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Press Release: KombuchaKon 2019

Kombucha Brewers Will Be “Growing Strong Culture” at Largest-Ever KombuchaKon This April Los Angeles, CA (April 3, 2019) – Kombucha Brewers International is delighted to announce that KombuchaKon 2019, their sixth annual conference, is coming up on April 18-19, 2019 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California. This year’s conference theme is […]

Wednesday, 3rd April 2019

Kombucha Brewers Will Be “Growing Strong Culture” at Largest-Ever KombuchaKon This April

Kombucha Kon Cover

Los Angeles, CA (April 3, 2019) – Kombucha Brewers International is delighted to announce that KombuchaKon 2019, their sixth annual conference, is coming up on April 18-19, 2019 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California.

This year’s conference theme is “Growing Strong Culture” with the keynote address delivered by Tyler Gage, co-founder of RUNA and Managing Director at Terrafertil. Tyler has extensive experience in organizing communities and fostering collaboration which continues to be a key focus of KombuchaKon.

KombuchaKon is where kombucha professionals come together every year to discuss topics unique to their industry. As always, the conference will feature the World’s Largest Kombucha Sampling Bar, a trade show, pre-party, cocktail reception, as well as in-person networking with representatives from a global selection of over 100 brands.

2019 sees a dramatic expansion of KombuchaKon’s reach featuring their largest trade show ever with over 50 vendors, an inaugural Networking and Educational Luncheon, and a special appearance by “King of Kombucha” GT Dave.

New for 2019, the Networking and Educational Luncheon will be presented by Deborah Moroz, CHRO at Health-Ade. Exploring the topic “Organizational Design for Fast Growth Businesses” it will address how to smartly design an organizational structure to achieve fast growth and strategic goals. Deborah has an impressive track record of building high-performance human resource teams and is an expert in employee engagement, workplace culture, visions, missions, and values. Held during the Thursday session, the luncheon is for Upper Tier 3 and 4 attendees only. Ticket details below.

On Friday kombucha industry founder GT Dave will share inspiring thoughts about embodying brand authenticity to attract, and keep, a loyal customer base. Afterward, there will be a rare photo opportunity with the legendary brewer!

Other conference highlights include:

  • A thought-provoking panel will discuss the “Future of Kombucha,” looking at CBD as well as the Hard Kombucha category featuring guest, John Craven, founder and CEO of BevNET, and a widely recognized authority on the beverage industry. Kombucha Brewers International
  • Kombucha Market Analysis and Future Trends.
  • Kombucha Standard of Identity.
  • Draft Standards Manual for Kombucha – NEW RELEASE

Prospective attendees, go here: https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ereg/index.php?eventid=362405&

See the vendor list here: https://kombuchabrewers.org/kombuchakon-2019/

Read more about the scheduled speakers: https://kombuchabrewers.org/kkon-2019-agenda-2/

For press and media passes, click here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RW7PW2Z

About Kombucha Brewers International:

Kombucha Brewers International is the non-profit trade association for the international kombucha brewing industry. To learn more about the kombucha industry, or for more information on membership, please contact KBI President Hannah Crum at info@kombuchabrewers.org, or visit kombuchabrewers.org.

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Press Release: Tyler Gage to Deliver Keynote KombuchaKon 2019

Inspirational Beverage Entrepreneur Tyler Gage to Deliver Keynote at KombuchaKon 2019 Los Angeles, CA (Dec. 20, 2018) – Kombucha Brewers International (KBI) is delighted to announce that Tyler Gage, co-founder of RUNA and Managing Director at Terrafertil, will deliver the keynote at next year’s KombuchaKon. Tyler is an entrepreneur, author, and speaker whose personal trajectory […]

Thursday, 20th December 2018

Inspirational Beverage Entrepreneur Tyler Gage to Deliver Keynote at KombuchaKon 2019

Kombucha Kon Cover

Los Angeles, CA (Dec. 20, 2018) – Kombucha Brewers International (KBI) is delighted to announce that Tyler Gage, co-founder of RUNA and Managing Director at Terrafertil, will deliver the keynote at next year’s KombuchaKon.

Tyler is an entrepreneur, author, and speaker whose personal trajectory in the business world aptly reflects the conference theme “Growing Strong Culture.” Like many members of the kombucha brewing community, Tyler started small, with a passion for traditional healing. He is known for offering inspiration to growing organizations, and for helping others examine how to dig deeper, and bring greater meaning and purpose to their personal and professional pursuits.

Tyler is a Forbes “30 Under 30 Entrepreneur” and a winner of both the Big Apple “Entrepreneur of the Year” Award, and the Specialty Food Association “Citizen Leader of the Year” Award. Tyler also serves on the Advisory Council for Entrepreneurship at Brown University and advises, invests in, and supports other start-ups. We are delighted to welcome him to KombuchaKon to share with our delegates his business savvy and unique and powerful approach to building business, and creating social good.

What is KombuchaKon?

KombuchaKon is the only conference and trade show specifically targeting those in the kombucha industry. Every year we come together for two days to discuss topics unique to the kombucha brewing industry. We network and share ideas, learn new techniques, take an in-depth look at market trends, and bond over kombucha “kocktails.”

New for 2019 Every year we strive to elevate the conference to make it a valuable event for everyone involved. Here are some of the changes we have in store for this year:

  • Business Week Conference – as we mature from our humble roots into a fully fledged industry, the conference is now taking place during the week. Come early or stay for the weekend to enjoy all that Los Angeles and Long Beach have to offer: bring the family and make it a mini vacation!
  • Online Registration – no more delays to complete the registration process, plus we have some new offerings with your conference ticket.
  • Member-Tiered Pricing – in order to continue to improve the offerings at KombuchaKon, we are moving to a tiered ticket pricing system. We also have a new member tier level – more details coming soon! Register at your current tier level.
  • Lunch Option – instead of heading off-site to track down a meal, we are now offering an onsite lunch option. Spend more time at our even-bigger trade show, or grab your meal and have a picnic on the lawn outside with new and old friends.
  • Childcare – we know that brewing kombucha is often a family affair! Bring the little ones along and drop in whenever you wish to see how they are doing.
  • Passport Program – new this year, we are inviting sponsors to offer awesome prizes to our attendees. Get your passport stamped to enter the raffles. Winners will be drawn before the keynote on Friday.

KombuchaKon 2019 will be held on April 18-19, 2019 at the Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, California. It will feature a conference, trade show, pre-party, cocktail reception and, of course, the World’s Largest Kombucha Bar!

About Kombucha Brewers International:

Kombucha Brewers International is the non-profit trade association for the international kombucha brewing industry. To learn more about the kombucha industry, or for more information on membership, please contact KBI President Hannah Crum at info@kombuchabrewers.org, or visit www.kombuchabrewers.org.

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Press Release: KombuchaKon 2018 Announces Bob Pease as Keynote

KombuchaKon 2018 Announces Bob Pease as Keynote, Conference To Focus on Culturing Positive Growth Los Angeles, CA (Nov. 7, 2017) – Kombucha Brewers International is pleased to announce the theme and keynote speaker for KombuchaKon 2018, their fifth annual conference, taking place on Feb. 10-11 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California. […]

Tuesday, 7th November 2017

KombuchaKon 2018 Announces Bob Pease as Keynote, Conference To Focus on Culturing Positive Growth

Kombucha Brewers International

Los Angeles, CA (Nov. 7, 2017) – Kombucha Brewers International is pleased to announce the theme and keynote speaker for KombuchaKon 2018, their fifth annual conference, taking place on Feb. 10-11 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California.

This year’s conference theme will be “Defining Our Culture,” and Bob Pease, CEO and President of the Brewers Association, will be delivering the keynote address.

“Defining our Culture” as it relates to the kombucha industry means exploring everything from SCOBY genomics to sustainable practices and employee owned business models. “A culture of healthy competition between microbes is the key to kombucha brewing, just as healthy competition is the key to industry growth, especially with kombucha,” KBI Chairman of the Board Alex LaGory explained. “Our focus this year is to continue to define that culture – our common practices, attitudes and goals – while nurturing the rich diversity of brands who brew this fantastic ancient tonic.” Sessions will include Kombucha Genetics, In House Techniques for Culture Analysis, Worker Co-ops & Business Transition, Sustainability Panel and others to be announced. As always, the conference will feature the world’s largest Kombucha Sampling Bar featuring flavors from all over the world as well as in-person networking with over 100 brands.

KBI is tapping Pease as the keynote speaker to learn from his experience in his role with the Brewers Association, and from how the craft beer industry has evolved over the last 30 years.

Pease is responsible for managing the daily operations of the Brewers Association, whose 3,500 members produce more than 99 percent of all the beer made in the United States. He has also worked extensively on Government Affairs issues facing the craft beer industry. Based in Colorado, he frequents Washington D.C. as a registered lobbyist, advocating for the interests of small and independent brewers.

His experience in this area is particularly relevant to the current goals of the kombucha industry: for example, the KOMBUCHA Act was introduced in Congress by KBI earlier this year to pave the way for authentic kombucha to have a permanent place in the non-alcoholic category. Such legislative action is just one of many ways the kombucha industry’s growth parallels the trajectory taken by craft beer brewers some thirty years earlier, and how it also seeks to emulate that industry’s success.

About Kombucha Brewers International:

Kombucha Brewers International is the non-profit trade association for the international kombucha brewing industry. To learn more about the kombucha industry, or for more information on membership, please contact KBI President Hannah Crum at info@kombuchabrewers.org, or visit kombuchabrewers.org.

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Press Release: AOAC Honors Kombucha Working Group

AOAC Honors Kombucha Working Group Confers Prestigious ‘Expert Review Panel of the Year’ Award Los Angeles, CA (Sept. 26, 2017) – In the pursuit of accurate, repeatable, easy-to-use methods designed for the unique needs of the kombucha industry, Kombucha Brewers International’s Panel with The Association of Organic Analytical Chemists (AOAC) has been honored as the […]

Tuesday, 26th September 2017

AOAC Honors Kombucha Working Group

Confers Prestigious ‘Expert Review Panel of the Year’ Award

Kombucha Brewers International

Los Angeles, CA (Sept. 26, 2017) – In the pursuit of accurate, repeatable, easy-to-use methods designed for the unique needs of the kombucha industry, Kombucha Brewers International’s Panel with The Association of Organic Analytical Chemists (AOAC) has been honored as the recipient of The Expert Review Panel of the Year Award.

Presented to KBI President and Co-Founder Hannah Crum at the 131st AOAC INTERNATIONAL Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA on Monday September 25th, the award recognizes “the completion and achievement of significant milestones, such as innovative technology or application, breadth of applicability, critical need, difficult analysis, or timeliness,” and is a reflection of the high levels of interest and participation from scientists around the world.

The Stakeholder Panel on Strategic Food Analytical Methods (SPSFAM) Expert Review Panel (ERP) for Ethanol Testing in Kombucha, to give it its full name, was initiated in September 2015 by KBI and five member breweries: GT’s, Health-Ade, High Country, Humm, and Live Soda. Their goal is to develop new, internationally approved testing methods for ethanol present in kombucha that can meet the requirements of small margin of error, accuracy, and repeatability, hopefully at a low cost and easily done in-house by each kombucha producer, to help aid in brewing a consistent and compliant product. The panel has continued to meet every year to vet new methods, as well as to examine new data from the methods submitted.

Last year in Dallas, the panel moved one method that employs Gas Chromatography with Flame Ionization Detection (GC-FID) to First Action status. At this year’s meeting in Atlanta, six methods were up for review, including two re-submissions. A lively discussion of the data and methodologies resulted in one Enzymatic method being moved to First Action status, while two other Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry(GC-MS) methods, along with a second Enzymatic method, came very close to passing this first hurdle. The panel expects those three methods will also move to First Action status later this year, once additional data is submitted.

The promising Enzymatic method now in First Action status was submitted by R-Biopharm AG, a German based developer of test solutions for clinical diagnostics and food & feed analysis. All methods are validated in the field for a period of two years, after which time the authors submit additional data to confirm that it has performed as expected. Once a method has been fully vetted, it then moves to Final Action status and is included in the AOAC canon of verified methods.

Led by KBI, the global kombucha industry continues to implement best practices and new industry standards for self regulation. Designating accurate testing methods for the trace amounts of ethanol in kombucha is a vital component of that collective evolution. Additional updates can be found on the KBI Website here.

About Kombucha Brewers International:

Kombucha Brewers International (KBI) is the international, non-profit trade association for the kombucha brewing industry. To learn more about the kombucha industry, or for more information on membership, please contact KBI President Hannah Crum at info@kombuchabrewers.org or visit kombuchabrewers.org.

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Press Release: Legislation to Assist Kombucha Makers

KBI Applauds Senators Wyden and Gardner, Congressmen Polis and Tipton for Introducing Legislation to Assist Kombucha Makers Los Angeles, CA (Feb. 16, 2017) – Hannah Crum, President of Kombucha Brewers International (KBI), released the following statement today after U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Cory Gardner (R-Colorado) and Representatives Jared Polis (D-Colorado) and Scott Tipton […]

Thursday, 16th February 2017

KBI Applauds Senators Wyden and Gardner, Congressmen Polis and Tipton for Introducing Legislation to Assist Kombucha Makers

Kombucha Brewers International

Los Angeles, CA (Feb. 16, 2017) – Hannah Crum, President of Kombucha Brewers International (KBI), released the following statement today after U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Cory Gardner (R-Colorado) and Representatives Jared Polis (D-Colorado) and Scott Tipton (R-Colorado) introduced bipartisan legislation in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House, respectively, that would help kombucha brewers continue to grow, thrive and hire more workers by ensuring that kombucha products are not unfairly subject to the federal excise tax on beer under the Internal Revenue Code:

“On behalf of the more than 250 kombucha brewers of which 150 that are members of KBI across the United States, I am extremely pleased that we have such strong advocates for our industry in the United States Congress,” said Crum. “Senators Wyden and Gardner and Representatives Polis and Tipton – and their staff members – are terrific champions for kombucha makers, and we are deeply appreciative of their efforts and work on this important legislation. They recognize that the law, relative to kombucha brewers, is outdated and needs to be changed, and they seized this opportunity to do so. We applaud them for focusing on this effort to help these small businesses.”

Among other things, the legislation – the “Keeping Our Manufacturing from Being Unfairly Taxed while Championing Health Act,” or KOMBUCHA Act – would do the following:

  • Create an exception in the Internal Revenue Code’s definition of “brewer” for kombucha makers.
  • Provide an exemption to the federal excise tax imposed on beer for kombucha.
  • Define “kombucha” as a beverage that is “(A) is fermented solely by a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, (B) contains not more than 1.25 percent of alcohol by volume, (C) is sold or offered for sale as kombucha, and (D) is derived from – (i) sugar, malt or malt substitute, tea, or coffee, and (ii) not more than 20 percent of other wholesome ingredients.”

Kombucha – a combination of tea, sugar, water, and a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) – has trace amounts of alcohol that can trigger federal excise taxes under current law. The KOMBUCHA Act would increase the applicable alcohol-by-volume for kombucha from 0.5 percent to 1.25 percent. Kombucha would still have to meet the health and safety requirements generally applicable to nonalcoholic beverages.

“This is good common-sense, pro-business, pro-consumer legislation,” said Crum. “We are looking forward to working with Senators Wyden and Gardner and Representatives Polis and Tipton to try to get this important bill enacted into law.”

About Kombucha Brewers International:

Kombucha Brewers International (KBI) is the international, non-profit trade association for the kombucha brewing industry. To learn more about the kombucha industry, or for more information on membership, please contact KBI President Hannah Crum at info@kombuchabrewers.org or visit kombuchabrewers.org.

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Press Release: KombuchaKon 2017 Agenda

Full Agenda Announced for KombuchaKon 2017 Annual Convention Lineup Will Be Largest Ever Los Angeles, CA (January 11, 2017) – Kombucha Brewers International (KBI) is delighted to announce its full agenda for KombuchaKon (KKon) 2017. The fourth annual kombucha industry convention will be held on February 11-12 at the Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, […]

Wednesday, 11th January 2017

Full Agenda Announced for KombuchaKon 2017

Annual Convention Lineup Will Be Largest Ever

Kombucha Brewers International

Los Angeles, CA (January 11, 2017) – Kombucha Brewers International (KBI) is delighted to announce its full agenda for KombuchaKon (KKon) 2017. The fourth annual kombucha industry convention will be held on February 11-12 at the Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, CA. The theme will be ‘Rising Tides’.

The two-day convention will feature a trade show, seminars, two networking mixers, and the ever popular World’s Largest Kombucha Bar. The keynote will be given by Christine Perich, former CEO of New Belgium Brewing Company. Justin Prochnow of Greenberg Traurig will present on FDA Nutrition Panel changes, while Bobbi Leahy of SPINS will share the latest market data and trends. Important updates about the growth of KBI, progress in lobbying and governmental regulation, and a vision for the future of the industry will be shared at the Members’ Meeting.

This year’s expanded trade show will feature nearly 20 different vendors supplying fine teas, brewery equipment, and more. The impressive lineup of sponsor participants includes Dolium, Pack Leader USA, In-Line Packaging Systems Inc., Kathinka Labs, The Barrel Mill and Custom Metalcraft.

There will be a wider program of seminars than in previous years to address the diverse challenges of running a kombucha brewing business. Many seminars will be presented by representatives of leading brands including Humm, Health-Ade, Live Soda, Brew Dr. and High Country. Subjects covered will range from mastering distribution, the science of kombucha, and kegging for beginners to scaling up production and utilizing metrics.

Speaking about this year’s convention theme, KBI President and KKon organizer Hannah Crum said, “With the expansion of kombucha beyond the natural channel we are experiencing continued double digit growth year over year. The industry is on pace to reach one billion dollars by 2018. Several regional brands are making the push to go national, while major retailers like Kroger and Sprouts are offering their own private label brands. This is creating a flood of kombucha into the marketplace, bringing with it more resources for the entire industry, and that’s what inspired our theme, because ‘a rising tide floats all boats’.”

To support members with young families, childcare will be offered onsite this year for the first time, provided by Ruiz Family Daycare. The entire conference will also be recorded by Fleetwood Onsite Conference Recording, and will be available for purchase for those unable to attend in person.

See the complete agenda for KKon 2017 here.

About Kombucha Brewers International:

Kombucha Brewers International (KBI) is the international, non-profit trade association for the kombucha brewing industry. To learn more about the kombucha industry, or for more information on membership, please contact KBI President Hannah Crum at info@kombuchabrewers.org or visit kombuchabrewers.org.

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