Mark Wong

Mark Wong was born in Hong Kong into a family of doctors and came to the UK at the age of 13 with his younger brother, initially speaking little English. He attended St Edmund's School in Canterbury before going on to study philosophy at Durham University, where he also developed a serious passion for beer and wine — becoming one of the highest-scoring French Wine Scholars in the country and earning multiple WSET certifications before the age of 20.

In 2019, Wong received a diagnosis showing signs of early liver damage and was advised to stop drinking entirely. Unable to find a non-alcoholic beer that replicated the social and relaxing experience of alcohol rather than merely the taste, he began researching botanical alternatives. A visit to a traditional herbal medicine shop in Hong Kong and the discovery of an 800-year-old Japanese text — the Kissa Yojoki — detailing natural herbs with relaxation properties led him to the insight that would become IMPOSSIBREW. Partnering with Professor Paul Chazot, Chair of Pharmacology at Durham University, he began formulating what would become the patent-pending Social Blend: a combination of active botanicals including L-Theanine and organic ashwagandha root designed to replicate the GABA-mediated relaxation effects of alcohol.

Wong founded IMPOSSIBREW in 2021 from his Durham University bedroom, launching in Dry January of that year. He pitched on BBC's Dragons' Den in 2022 — praised by Touker Suleyman as the most credible 24-year-old to walk through the Den — but left without investment. Within hours of the episode airing, sales surged beyond his entire 2022 forecast. He subsequently ran two highly successful Crowdcube campaigns, raising over £800,000 in the first and surpassing £1.2 million within 24 hours in the second.

IMPOSSIBREW has won the prestigious 2023 World Beer Awards UK Best Non-Alcoholic Beer for both its Lager and Pale Ale, achieved the status of TikTok's most-followed beer brand across all categories, and delivered 299% three-year compound annual revenue growth between 2021 and 2024. The business reached close to £3 million in revenue in 2024 and carries an independent valuation of £12 million. Wong was named GB Food and Drink Entrepreneur of the Year in 2022 and was a finalist for GB Young Entrepreneur in 2021.