We’re not a startup
Nor a corporation
We’re five people who got tired of overly sweet soft drinks.
Behind Liquid Positive isn’t an investment fund, a marketing agency, or a visionary in a turtleneck sweater. It’s built on hops, years of experimentation, and five people who one day realized that an adult drink doesn’t have to mean alcohol — and a soft drink doesn’t have to mean sugar.
It started with a question a brewmaster was never supposed to ask
“What if craving hops didn’t automatically mean craving alcohol?”
Slovaks drink less alcohol than they did ten years ago. We’re not becoming a nation of abstainers – we just care more and more about how we feel the next morning. But when you skip beer at a bar, you’re usually left with sparkling water, lemonade, or some liquid dessert loaded with three kinds of syrup.
That didn’t feel like enough to us. So we started experimenting with what we know best – hops. Not as a substitute for beer, but as an ingredient in its own right. Something capable of delivering bitterness, aroma, and character even without malt, yeast, or alcohol.
The result isn’t for everyone. And that’s perfectly fine.
None of us do this as a side hustle next to a consulting career.
This is our job. And we do it because we couldn’t buy a drink like this ourselves.
Head Brewer
Peter Demko
“I’ve been talking to hops longer than I’ve been talking to some people.”
Peter has won more than 15 awards and earned the title of Brewer of the Year. He co-founded the Žiwell brewery, but at one point he started asking the kind of question brewers usually avoid: does hops really have to stay trapped inside beer forever?
Lead Investor
Tomáš Polerecký
“I think best when nobody’s taking photos of me.”
Tomáš has successfully built several companies. He’s not the type of founder who appears on panels or writes LinkedIn threads about “building culture.” He prefers doing the actual work. He brought money, experience, and above all calmness into Liquid Positive – the rarest resource in any young company. If you ever read our story in the media, chances are you won’t see his name there. And that’s exactly how he wants it.
Marketing, E-shop & Soul of the Brand
Saška Bukovčanová
“If Liquid Positive ever starts feeling like every other brand, that’s on me.”
Saška gives the brand its voice, tone, and face. She manages the e-shop, social media, and makes sure we never slip into the cliché of happy-family-picnic marketing photos. She’s the reason Liquid Positive sounds less like a PowerPoint presentation and more like a conversation with someone who actually knows what they’re talking about. Whenever we come up with another “brilliant” idea starting with “what if we just…”, she’s the one keeping us grounded.
Sales & Networking
Martin Hrušovský
“I know a guy who knows a guy. And the next guy too.”
Martin, a.k.a. Hrušky, is a natural-born salesman. Not the type who pressures you – the type who listens first and then gives you an answer that actually makes sense. His network reaches beyond borders, into venues where you wouldn’t expect to find our drink, and into the hands of people who then start talking about it on their own. If you’re drinking Liquid Positive at a venue or a B2B event, there’s a good chance he’s the reason it’s there. Sales isn’t manipulation – it’s a conversation. And that’s where Hrušky feels at home.
COO (or something like that)
Martin Eichler
“My position? Whatever nobody else wants to do.”
Martin is the kind of person you never notice in a company – and without him, everything would fall apart within a week. An undercover introvert, he handles logistics, suppliers, numbers, production, paperwork, warehouses, and everything else that doesn’t have a clear title on the org chart. Officially, we call him COO. In reality, he’s the reason Liquid Positive actually makes it from production into your hands.
Some things are worth taking time for.
We believe bitterness is a grown-up taste. That an evening doesn’t have to revolve around getting drunk – or detoxing. That conversations around the table can go deeper than the latest Instagram story. And that a hop-based lemonade shouldn’t try to imitate beer, radler, or “functional beverages.” Liquid Positive isn’t for everyone.
But if you’ve found yourself in it – welcome.
