You may not recognise Hayden Hunter if you walked past him in the street, but if you have children, they will instantly know his voice as Chase from cult kids' television show, Paw Patrol.
Cheltenham born and bred, 24-year-old Hayden has worked as a voice actor since he was just nine, voicing Chase for the first few seasons of Paw Patrol and going on to work on other Nickelodeon shows throughout his acting career.
Transitioning from acting to a job in sales as an adult, Hayden would regularly take clients out for drinks but found that beer, wine and cocktails didn't agree with him and zapped his energy, affecting his performance at work and in the gym.
He tried lighter versions in the hope of avoiding headaches, but found them either 'too weak, overly artificial or simply poorer versions' of the drinks he
enjoyed.
Identifying a gap in the drinks market, Hayden started working on his own alcoholic version of iced tea — a classic beverage he had long enjoyed.
Hayden said: 'One summer morning, whilst making my usual daily jug of iced tea for my colleagues, it hit me — why wasn’t hard iced tea a thing here?
'As iced tea is naturally light, it would make the perfect lower-calorie alcoholic beverage, while keeping carbs and sugar low, too.
'Fast forward a few months, I left my job and got started on developing my recipe and vision for Driftea.'
The result is Driftea, a 4% alcoholic iced tea containing just 99 calories and no added sugar. It's brewed with black tea and real peach juice and doesn't contain artificial flavours or additives.
Hayden continued: 'Unlike many drinks out there, we didn’t have margins or costs in our vision when creating Driftea. That’s why we use real ingredients instead of just flavourings which many others choose to do.
'We wanted to make something that was light, but naturally light — because people care more than ever about what they’re consuming.'
Driftea launches online on its website on Friday 7 March 2025, with plans to stock at selected bars and restaurants in Cheltenham coming soon.
