Former Brewdog chief executive James Watt has launched a new hangover drink business named Fool's Fix, offering free company equity to its first 20,000 customers and former Brewdog investors.
The venture contains electrolytes, vitamins, minerals and prickly pear, and is designed to be consumed after a drinking session to alleviate hangover side effects the following day.
"I now drink Fool’s Fix religiously after drinking," drinks industry veteran Watt told This is Money. "And having made 2billion cans of beer, I have caused my fair share of hangovers, so I wanted to do something about that!"
Under the customer equity offer, the first 20,000 customers can claim 100 free shares in Fool's Fix, transferring a total 10 per cent stake in the business to its initial customer base.
"As opposed to giving equity to celebs, influencers and advisors, we are giving equity to our customers instead," Watt said.
To claim their shares, customers must purchase drinks from the official Fool's Fix website, submit an online registration form, and pass application verification. Approved applicants become a "Founding Fool" with a stake in the business, a lifetime discount, a Founding Fool number and a digital card.
Shares for former Brewdog investors
Watt explained that Fool's Fix will operate with two separate ownership pools.
In addition to the 10 per cent allocation for the first 20,000 customers, every former Brewdog Equity Punk investor can claim the exact same stake in Fool's Fix that they previously held in Brewdog for free.
"This means former Equity Punks can now have ownership stakes in Second Best (my new beer business) and Fool’s Fix - both for free," Watt said.
Brewdog's Equity for Punks scheme previously promised investors a chance to "own a slice of the brewery and share in its success and growth," offering perks such as discounts on beer purchases and free birthday beer. The scheme raised £75million before closing to new investors in 2021.
However, Brewdog collapsed into administration in March this year, leaving over 200,000 Equity Punks reeling.
US firm Tilray subsequently acquired parts of the Brewdog business in a £33million deal, which resulted in the closure of 38 bars and 484 staff job losses. Administrators confirmed from the outset that Equity for Punks investors would receive no financial return from the transaction and would lose their money.
Money back guarantee and background
Watt has also pledged to give Fool's Fix customers a full refund if they wake up after drinking and do not feel better than they did the previous night.
"We spent more than a year developing Fool’s Fix, specifically choosing ingredients that support hydration, restoration and normal bodily function after drinking," Watt said. "But everyone is different and that’s exactly why the guarantee exists. If you try Fool’s Fix and genuinely don’t feel better the next morning than you normally would after drinking, we’ll give you your money back."
"I expect some people will claim it," he added. "I’ll actually be fascinated to see how many. But we’re confident enough and how it works in the product that we are happy to offer the money back guarantee."
Watt ran Brewdog for 17 years before stepping down as chief executive in 2024 to become "captain and co-founder". Co-founder Martin Dickie left the company in 2025 citing personal reasons. Both founders had previously sold shares to US private equity firm TSG in 2017, earning £50million each.
Following his departure from Brewdog, Watt launched beer brand Second Best, offering nearly 20 per cent of its shares to investors who lost money in the Equity for Punks collapse. Last month, Watt submitted a formal offer to Tilray in an attempt to buy back the Brewdog brand.
