Beyond the Buzz

Local manufacturers tap into demand for a different kind of ‘feel-good’ beverage

For as long as Tiffany Mackay French can remember, her father has started every morning with a shot of apple cider vinegar. At 77, he still farms the family’s third-generation apple orchards along the Saint John River and shows no signs of stopping. She spent years trying to convince him to dilute it, since straight apple cider vinegar can be hard on tooth enamel, but he never listened. She knew the health benefits were real, so she set out to make it taste like something people would actually want to drink.

During the pandemic, while working on a cookbook, Mackay French, a lawyer and Rothesay town councillor, began mixing her own apple cider vinegar with fruit and monk fruit sweetener and serving it to guests. Propelled by a chorus of positive feedback, she decided to turn her recipes into a business.

The product is BeBe, a line of six fruity apple cider vinegar drinks launched in June 2024 under her company Tiffany’s Table. Within seven months, Mackay French had grown the wellness drink to more than 80 locations across the Maritimes and secured a Sobeys listing, with store-level distribution expected to roll out incrementally. BeBe is not a zero-proof version of a beer or a wine, nor was it ever intended to be. It belongs to a growing category of beverages built around wellness ingredients, designed to deliver health benefits rather than replicate the experience of drinking alcohol.

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