Aussie couple’s ‘game-changing’ idea now worth $10M

A Melbourne couple poured their life savings into an idea – an idea so unique, even they had doubts it would take off.

Hospitality duo Danny Kane and Rebecca Grey are behind Australian-born brand Aquafab – a super niche product that acts as a cocktail foamer.

Instead of using eggs in beverages like whiskey sours and amarettos, Danny and Rebecca came up with a hassle-free alternative.

They created the world-first egg-free cocktail foamer as a viable replacement for raw egg whites.

The plant-based natural foaming solution is made from faba beans to help give it a silky, stable foam.

The pair developed the product in 2023 and it hit shelves in September 2024. It has skyrocketed in popularity since then.

It’s become such a success, cruise line companies have been frothing (pun intended) over it, with cruise giants such as Princess, Disney, Holland, Silversea, Crystal, and Seabourn all buying Aquafab in bulk.

“We [were] very determined to make a product that was consistent, safe and performed well. And that’s what we’ve ended up with,” Danny told news.com.au.

“When we were developing it, I always had in the back of my mind, ‘this is perfect for the cruise industry’ because [of the safety aspect] and also we were producing it in a packet that’s lightweight and crushable.”

Danny said a lot of cruise line programs have stopped making cocktails like whiskey sours “because they can’t afford the risk of using egg whites”.

Rebecca said this was the driving force behind creating the product.

“We owned a wine bar in Hawthorn, Victoria and I was new to hospitality so I stepped behind the bar with fresh eyes,” she said.

“I didn’t know raw egg whites are used in cocktails and I was quite concerned about the safety issue around that and allergens some people may have to eggs.”

She said while most bars rinse cocktail shakers, for people with severe egg allergies, it would need to be sterilized.

As such, the couple started to experiment with canned chickpeas, straining the juice out of them to make aquafaba, or bean water. The couple said this works because they’re high in protein and make a foam.

But they were getting frustrated by the fact that there was no quality control.

“We knew aquafaba from the chickpea can work, but it’s not consistent and it has a smell and a taste to it,” Rebecca said.

The couple then began to experiment with faba beans which eventually became the base for their now hugely popular product.

They said it is just as effective as egg whites and is also more sustainable than the by-product of canned chickpeas.

“We found it’s very, very clean, it doesn’t have the smell and it’s got the protein levels – and it produces the texture and the foam really easily,” Danny said.

When they realised they were onto something, they had to make a decision – either keep their wine bar, and have this product ticking along in the background, or go all in.

They decided to go all in.

“We got rid of the bar and threw everything into Aquafab,” Danny said.

The money they made from selling the bar, together with their life savings was around half a million – and they invested it all, so it had to work.

“Right when we started production, we had to get some other investors to kick us along,” he added.

The pair said the days were long and tough, but they were determined to make it a success.

After lots of research and development, it hit shelves at the end of 2024 and not only has it made it onto global cruise liners, but the versatile, shelf-stable product is also used in around 800 venues across Australia.

“It was a fluke to be honest,” Danny said about how they managed to secure partnerships with cruise companies.

“I had a connection with the cruise industry – he is one of those guys who knows everybody in the industry across the world. And so I reached out to him and he goes, ‘Oh my God, this will be a total game changer on-board.’

“He said I had to come to the biggest cruise ship industry trade show in the world called the F & B@sea in Miami.

“We had two people making cocktails for us while we were selling the product and the cruise lines were like ‘we’ve never seen anything like this before, this is amazing.’”

From there, they secured two distributers – one with Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits – one of the biggest spirit distributers in the USA and Sump & Stammer in Germany, who service the industry in Europe.

In Australia, their distributer is Select Fresh.

Only recently, they also secured Atlantis Bahamas – another huge win that’s been added to their growing portfolio of clients.

“We didn’t think it was going to turn out so well,” Rebecca said. “But we knew there was space in the market for it.”

The couple, who just finished a capital funds raise, had their business evaluated – it’s worth $10 million.

“Not like that’s in our pocket,” Danny joked.

“In the first financial year, we made a loss, but we’re only selling for eight months. But this financial year we’ll come close to breaking even and next year we’ll start to make some money.”

Danny said it helps there are very few competitors in the market – and it’s 100% Australian-owned and made.

“All of the base product comes from Victoria. There’s no additives, there’s no chemicals, so we were very determined to make it that way,” he said.

Aquafab is sold by the carton – with 12 units in each one carton.

“Princess Cruises, for example, are loading 10 cartons per week – and once they change their cocktail program and put sours back on, there should be an uplift, so it does vary from line to line.”

Danny said for wholesale in Australia it’s sold for $14 a unit, while cruise liners who buy in bulk are looking at about $11. It works out to be roughly 60 cents a cocktail.

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