Kombucha: Let’s drink to health and wellness

What started as a hobby has since grown to become a thriving business for Eoin Flinn, the founder of Kenyan company, Booch, which produces Kombucha.

Kombucha is a fermented tea that is experiencing a surge in popularity around the world, owing, in part, to its said health benefits, which include its immune boosting properties, improving digestion, detoxifying properties and presence of probiotics that promote gut health.

Flinn founded Booch in 2016, a self-funded business producing the locally-made beverage as a healthier alternative to drinks such as soda and coffee.

Kombucha is quite popular in certain regions of the world, and Flinn and his wife, who come from Ireland, were consumers of the drink before coming to Kenya, and since they wanted to continue having it, they decided to start making it themselves.

“We started making it at home, and as it became popular amongst our friends, we decided to turn it into a business.”

At the time, he was working as a consultant, but eventually hang his boots to concentrate on his business, which he runs with his wife Megan and his sister-in-law Alison.

“Growing up, we were lucky to live in various countries, experience new cultures and became interested in bringing wellness products to new markets. The exposure to traditional cultures around the world gave us a deep and inspiring history of using nature to boost human wellness,” he explains.

Production of Kombucha

This detoxifying tangy drink has jumped from convenience stores in developed markets to Nairobi gyms and supermarkets, and entrepreneurs are making it locally.

Flinn explains that the tea is fermented via Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast (SCOBY). He uses oolong tea that comes from a selection of farms in Kenya to prepare the special brew.

Oolong tea comes from the same plant as black or green tea but is processed differently and is less bitter.

The brand is big on the Buy Kenya Build Kenya initiative, sourcing all their raw materials locally. The availability of natural ingredients locally - oolong tea, sugar, fresh fruit, and botanicals has made it possible for the brand to have a constant production of Kombucha.

“We are lucky to be in a country that is so abundant with fresh and organic produce. We recently launched our 300ml bottle, which is locally made at Consol Glass Kenya Limited, a company that makes glass packaging in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using a local source has helped with our carbon footprint and even logistics.”

“After purchasing Oolong tea in its loose-leaf form, we sweeten it with cane sugar. The sugar helps in the fermentation process.”

Through a natural fermentation process, they turn sweet tea into tart kombucha, while leaving behind probiotics, vitamins, and amino acids.

“We start by culturing a batch of oolong tea, and after some days we now have raw kombucha. We then add botanicals and real fruits like strawberry, ginger, blueberry, or raspberry for added flavour for another few days. After the flavoured kombucha is ready, we filter, bottle and refrigerate it.”

To preserve its health benefits, the tea must be kept cold at all times. This makes distribution somewhat of a challenge since as with fresh juice, it needs to be in the refrigerator to preserve its flavour.

Once the product is bottled, it is shipped to leading outlets such as supermarket chain Carrefour, Chandarana, Zucchini, Onn the Way, GreenSpoon and Artcaffe Market.

The tea retails between Sh225 to Sh260 and comes in six flavours: Strawberry, Raspberry, Blueberry, Elderflower, Mango Chili, and Passion.

With a career background in manufacturing in China and the US, Flinn and Megan have expanded their production to include craft beer through their company, 254 Brewing Co. 

Acquiring the necessary certifications and approvals took a while since kombucha is not a familiar drink in Kenya.

Flinn explains that the officials were not sure about how to test it, it helped that the business owners are part of the Kombucha Brewers Association, and together with other producers, they created a standard that should be followed by all brewers and submitted it to the relevant certifying bodies.

Youth empowerment

“Kombucha should be kept refrigerated at all times at a constant temperature to hold the fermentation process. Our products are safe to be consumed by all ages,” he says, adding that the company is keen on conserving the environment.

“We take back bottles for recycling and send our tea and fruit waste to Insectipro, a Kenyan insect farm in Limuru , who use it to make food for bugs. We are also keen to provide opportunities for the youth by empowering them to be leaders of their own craft while at work.”

The business has another arm, known as Grounded, which manufactures eco-friendly cleaning products.

“Our cleaning products are in stores such as Chandarana and Artcaffe Market. We have come a long way and are glad that Kenyans are adopting the kombucha culture and realising that they can still enjoy healthy and delicious beverages as alternatives.”

Flinn says that being in retail since 2020 has been a game-changer and has allowed them to do in-store activations and consumer sampling.

“We are now in various restaurants and bars in Nairobi such as Geco Cafe, JooSmoo, Shamba Cafe, and more. We have seen organic growth in sales and we are excited for what we can achieve going forward.”

And it shows, since the company was awarded a Gold award for Soft Beverage of the Year 2021 by Africa Industry Excellence Awards, 1st runners-up Most Preferred Natural Antioxidant Drink in 2021, and Best Infusion or Botanical Drink during the Kenya Beverage Excellence Awards in 2021.

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