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Ao final da CONAKOM, perguntei aos participantes sobre os desafios que seus negócios enfrentam, o futuro da kombucha no Brasil e o que acharam da conferência. O podcast está em português; uma tradução para o inglês encontra-se logo abaixo. >>> At the conclusion of CONAKOM I asked attendees about the challenges their businesses face, the future of kombucha in Brazil, and what they thought of the co...

No início da 5ª edição anual da CONAKOM (Conferência Nacional de Produtores de Kombucha), circulei entre o público e perguntei o que esperavam obter com o evento. Ouça o podcast abaixo para saber quais são as expectativas deles. O podcast está em português; uma tradução para o inglês encontra-se logo abaixo. >>> At the start of the 5th annual CONAKOM (Brazilian National Kombucha Producers Conferen...

The day before CONAKOM, I visited the fermented food and beverage bar in Sao Paulo, which is the showroom for the products produced by Companhia dos Fermentados in their factory located in Barueri, in the northwestern part of the Metropolitan Region. I met company co-founder Leonardo Andrade, who started the company 10 years ago with his husband, Fernando Carvalhaes. Their company creates innovati...

The day before CONAKOM, I visited Raphael Hennies, founder of Puro Verde Kombucha , at his factory in one of São Paulo’s last industrial areas. Raphael founded the company in 2013, after experimenting with cold-pressed juices. He now manages multiple product lines under the WeBev umbrella. In addition to kombucha, which accounts for 70% of sales, they also produce a shelf-stable carbonated t...

Continuing the deep dive into companies on the list of 27 Premium Kombucha brands published on August 11, 2026. We invited any on that list to contact us with more details. I interviewed Noushin Norouzian, the founder of Noush|Cha Kombucha , hand-crafted in Maastricht, Limburg , in the far south of the Netherlands, close to Belgium and Germany. The brand Noush|Cha is derived from Noushin’s n...

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 producin...

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&#8...

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...

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...

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 Gera...

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 orig...

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,...

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...

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...

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 re...

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 corn...

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...

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...

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-b...

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 count...

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...

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 ma...

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...

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 conv...

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...