Australia’s relationship with alcohol is changing, but we’re not breaking up with the bottle just yet.
As the sober-curious movement gains momentum alongside the nation’s long-standing drinking culture, new wellness brands are carving out space in the middle ground.
Enter Hangxiety Halo, a startup combining science and simplicity to help Australians recover faster – both physically and mentally – after a big night out.
The brand’s sachet formula blends 13 natural ingredients, including chamomile, lemon balm, magnesium, and milk thistle, designed to ease tension, calm the mind, and restore hydration.
Hangxiety Halo co-founder Adam Tomlinson
Finding balance in a culture of excess
Co-founder Adam Tomlinson said the idea was sparked by a conversation with his then flatmate – a self-described social butterfly who struggled with post-party anxiety.
“He was always the life and soul of the party,” Tomlinson said.
“But the next morning, he was just a shell of his former self. He’d deal with the physical hangover – Panadol, a nap, a shower – but he also had underlying anxiety and would really overthink the night before. We started talking about it, and I realised I often did the same.”
That chat became the foundation for Hangxiety Halo’s hybrid focus on both hangover relief and mild anxiety support.
“It’s not a miracle cure,” Tomlinson said, “but it helps people feel like themselves again, faster.”
From kitchen experiment to wellness brand
Tomlinson said the founding team began by experimenting with natural teas and herbal blends before bringing on expert recipe developers to refine the formula and secure TGA listing – a rare step for a young wellness brand.
“We’ve got 13 natural ingredients, broken down into herbs, vitamins, and minerals,” he explained.
“The main anti-anxiety elements come from chamomile, lemon balm, and magnesium in higher doses. Then we added hangover-relief ingredients like Asian pear, kudzu, and milk thistle, plus hydration support. We wanted to cover it from all angles.”
The result is an all-natural, sugar-free, and vegan formula that dissolves in water – a product Tomlinson says fits perfectly in a market where moderation and mindfulness are increasingly mainstream.
The sweet spot between ritual and recovery
For a nation known for its drinking culture, the success of alcohol-free and “better-for-you” beverage brands like Sobah and Heaps Normal has already shown how wellness can coexist with social drinking.
Hangxiety Halo’ is pushing that coexistence further – not by discouraging the night out, but by helping people recover with fewer regrets.
“We’re not here to enable drinking,” Tomlinson said.
“But we know it’s still a big part of younger Western culture. We see it as levelling the playing field – helping people enjoy social occasions without suffering unnecessarily if they’re prone to mild anxiety.”
He added that while Hangxiety Halo’ began as a hangover drink, customers are increasingly using it as a daily relaxation aid, mixing it with hot water like a tea.
“What feels huge in the morning often feels irrelevant by the next day,” he said.
“Our goal is to help people get to that point sooner – physically and mentally.”
As Australians continue to question how and why they drink, Hangxiety Halo has found a timely foothold in the country’s shifting wellness economy – a reminder that the future of drinking might not be less fun, just more forgiving.