
The fermented, probiotic-rich nature was said to improve digestion and ward off disease. Soon, more celebrities were hailing the drink as a longevity-boosting elixir. Celebrities like Gweneth Paltrow and Naomi Campbell, both of whom consumers looked to for health and beauty advice, praised GT’s kombucha across interviews. The drink’s health benefits aligned perfectly with the Whole Foods mission, and GT’s was soon made available to wellness warriors across the country. Then, a pivotal moment occurred in 1999: Whole Foods got word of GT’s Kombucha. In fact, GT was turned down by many of the stores he approached. While the product gained moderate momentum through this technique, it didn’t become a commercial success overnight. GT brewing small batches in really early day.

His mom often appeared in stores alongside the drink to pitch its health benefits, sharing her personal recovery story with both skeptics and followers. His strategy? Walking into health food stores across Los Angeles and pitching his product face-to-face.
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While it may have been easier to explain the new beverage in major press releases and on TV commercials, Dave humbly pursued a one-man promotion operation instead. What are probiotics? How can fermented foods help the body? These were the many questions Dave had to answer on a daily basis. When GT’s emerged in the health foods market in the late 1990’s, the idea of kombucha was foreign to most. It's a living culture that sometimes appears as a flat pancake-like disc, and a single 'SCOBY' can brew multiple batches of kombucha Starting From Scratch 'SCOBY' is an acronym for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, kind of like a starter for baking sourdough. And when it helped his mother with her battle against cancer, GT Dave knew that it was time to bring kombucha to the masses. It wasn’t until his family and friends started asking to buy the home brew that he considered making the hobby into a business. It was all because of a man called George Thomas Dave (GT Dave) and his hand-me-down scoby.* Dave and his family brewed the drink as an at-home hobby after receiving the culture from a friend. The mass commercial growth of this bubbly beverage wasn’t by chance. Via TechNavio : Kombucha market will grow and grow This number is expected to exceed 2.4 billion by the year 2022, showing that sales of the drink aren’t slowing down anytime soon. It’s also good for making money: In 2016, the global market value of kombucha was estimated at 1.06 billion U.S. Kombucha is still consumed for its wellness benefits, and many people believe the drink can improve digestion, boost immunity and reduce the risk of certain diseases. While the exact origins of kombucha remain murky, one fact is clear: humans have been brewing and drinking it in the name of good health for thousands of years. How do you sell a product in an entirely new category? How do you stay true to your small-batch roots when you go mainstream? How do you even sell a product when people don’t know what it is?įrom handing out bottles in small scale health foods stores to sponsoring the biggest music festivals on earth, here’s how GT’s became America’s first commercial kombucha brewer.

As the health food brand that made fermented drinks cool again, GT’s kombucha is an uncanny marketing success story across multiple fronts.
