COLLIDE – WHEN PROTEIN MEETS REFRESHMENT
Protein drinks don’t always have to be thick, milky or shake-like. That was exactly the opportunity the Australian founders of Collide saw while travelling through Europe. They noticed how quickly collagen was becoming part of the functional beverage market and came back to Australia with an idea: could we create a refreshing, sparkling soft drink that also delivers protein without the sugar?
The result became Collide.
FROM A EUROPEAN TREND TO AN AUSTRALIAN DRINK
Collide was founded by a doctor and a chef, combining a strong interest in health and functionality with a focus on flavour and the actual drinking experience. Their concept was very different from a conventional protein shake.
They wanted something:
- sparkling and refreshing
- sugar free
- high in collagen protein
- light enough to drink like a soft drink
- functional, but still enjoyable
- suitable for everyday drinking rather than just the gym
That sounds simple on paper. Technically, it isn’t. Adding a meaningful amount of protein to an acidic carbonated beverage can create challenges with taste, solubility, stability, foaming and processing. That was where Food Scientist For Hire came in.
MAKING A PROTEIN SOFT DRINK ACTUALLY WORK
We developed the Collide formulations in our laboratory, working through the balance between collagen, acidity, sweetness, flavour and carbonation. The final drink contains 5 g of collagen per can, using hydrolysed bovine collagen peptides containing Type I and Type III collagen. It is also zero sugar and contains 53 mg caffeine per can, giving the product a position somewhere between a functional protein beverage, an energy drink and a refreshing soft drink.
Most importantly, we wanted it to taste like a refreshing drink first. Not like a protein supplement disguised as one. The two flavours developed were:
- Lemon & Lime
Bright, crisp and refreshing, combining citrus acidity with a clean finish. - Pink Grapefruit & Blood Orange
A slightly more complex citrus profile, combining the bitterness of grapefruit with the richer character of blood orange.
FIRST, WE MADE IT SMALL
Once the recipes were ready, Food Scientist For Hire produced a small commercial batch. This allowed Collide to put real finished products in front of consumers and potential buyers before committing to a large industrial production. The products were used for market testing, consumer feedback and commercial discussions. The response was positive enough to give the founders the confidence to move forward. The next challenge was finding someone who could actually manufacture it.
FINDING THE RIGHT FACTORY IN AUSTRALIA
We helped Collide identify a suitable Australian manufacturing partner and then worked with the factory to transfer the laboratory formulations onto their industrial equipment. This stage required further optimisation. A recipe that behaves perfectly in a laboratory does not automatically behave the same way in a several-thousand-litre tank. We therefore tweaked and optimised the formulations for the factory process, making sure the drinks could be mixed, carbonated and filled efficiently.
And crucially: no major foaming problems. The first industrial production was approximately 7,500 litres per flavour. The production ran successfully, the recipes performed as intended on the line, and the next manufacturing run is already being planned.
FROM THE LAB TO THE COLLIDE VAN
Today, Collide is building its presence in Australia. The brand is based in regional New South Wales and supplies customers across Australia. The products are now being sold through IGA and other stores around Orange, as well as directly to consumers. And they are doing it in a very Australian way. The founders take Collide directly to consumers at markets and events in their Collide van, allowing people to discover and taste the drinks for themselves.
From an idea inspired by European travel to thousands of litres of commercial production in Australia, Collide is a great example of how a new functional beverage category can be built from scratch.
Concept → recipe development → small-batch production → consumer testing → factory sourcing → industrial scale-up → retail.
And perhaps our favourite part of the project? Proving that a sugar-free sparkling protein drink with 5 g of collagen can still behave like a proper soft drink – both in the can and on the production line.
