Sealand Natural Resources has this year sold one million bottles of its Sealand Birk soft drink, making a turnover of 20 million kroner.

It has been a successful year for Lars Aarup Poulsen, the founder of Sealand Natural Resources, who came up with the idea to bottle and sell the juicy water obtained from birch trees.

Ninety percent of Sealand Birk's production is exported – South Korea, the UK and the US are the largest markets.

Tapped in Finland, bottled on Funen
The birch sap was originally sourced from trees growing on Zealand (spelled Sealand by the company – hence the name), but now it comes from organically-grown trees in Finland.  

The sap is then bottled at the Ørbæk ciderhouse on Funen and mostly shipped abroad.

"We are expanding the forest area in Finland, so when we bottle up in the spring again, we will get even more juice,"  Poulsen told Politiken.

"In the future, we hope to buy our own factory."

Refreshing and naturally sweet
The pure birch sap is collected in the early spring when the taste is refreshing and sweet, so no additional sugar is used. 

The sap is commonly known for its detoxifying, diuretic, cleansing and purifying properties.

Sealand Birk is available in five variations: original or with added blueberries, elderflower, ginger or raspberry. 

One 330 ml bottle of the organic soft drink sells for 30 kroner.