You've probably been here before.
A couple of glasses too many on a weeknight, or a big weekend that you weren't really planning. You wake up dusty, you've got somewhere to be, and you stagger to the chilled section at the supermarket in search of something that might save you. A Lucozade, a cold can of Coke, an innocent smoothie, a ginger shot from the fridge by the till. One hydrates, one gives you sugar, one makes you feel vaguely virtuous. None of them designed to give your body what it’s actually asking for in this moment of need.
After one too many experiences like this, founder Todd Bruce decided to create Reclaim. A functional recovery drink, built around real ingredients at proper doses, designed to genuinely replenish your body and do what your scattered Tesco meal-deal of recovery products is trying and failing to do in one can.
A miracle in a can? Some might say yes. I certainly would, but I'll let you read on to decide for yourself.
What is Reclaim?
At it’s core, Reclaim is a non-fizzy functional recovery drink in a 150ml can, originally built for the morning after a heavy night, but whilst hangovers might have been the entry point, they aren't the whole story.
Inside the can you’ll find: 3,000mg of functional mushrooms (1,500mg of lion's mane and 1,500mg of cordyceps, both at doses higher than Todd has found in any competing UK drink!). Add to that with 400mg of ginseng, 200mg of L-theanine, all eight B vitamins at 100% of recommended intake, vitamin C from acerola cherry, NAC, choline and milk thistle for liver support, and zinc, magnesium, potassium and iodine for electrolytes. With every dose is printed on the can in the interest of transparency.
“Okay great, but with all of that, what does it taste like”, I hear you asking.
The flavour profile blends a strong punch of ginger drink on a base of organic coconut water, keeping it deliberately flat to help soothe a stomach that took a few too many punches the night before.
That truly mind-blowing ingredient stack that gets you through a rough morning is doing useful work in any state of depletion: the 3pm slump, travel fatigue, morning brain fog, post-workout drain. Todd's positioning Reclaim as a recovery drink for all occasions, not just the one that comes with a headache & a story.
Reclaim is currently sold direct via their website, from a host of amazing independant retailers and soon you'll find it in hotel mini-bars.
How does Reclaim work?
Well… it’s a drink so as far as usage goes, you drink it in the morning after. Or before you get to the office. Or in the back of a taxi on the way to a meeting you don't want to be at.
But what it does is really where the magic is is the ingredients this product delivers, so let’s look at what each of them has been reported to support with.
| Ingredient | What it's associated with |
|---|---|
| Lion's mane | Functional mushroom traditionally linked to focus and cognitive support |
| Cordyceps | Functional mushroom traditionally linked to energy and stamina |
| Ginseng | Adaptogen long used to support energy and resilience to fatigue |
| L-theanine | Amino acid found in tea, associated with calm focus |
| B1 (thiamine) | Contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism |
| B2 (riboflavin) | Contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism and the reduction of tiredness |
| B3 (niacin) | Contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism and the reduction of tiredness |
| B5 (pantothenic acid) | Contributes to normal mental performance and the reduction of tiredness |
| B6 (pyridoxine) | Contributes to normal psychological function and the reduction of tiredness |
| B7 (biotin) | Contributes to normal psychological function and energy metabolism |
| B9 (folate) | Contributes to normal psychological function and the reduction of tiredness |
| B12 (cobalamin) | Contributes to normal energy metabolism and the reduction of tiredness |
| Vitamin C (from acerola cherry) | Contributes to normal immune function and the reduction of tiredness |
| NAC (N-acetylcysteine) | Amino acid precursor traditionally associated with liver support |
| Choline | Contributes to normal liver function and lipid metabolism |
| Milk thistle | Traditionally used to support liver function |
| Zinc | Contributes to normal immune function and cognitive function |
| Magnesium | Electrolyte that contributes to normal muscle function and the reduction of tiredness |
| Potassium | Electrolyte that contributes to normal nervous system and muscle function |
| Iodine | Contributes to normal cognitive function and energy metabolism |
Meet the founder: Todd Bruce
Todd's CV does not, on paper, point to functional drinks.
He spent four years as crew on superyachts after a stint in hospitality, knowing the whole time that he wanted to build something of his own. When he eventually quit, he came home to the UK with no plan and started running at ideas to see what stuck. A tech business, despite knowing nothing about tech. A pothole-filling business, despite having no particular passion for potholes. He'll tell you about both, cheerfully, if you ask!
The Reclaim idea arrived after a festival. Todd was hungover, standing in a supermarket, staring at a fridge full of products that weren't built for the problem he was trying to solve. “Why is there not one simple, all-in-one solution? One product that brings together all the elements that you want when you are hungover, but done in a much more natural, whole-ingredient way?”
He had no nutritional training, so he bought an A-to-Z encyclopedia of supplements and went through it with a highlighter. Then he hired one of the UK's top nutritionists, who took his three weeks of research and binned most of his research on the basis that 99% of the claims out there don't hold up. From there, the brief was simple: build a drink that does what it says, with doses that actually do something, and put the numbers on the can.
The drink took four months to formulate with food scientist Jess at S.H. Foodie, who told Todd they'd never seen a brief with this many active ingredients in a single can.
Why we love Reclaim:
There are two reasons we keep coming back to Reclaim. The first is the ingredient transparency. The functional drinks category in the UK is built on hiding the doses, naming the ingredient on the front of the can, and hoping the customer doesn't ask how much is actually in there. Reclaim prints every dose on the side of the can, and the doses are real. That's a small, repeatable act of honesty that makes a louder claim about the product than any marketing could.
The second is Todd. He's a guy who quit a superyacht job, tried a tech business and a pothole business before he landed on this one, and built the product because he was tired of standing in supermarkets feeling rough. There's no constructed origin myth. The best consumer brands often start exactly like this: someone who lives the problem, can't find the solution, and decides to build it themselves
We'll be watching this one closely as it continues to grow.
We sat down with Todd to learn more about Reclaim and how he's bringing some honesty to the morning after. You can listen to the full conversation on The Discovery Call podcast on Spotify or YouTube below.
🎧 Listen to the episode here