our student room and brought them to our parties,” says Joyce de Haas.
