KBI Verified Seal Program

Since its inception in 2014, Kombucha Brewers International (KBI) has long understood that kombucha is not well understood by the vast majority of consumers, regulators, retailers and distributors. As early as 2015, KBI began developing a “KBI Verified” seal, and with the launch of the Kombucha Code of Practice in 2020, there is now a published common understanding of kombucha product standards and labeling requirements. It has been updated yearly to the most current information and is currently in version 3.0

Traditional kombucha brewers are vital to maintaining the integrity of kombucha through the generations, though due to shelf life limitations, they may, by necessity, have a smaller footprint. And we need to attract consumers from several other categories, including soda, energy drinks, coffee, alcohol, and more.

To do so, having a wide variety of options available – including concentrate, pasteurized, low sugar, et al. is vital. Consumers are naturally curious and sophisticated, so by offering them a more comprehensive range of options, they begin to learn about the differences in our offerings and can more easily shift the decision from “Kombucha or not Kombucha” to “which Kombucha” is suitable for me.

KBI is process agnostic and committed to full transparency. To create a thirst for more Kombucha knowledge, KBI has created the Flavor Flower, Kombucha Kup Awards of Excellence, and now intends to further the education with the KBI Verified Seal Program.

A verification seal indicating standards and labeling requirements has been properly vetted provides significant value for both consumers and businesses in the kombucha industry. 

For brewers, this can lead to less regulator oversight and more market acceptance.  This is an example of self-regulation, where KBI sets the requirements for food safety, HACCP, labeling, and alcohol compliance, and participating brewers comply, provide documentation and sign a certificate of conformance. Compliance will also be further verified through randomly selected, periodic on-site audits to maintain the integrity of the seal by the third-party auditor.