For twelve years, Steph Buttery worked in the Royal Navy as an officer. As part of her job, she toured the world and, whilst stationed over in Japan, fell in love with the country’s food and drink culture.
After returning home and being unable to get her hands on the favourites she’d become accustomed to, she set out to create her own Japanese-inspired sour soft drink brand here in the UK – facing some trials and tribulations, including a global pandemic that drew her back into service, along the way.
Today, her products are stocked up and down the country in Yo Sushi! and at a number of different eateries here in Manchester, such as Cocktail Beer Ramen + Bun, Affleck’s Palace and FanBoy 3, but it hasn’t been an easy journey to get there.
“It all began when I travelled with the British Royal Navy to Tokyo where I tasted the hugely popular alcoholic drink Chūhai,” said Steph.
“I loved the taste but back in England there was nothing on the market quite like it and shipping the drink from Japan was out of the question.
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“So I set to work making the drink for myself an authentic-tasting, alcohol-free, sour fruit soft drink.”
Just when things were starting to come together for her business, the pandemic hit – leaving restaurants and stores to shut their doors as the country went into lockdown. Still, she wouldn’t let that deter her.
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But that was not the only challenge. As 95% of her business dried up overnight, to add more into the mix Steph found herself being reposted back to her previous role in the Royal Navy.
Image: Chu Lo Drinks
Whilst working as part of a military effort to ensure that lifesaving PPE could reach those in the NHS frontline who need it most, she hit upon another way to support staff working all day and night in the battle against the virus.
Already assisting the Department of Health in London in her capacity as a Navy office, she also donated 20,000 Chu Lo drinks to London NHS staff during the pandemic – having been inspired by similar donations of food by Wasabi and Bento‘s donation of 500 meals a day to NHS staff.
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At the time she said: “Naturally, while working in the Department of Health, the Chu Lo Drinks business must take a back seat.
20,000 drinks were donated to NHS staff during the height of the pandemic. / Image: Chu Lo
“Having Wasabi agree to this partnership means that Chu Lo soft drinks can do their bit towards lifting the spirits of those heroes on the frontline dealing with the worst of this crisis.
“If Chu Lo drinks can help bring a smile to those most affected during this difficult time, it will have been worth it.”
Having seen huge success already in just a few short years, Steph also recently joined Gordon Ramsay on the very first BBC series of his Apprentice-style food show, Gordon’s Future Food Stars, taking on weekly cookery and business-led challenges battling it out against other entrepreneurs.
Image: Chu Lo Drinks
Read more:Manchester entrepreneur to appear on Gordon Ramsay’s new Apprentice-style TV show
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Her Chu Lo drinks are currently available in four different sour flavours – lemon, peach, apple, and cherry – and they’re well worth seeking out.
Made using real fruit juice, the super-sour soda is low in sugar, alcohol and gluten-free, and vegan-friendly,
Find them at a range of restaurants in Manchester, or online via the Chu Lo store.
Feature image – Chu Lo
News
Manchester band Westside Cowboy release ‘thrilling’ debut album that critics are calling one of the year’s best
Emily Sergeant
One of the UK’s best rising bands have released their debut album today to glowing reviews from critics and fans alike.
Jimmy Bradbury, Reuben Haycocks, Aoife Anson O’Connell, and Paddy Murphy – better known together as Westside Cowboy – formed back in 2023 when they were students at the Royal Northern College of Music, so while they may not all be from Manchester, they definitely have the spirit of our city at the heart of everything they do.
After playing in different bands across the city throughout their student years, the four-piece joined forces to create Westside Cowboy – an indie rock collective credited with self-coining the genre of ‘Britainicana’.
Put simply, Britainicana is a cultural concept that mixes the hazy, mythic feel of American country and folk, with the sound of raw British punk, indie rock, and small-town life.
Westside Cowboy have released their debut album, It Goes On / Credit: Clementine Schniedermann (Press Shots – Supplied)
If that sounds like your cup of tea, then you’ll be pleased to know that Westside Cowboy have released their debut album, It Goes On, to the world today (21 August).
And the reception from critics, arguably, couldn’t be better.
Prior to the release of their debut album, the band had released two EPs, including So Much Country ‘Till We Get There in January earlier this year, and had started to make a name for themselves with their popular debut single ‘I’ve Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Really Love (Until I Met You)’ in 2024.
They went onto make even further waves when they supported equally-rising American rock band Geese on their UK and Irish tour back in March – with many fans calling it one of the best support and main act combinations in some time.
Three singles from their debut album were shared with the world ahead of its release – ‘Kick Stones (The Boys)’ came first, followed by ‘Pin Up Boys’ and ‘Dobro’.
So, it’s fair to say the anticipation for album was high… and if the reviews are anything to go by (which we think they are), it looks like the band has very much delivered what they set out to achieve.
Westside Cowboy’s debut album It Goes On is now available to stream, or you can purchase a physical copy in a range of formats from their website here.
Take a listen👇
Featured Image – Press Shot (Supplied)
News
UK set to be battered by storms as ‘unprecedented’ El Niño arrives this autumn
Emily Sergeant
The UK is being told to brace for a series of storms this autumn when the ‘unprecedented’ El Niño weather event arrives.
It’s already been a summer of extremes for the country, with multiple heatwaves over the past couple of months, but now it appears that autumn and winter are set to have some extremes of their own, as the Met Office is warning that this upcoming El Niño could be one of the most significant in recent memory.
El Niño is declared when sea temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific rise 0.5°C above the long-term average, which therefore impacts global rainfall patterns and average temperatures.
The natural warming of sea temperatures is forecast to reach more than 3°C in the coming months, according to the Met Office, making this year’s weather event have the potential to be ‘the largest since the 19th century’.
The UK is set to be battered by storms as ‘unprecedented’ El Niño arrives this autumn / Credit: Johannes Plenio (via Unsplash)
El Niño will create a heightened risk of drought in the tropics, southern Africa, and north eastern Australia, but over in north western Europe – including the UK – it means we are likely to experience wetter and stormier conditions.
The UK, and of course Greater Manchester, is absolutely no stranger to a storm around this time of year, but forecasters say this could be an entirely different beast.
“We should be clear that this is an unprecedented event,” warned Professor Adam Scaife, who is the Head of Long Range Forecasting at the Met Office.
“I have never seen an El Nino signal this intense in our forecasts.”
Professor Scaife concluded: “A typical El Nino leads to an equatorial Pacific sea-surface temperature rise of between one to 2°C, with 2°C being a really big event. This implies that, if the forecast is accurate, and other forecast systems show similar extreme values, then 2026 will far exceed our recent experience of El Niño and its worldwide climate influences.’
Forecasters and officials, however, have warned that it could take months of sustained rainfall before rivers, reservoirs, and groundwaters are ‘completely replenished’ – which is when a drought can officially be declared as over.
It also warned drought conditions could persist into the new year as, despite El Niño, as current forecasts do not suggest this autumn will have the amount of rainfall needed to drive recovery.
Georgina Pellant -
22nd April 2022 
