How To Start A Kombucha Business

Wondering how to start a kombucha business? Check out the Neighborhood Kombuchery to learn how to sell kombucha successfully.

Reader Contribution by Wendy Gregory
Updated on January 4, 2024
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by AdobeStock/Brent Hofacker

Wondering how to start a kombucha business? Check out the Neighborhood Kombuchery to learn how to sell kombucha successfully.

Kombucha fans who had dabbled in homebrewing, Andrew Rhodes, aerospace engineering student and Carissa Herman working in marketing, discovered a co-op that sold kombucha on tap while traveling. That sparked the idea that Morgantown, WV needed a venue that brewed and served kombucha on tap. The downtown area of this college town is filled with cafes, restaurants, a farmers’ market, and monthly art walks that now host pop ups of the Neighborhood Kombuchery tents and restaurants with taps of their own for refilling growlers or complementing the meals they serve.

Andrew, a PHD candidate at West Virginia University at the time, submitted his business plan to the West Virginia Business Plan Competition and was one of the winners. Open to West Virginia high school and college students, the competition is hosted by WVU John Chambers College of Business & Economics and the Enova Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Winners of the competition are given cash prizes and the expertise of the institution and seasoned professionals across the country to bring their business plans to life. Rhodes used the resources to write the business plan and received assistance in editing and fine-tuning his plan from the business incubator at WVU, Launch Lab, staff. After two previous attempts at a winning business plan, Rhodes won on his third try. After winning the competition and starting the business, Rhodes returned to present to subsequent competitors to share his experience of launching a business from his winning plan.

From choosing local graphic designer, Tara Smith, to hiring a local woodworker to make their taps with Smith’s logo design, Rhodes and Herman’s business plan had one guiding principle: to use local businesses whenever possible. Using locally grown seasonal and sourced ingredients as much as possible and focusing on beneficial herbs, Andrew and Carissa have been brewing and serving since 2019. Kombucha, a fermented and fizzy drink made with tea, sugar, bacteria, and yeast has gained popularity as consumers look for probiotics and fermented foods for their positive effects on gut health. The sober curious and those looking to limit alcohol and searching for substitutes are also part of the kombucha crowd. While the fermentation process does leave residual alcohol and is not for those avoiding alcohol entirely, those looking for a refreshing, interesting, and potential health boosting beverage are lining up to have their growlers and glasses filled in Morgantown.

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