The hottest new drink trend? Cayenne pepper soft drinks

Two friends who met in an airport as they were emigrating to London 14 years ago are set to double the turnover on their new cayenne pepper soft drinks to £1 million this year.

Julia Kessler, 34, and Kerstin Robinson, 35, from Germany, launched their current range of Nix & Kix drinks last year and now have deals to supply Tesco and Wagamama.

Cayenne pepper, a chili native to Central and South America, is believed to boost metabolism and lower blood pressure.

The low-calorie drinks cost £1.25 a can and the latest of four flavours is blood orange and turmeric.

The friends first met in Nuremberg airport.

Kessler said: “We were both standing there with huge bags saying goodbye to our families, so we stood out.”

They kept in touch for a while but fell out of contact until 2007, when they were on the same flight again.

They came up with the drink idea after a US trip in 2014, brought it to market in 2015 and then rebranded and relaunched last year.

Robinson, who worked for HSBC, said: “I think neither of us thought we’d even stay in the UK for more than a year so to now be running a really successful business... It is a surprise.”