A Colchester entrepreneur has taken inspiration from her African heritage to launch a range of organic drinks.

Eliza Jones’s Chosan drinks, a selection of all-natural hibiscus and baobab beverages, hark back to her childhood in the Gambia.

The mother-of-one, who worked in the not-for-profit sector in England and Africa, took the leap into self-employment after she was made redundant from a role with a local charity. She was inspired by the drinks her Aunt Esther used to make, she said.

“I’d often thought about starting a project making my own fruit-based drinks, sorbets and ice creams when I reached retirement age, but redundancy gave me the chance to think about it properly,” she said.

Chosan means ‘cultural heritage’ in Wolof, a local Gambian language. The drinks are made in Slovakia.