Continuing the deep dive into companies on the list of 20 Premium Kombucha brands published on August 11, 2026. We invited any on that list to contact us with more details. Bouche is one of Germany’s largest kombucha breweries, based in Berlin. I interviewed co-founder and CEO Walker Brengel. The podcast of our conversation is at the end of this post. Walker heads up a team of nine producing 350,000 liters of kombucha annually–over a million bottles in three distinct categories: Core Kombucha, Pet Nats, and Proxys. Core Kombucha is the foundation — fermented tea in a range of flavor profiles,
This is a follow-up about one of the companies on the list of 20 Premium Kombucha brands published on August 11, 2026. We invited any on that list to contact us with more details. I interviewed Francesco Vedovato, the owner of Funky Fermenteria, launched in October 2025, with a focus on artisanal, premium kombucha. The podcast of our conversation is at the bottom of this post. Why ‘Funky’? In the culinary world, the adjective “funky” describes flavors that are eccentric—unconventional and not necessarily immediately appealing to the average palate. Think of a slightly pungent natural wine or t
Matt Lancor launched Kombuchade out of his parents’ home in 2015. In the dozen years since then, it has grown into a strong regional brand marketed as a performance-focused kombucha crafted specifically for athletes and active individuals. We’ve created a unique formula that blends traditional kombucha with essential electrolytes, probiotics, and performance-enhancing nutrients. Unlike traditional kombuchas, which solely focus on gut health, Kombuchade is designed specifically for active individuals. It supports not only digestive health but also aids in hydration and recovery, which are cruci
I first interviewed Lucas in 2021, when he shared his opinion on why kombucha has become so popular in Brazil and the rapid growth of the industry from 2019 to 2021. He is the founder of Fermenta Com Ciência (Fermenting with Science), where he teaches courses, gives lectures, and provides consulting services. He is also the organizer of Conakom (Conferência Nacional de Produtores de Kombucha). His central role in promoting kombucha in Brazil is evidenced by his social media presence: 277,000 follow him on Instagram, 55,000 on Facebook, and 153,000 on his YouTube channel, which has 279 instruct
Thiago Cunha founded LABKOM in 2020, together with Ruan Gregório, after a technical support initiative during the COVID period helped regional beverage producers navigate process and regulatory challenges. Cunha is a chemical engineer, holds a master’s degree in biotechnology and a specialization in microbiology, and is currently a PhD candidate in chemistry at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). What began with support for a handful of kombucha brands in Minas Gerais evolved into a specialized consultancy focused on process consistency, quality control, shelf stability, and regulat
Four years ago I visited The Elixir Spot vegan cafe and kombucha brewery near the Pier in Puerto Vallarta. Then in 2024 I added an update reporting they had expanded to a second location in the 5th of December neighborhood. This year I discovered that the 5th of December location had closed and, just three months ago, The Wellness Patio opened at 165 Francisca Rodríguez, a block away from the original Elixir Spot location. This sister location is in a quieter, more relaxed place than by the busy pier where tourists congregate. Located in a pleasant courtyard, down a short flight of steps at th
World Ferment Day took place on February 1st this year. Billed as a global celebration that turns theory into practice, people were invited to taste a ferment, make a ferment, share a ferment or host a ferment event. Organizer Jo Webster was supported by The Fermentation School, Wildbrine, and The Fermentation School en español. Goodfellows Restaurant in Jo’s home town of Wells, Somerset, hosted two 15-person sold-out sittings of a ‘Cultured Lunch’ by chef Adam Fellows. Jo and her friend Caroline Gilmartin helped prepare the dishes. The Cultured Lunch constituted two back to back sell-out sitt
Last year, I met Gina Méndez, the founder of Kova Kombucha in Puerto Vallarta. At that time, I reported that she had been in business for a year, was operating out of her home, and producing 250-300 bottles per month. She planned to move to a larger space. Twelve months later, I visited Gina at her larger space. She now produces twice the quantity in Puerto Vallarta and, together with her business partner, who operates a sister brewery in Zapotlanejo, near Guadalajara, sells Kova in five cities. Between the two facilities, they are selling 700 bottles a month. The larger space means she can br
Shajia Meraj’s thesis at Karachi University, Pakistan, was a groundbreaking exploration of kombucha “leather” (dried cellulose SCOBYs) in the context of sustainable textile design. Rather than viewing this material merely as an industrial substitute for animal leather, Meraj’s research, conducted over 11 months in 2025, treats it as a living, time-based medium that responds to its environment and the care it receives. This project balances technical material experimentation and mastery with a profound conceptual inquiry into grief, memory, and circularity. Sustainability Shajia was first inspi
This is the last in a series about possible futures, published in Booch News each week, starting with a Preview on October 3rd. Episode 11 appeared last week. Overview By 2100, the Earth hums with quiet vitality. Cities are green, breathable, and alive—literally. After the Climate Reckoning of the 2050s and the Fermentation Reformation that followed, humanity abandoned synthetic consumerism and rediscovered the wisdom of the microbial world. Artificial beverages—cola, beer, wine—became relics of the Carbon Age. People sought drinks that delivered tangible benefits: nourishing the microbiome, s
I recently talked with Marianne O’Donnell, the founder of Kombucha Na Dálaigh, based in Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. I began by wishing her a Happy Christmas in her native tongue, which is the limit of my Irish language skills. This was an appropriate greeting since Kombucha Na Dálaigh is located in a Gaeltacht region of the Republic, where Irish is the everyday language and a cornerstone of local culture, traditions, and identity. Origins Having taught Food and Nutrition and Communications for 24 years, and also being a Certified Nutrition Coach, Marianne has always had a curiosity f
This is one in a series about possible futures, published in Booch News over the coming weeks. Episode 10 appeared last week. New episodes drop every Friday. Overview In this episode, we examine the years after kombucha and fermented foods emerged into the mainstream, exploring how ordinary people experienced the transition to a fermented future. This did not happen without a backlash. Opposition to the Fermentation Reformation came from multiple sources: corporate interests protecting market share, religious communities navigating theological questions, workers facing economic displacement, a
WonderBrew Kombucha made history by clinching six prestigious titles at the World Kombucha Awards 2025 in Barcelona, Spain. The brand was founded in 2018 by Joseph Poh Wen Xian and Loke Boon Eng. Origins In 2018 Joseph began a journey to transform his gut health. He would walk the aisles of the supermarket, searching for the latest health foods and supplements to try. On one of these fateful trips, he discovered kombucha (which he had never tasted before). Going with his gut instinct, he took a bottle home and, in his words, “It was love at first sip.” He did not know it at the time, but his f
This is one in a series about possible futures, published in Booch News over the coming weeks. Episode 9 appeared last week. New episodes drop every Friday. Overview Pharmaceutical companies partnered with kombucha producers to deliver medications via fermentation. Living probiotics became supportive therapy systems, enhancing the efficacy of conventional treatment. Mental health improved as gut-brain axis therapies reduced medication dependency for some patients. This episode follows Dr. Helena Marston’s development of probiotic kombucha strains that improved cancer treatment outcomes when us
Source: NotebookLM Dr. Cătălin Tîlvescu is a general surgeon and the coordinator of the Department of Hyperbaric Medicine at Nova Vita Hospital in Romania. In 2020, he founded Kombucius in his hometown of Târgu Mureș, Transylvania. Market opportunity The decision to launch was heavily influenced by a clear market opportunity in Romania. A certain level of awareness of kombucha existed in the country, as it was a popular home brew in communist times, often perceived as a “miracle cure” kept in a jar by grandmothers. Although he is a physician by training, his experience as a home brewer provide
Jake Myers, the director of the new comedy-horror movie, Kombucha, visited San Francisco this weekend. He had flown in from Chicago (where the film was shot) to host a screening at the Balboa Theater’s ‘Another Hole in the Head‘ horror-fest. He sat down with Booch News to discuss his film and explain why he chose to make a horror movie about everyone’s favorite drink. I then attended the screening and formed my own opinion of what some kombucha lovers see as a gross misrepresentation of the beverage. Highly recommended Let me say now: this is a GREAT MOVIE, and anyone offended by this tongue-i
This is one in a series about possible futures, which will be published in Booch News over the coming weeks. Episode 8 appeared last week. New episodes drop every Friday. Overview Fermentation cooperatives represent one effective social organizing principle among many. In the future, kombucha cafes could replace bars and coffee shops as primary gathering spaces—not because the beverages possess magical properties, but because fermentation creates affordable spaces where people gather around shared productive work. This episode explores Mumbai’s “Fermentation District,” where bio-breweries have
This is one in a series about possible futures, which will be published in Booch News over the coming weeks. Episode 7 appeared last week. New episodes drop every Friday. Overview Peer-to-peer flavor-sharing platforms enabled home brewers to distribute taste profiles as digital files. Blockchain-verified SCOBY genetics allowed anyone to recreate award-winning kombucha flavors. Traditional beverage companies lost control as open-source fermentation recipes spread globally. This episode follows teenage hacker Luna Reyes as she reverse-engineers Heineken’s proprietary “A-yeast” strain and the cen
I sat down with William Esslinger of Confluence Kombucha in St. Louis, Missouri. We’d just left the three-day KBI conference in Barcelona and were having lunch at Munich Airport before catching our respective connecting flights. It was William’s first time in Germany, if you count being in an airport transit lounge as being in a country. What follows is an edited transcript of our conversation. The full audio is available as a podcast at the end of this post. The Confluence Kombucha Fermentory & Ping Pong Club is located at The Fox Den, 2501 S. Jefferson Avenue, Suite 102, St. Louis, MO 63104.
This is one in a series about possible futures, which will be published in Booch News over the coming weeks. Episode 6 appeared last week. New episodes drop every Friday. Introduction Legacy beverage corporations attempting hostile takeovers of kombucha startups failed to understand the living systems involved. Their sterile production methods eliminated beneficial microorganisms, while regulatory capture backfired as health authorities mandated probiotic content. Mega-Cola’s final CEO, James Morrison, desperately tried fermenting cola using SCOBYs, creating undrinkable disasters. This episode
I visited Bioma Kombucha on the final day of my trip to Barcelona for the World Kombucha Awards and KBI European Summit. Christopher Davite is the founder of Bioma Kombucha in Barcelona. His personal health struggles, including ADHD, depression, and digestive issues, along with an unexpected allergic reaction to pollen after moving to Vancouver, led him to discover the healing benefits of kombucha. Inspired by his own transformative experience and his grandfather’s knowledge of medicinal plants, Davite shifted from a career in architecture and personal training to founding Bioma Kombucha in 20
This is one in a series about possible futures, which will be published in Booch News over the coming weeks. Episode 5 appeared last week. New episodes drop every Friday. Introduction In the mid-21st century, rising seas and extreme weather rendered traditional agriculture impossible, but kombucha cultures thrived in controlled environments. Vertical fermentation towers became humanity’s primary food production method, with kombucha serving as a crucial source of nutrition. Climate refugees built resilient communities around shared SCOBY cultures that could withstand disasters. A critical chal
Origins Jordi Dalmau improved his health with kombucha and founded Mūn Kombucha. He is a multi-year World Kombucha Awards winner and sits on the KBI Board of Directors. Kombucha proved to be a solution to the health problems he had experienced since he was a child, which were due to Gilbert’s syndrome, which he was diagnosed with when he was only 13 years old. An engineer by profession, Jordi struggled with daily headaches, muscle pain, and fatigue caused by his difficulty eliminating toxins through the liver. The search for better health had been tireless. After various dietary modifications,
This is one in a series about possible futures, which will be published in Booch News over the coming weeks. Episode 4 appeared last week. New episodes drop every Friday. Overview The fermentation revolution isn’t about returning to the past, but about recognizing that humanity’s oldest food may be its most sophisticated—algorithms encoded in bacteria, operating on time rather than electricity, generating complexity no factory can replicate. When the global cold chain collapsed during the Three-Week Blackout of 2047, humanity faced a choice: starve or remember. Ultra-processed food, dependent
I met Khadija Benslimane at the recent KBI European Salon and World Kombucha Awards event in Barcelona. She founded KaBé Kombucha in Casablanca, Morocco, just 18 months ago. This is the first and so far the only commercial kombucha brand in a country of almost 40 million — an outstanding example of a Blue Ocean Strategy. Award Winning KaBé Kombucha was honored as the *only* recipient of a medal in the Original, Black Tea category for their Earl Grey. Their Gold Medal stood alone. There was no Silver or Bronze awarded. An impressive accomplishment for a new brand! Background The brand name is f
