Safer, Easier, and More Enjoyable Dysphagia Friendly Drinks Since 2005
Slõ Drinks started with a simple, life-changing question.
Our founder, Mathew, was leaving a puree tasting session at a Manchester hospital when he asked a Speech and Language Therapist:
“Is there anything else your dysphagia patients would like?”
Her answer was clear:
“A pleasant thickened drink.”
Mathew had spent most of his career creating food and drink brands, particularly in the UK’s Catering sector. Transitioning to Healthcare, he focused on special diets for NHS hospitals, learning how critical nutrition is to patient recovery and wellbeing.
That experience introduced him to dysphagia—a condition that makes swallowing difficult. Once diagnosed, patients need modified diets to avoid aspiration (food or drink entering the lungs), which can lead to pneumonia, malnutrition, and worse.
To stay safe, meals often need to be pureed or soft, and drinks must be thickened to the correct consistency.
At that time, the main option for thickening drinks was tins of modified maize starch powder. These thickeners hadn’t evolved in over a decade. Preparation was inconsistent, time-consuming, and often produced drinks that were too thick, gritty, unappealing, and difficult to swallow safely.
Mathew believed people with dysphagia deserved better—drinks that are safe, easy, and enjoyable.
We began by reviewing existing practice. Many drinks were too thick or too thin for patients’ needs. Drinks would separate, become too thick over time, or contain large, undissolved lumps.
Over months of travel, Mathew met with clinicians, therapists, and carers across the UK. He presented a new idea:
• A cup with measured powdered drink flavouring and the exact dose of thickener.
• Add water.
• The result? A safer, more consistent Dysphagia Friendly Drink at the correct IDDSI Level
Some were sceptical. Others saw the potential. After thousands of miles and countless hours, success came mid-2006.
• Slõ Drinks in cups were presented to Manchester Royal Infirmary and Royal Liverpool Hospital with no changes requested.
• Both hospitals placed orders.
To ensure patients received the same safe drinks after discharge, we applied to the Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances (ACBS) to make Slõ Drinks available on NHS prescription.
• Slõ Cold Juice Drinks were approved.
• Slõ Hot Chocolate, White Coffee, and White Tea were approved in 2009.
Focus shifted to getting Slõ Drinks into more hospitals.
Sales grew steadily, though most NHS hospitals had existing contracts with international pharma suppliers.
We applied to NHS Supplies to be listed on the Enteral Feeds contract. This meant every NHS hospital ward in the UK could order Slõ Drinks directly—making safer, easier, and enjoyable Dysphagia Friendly Drinks accessible nationwide.
Approval for Slõ Hot Drinks was achieved, expanding our range.
A significant meeting that year led to our next challenge.
A Dietitian asked if we could provide savoury, high-protein, high-calorie drinks for dysphagia patients at risk of malnutrition – an ONS pre thickened Nutri drink.
We developed a natural-ingredient thickened soup, tested for safety, taste, and ease of use. But by the end of 2010, research showed limited demand for savoury oral nutritional supplements (ONS). We chose to focus our efforts on drinks patients truly wanted to consume.
At a meeting, a clinician joked that we should make Sloe Gin for patients. She explained people with dysphagia wanted to enjoy alcohol socially—not to get drunk, but for taste and company.
Mathew took that seriously. Research highlighted a real need to make alcoholic drinks safer to swallow, but no immediate action was taken.
The idea resurfaced when a Dietitian asked if we had an alcoholic option—her elderly patient wanted to take Communion but couldn’t swallow wine safely.
We developed a tasteless, quick-dissolving clear thickener for wine, carefully tested to match IDDSI Levels.
• The first sachet transformed a standard 175 ml glass of wine into a safer, consistent Dysphagia Friendly Drink.
This led to a shift in how Slõ Drinks were made:
• We measured and tested our thickeners with real drinks, considering fats, sugars, and pH levels.
• We calculated exact doses for each drink type and packaged them in single-serve sachets.
• Just mix with the volume of liquid we specify for a safe, easy, and enjoyable result.
We became pioneers in using blends of thickeners.
A Paediatric Dietitian asked if we could make fizzy drinks safer. Her patient wanted cola but couldn’t drink it safely.
We created Slõ Fizzy:
• A sachet that transformed any carbonated drink—cola, lemonade, carbonated water—into a safer dysphagia friendly drink while preserving the pleasant bubbling sensation.
We then adapted the same technology for carbonated alcoholic drinks, creating Slõ Beer and Slõ Cider sachets.
That year also marked the start of our largest research project to date:
• Creating a milk-based oral nutritional supplement (ONS) pre thickened Nutri drink that consistently met the prescribed IDDSI Level, was easy to prepare and enjoyable to drink.
Research revealed existing methods for thickening milk-based
ONS didn’t work. High-fat content prevented standard thickeners from bonding,
and ready-to-drink options were expensive.
We developed Slõ Milkshakes+ ONS pre thickened Nutri drink and it was the first powdered one for patients with dysphagia.
• Patient testing began in 2015 with strong results.
• An ACBS application was submitted (and revised after initial feedback).
We also received our first enquiry from America, highlighting international interest in safer, easier Dysphagia friendly drinks.
• Approved in March 2016.
• The world’s first powdered, pre-thickened oral nutritional supplement.
Despite early challenges (labelling 40,000 sachets by hand and low initial sales), we persisted.
Meanwhile, research continued into making solid-dose medication safer to swallow—reflecting our commitment to safety and ease for all swallowing needs.
Clinicians noted that people with dysphagia often had vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Pills were difficult or impossible to swallow.
We developed Slõ Vitamin Sprays:
• Delivering the daily recommended allowance of 12 essential vitamins via an oral spray absorbed through the cheek.
Although the sprays were eventually withdrawn in 2018, they demonstrated our ongoing commitment to safe, innovative, Dysphagia Friendly solutions.
• The UK adopted the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI).
• We became the first company to print IDDSI Levels clearly on our packaging, supporting carers and clinicians in delivering safe drinks.
To help reduce cross-contamination risks in hospitals and care homes, we partnered with our supplier to use antibacterial varnish on all our sachets—an industry first.
We launched Pill-Eze.
• A pre-thickened liquid drink with a sweet cherry flavour that wraps around tablets to help them slide down safely.
• Chemically neutral and pH-matched to the stomach, it’s compatible with most solid-dose medications.
After over 100 scientific compatibility studies, Pill-Eze offers a safer, cost-effective alternative to liquid medicine formulations, supporting health systems under financial pressure.
We developed Slõ Juice+:
• The first powdered, pre-thickened oral nutritional supplement suitable for vegans, ensuring inclusivity without compromising safety or enjoyment.
• A new Banana flavour Slõ Milkshake+ was created, with testing starting immediately.
We also prepared to meet growing demand for IDDSI Level 1 – Slightly Thick drinks.
• Slõ Milkshake+ Banana approved for prescription.
• Sales of IDDSI Level 1 products grew as awareness increased.
Meanwhile, we worked on making hot and cold drinks even easier and quicker to thicken than using tins of powder.
We finalised the Slõ Juice+ formula but paused launch plans due to rising ingredient costs—choosing to focus on maintaining supply of existing products.
• Sales of Slõ Milkshakes+ continued to grow in the UK and overseas.
We listened to clinicians and patients:
• Removed soya (a major allergen).
• Replaced artificial ingredients with real bananas, strawberries, and cocoa.
• Reduced E numbers to the lowest in the category.
We also redesigned our packaging:
• Halved sachet size using recyclable plastic film.
• Removed paper inserts by printing nutritional content on the pouch itself.
• Created a single pouch per flavour usable for all IDDSI Levels, reducing waste.
We partnered with a Belgian distributor and began the approval process with Belgian health authorities.
• Sales of Slõ Milkshakes+ kept growing.
• Unexpectedly, sales of Slõ Wine, Beer, and Fizzy Drinks sachets increased.
Rising ingredient costs forced us to increase prices for the first time in years—but even with this change, Slõ Drinks remain a cost-effective way to prepare safe, enjoyable dysphagia friendly drinks.
We also developed Slõ Syrup:
• Inspired by coffee syrups to sweeten thickened drinks.
• Discovered it could also thicken drinks precisely: 1 pump = IDDSI Level 1, 2 pumps = Level 2, 3 pumps = Level 3.
Though not originally designed as a thickener, we embraced its versatility. We’re now finalising guidance to help users make safe, easy, and consistent drinks.
• June: Belgian Food Authority approved Slõ Milkshakes+. Our partner began selling in Belgium.
• Slõ Syrup –started being used as intended.
• August: At a meeting with Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, a Dietitian asked if Slõ Syrup could thicken fortified milk.
Testing confirmed:
• It works with fortified milk, semi-skimmed, skimmed, almond, coconut, goat, oat, and soya milk.
• It maintains IDDSI Level 1, 2, or 3 all day if kept in the fridge.
• Produces lump-free, grit-free drinks that taste just like milk.
• Slõ Syrup now replaces our clear thickener in sachets. It’s ease of use, provides a level of safety never seen before and makes thickening drinks with clear powders outdated and old fashioned.
Initially produced in only 1 Litre bottles, it’s also available in 600ml, 200ml trial bottles and sachets to use on the move.
• The Slõ Stirrer is developed and put on sale. It provides a way for users to find the right size glass, measure the 200mls of a drink required for Slõ Syrup and then stir the Slõ Syrup into it efficiently.
• Thickeners take time to work and a drink will not be ready to drink in a minute. This is why we specify leaving a drink made with Slõ Syrup for 5 minutes and a Slõ Milkshake+ for 10 minutes. As a reminder we created the Slõ Chicken Thicken Timer and made it
available.
• Overseas expansion continues and Slõ Drinks will shortly be available in Germany, Denmark and Mexico. Other European countries will follow and they are also made available on Amazon.
Since 2005, Slõ Drinks has been dedicated to making safe, easy, and enjoyable Dysphagia Friendly Drinks.
We work alongside clinicians, carers, and patients to pioneer better Drinks Thickeners, Liquid Drinks Thickeners, and complete drink solutions that meet IDDSI Levels reliably and taste great.
We’re proud to support people living with dysphagia in the UK and around the world—to help them enjoy drinking with confidence again.
