NEWS IN BRIEF
Better Booch expands nationally entering new Whole Foods regions, sees 320% growth of canned kombucha line
Better Booch will also be available in Central market, Nugget Markets, and New Leaf stores in California. The brand has also signed on with new distribution partners, Iris Nova (distributor for hot emerging beverage brands including Dirty Lemon and Olipop) in the Northeast and Dynamo in Texas, which distributes Weller, lemon perfect, C4, and Recess, among many others.
To lead its growth from a one-gallon jar operation to brewing over 10,000 gallons weekly, the company hired Jordan Shulman (formerly with Vita Coco, LIFEAID Beverage Company, and Verve Coffee Roasters) as its VP of sales earlier this year, who said he believes Better Booch has the potential to become the #1 canned kombucha in the US.
Better Booch's canned kombucha has become the brand's main product line (as the company no longer make its kombucha packaged in glass bottles) attracting consumers who are embracing it for its convenience and accessibility compared to traditional glass bottles, co-founder Ashleigh Lockerbie previously told FoodNavigator-USA.
"Many craft beer breweries have been moving into cans because it can be argued that it better preserves the product, cans can go places glass cannot, like the beach or pool or park, and they are infinitely recyclable," said Lockerbie.
The brand, based out of Los Angeles, California, saw over 320% growth of its canned product in the last 12 months. Better Booch 100% tea-based canned kombucha line comes in eight SKUs (citrus sunrise, golden pear, ginger boost, morning glory, rose bliss, cherry retreat, and hola horchata), which contain 50 calories and 10g of sugar per 16-ounce can (SRP $2.99).
Every batch of Better Booch kombucha is quadruple tested for probiotic count, yeast count, sugar content and alcohol content by the brand’s in-house master brewers using a proprietary process to ensure non-alcoholic kombucha without pasteurization, claimed the company.
KombuchaKon virtual conference: Sept 17-18
Interested in kombucha? Kombucha Brewers International's annual KombuchaKon conference is going virtual this year, running on September 17-18. For details, and to register, click here.
