Kombucha Village in Washington, DC

KBI’s Kombucha Village at the Green Festival Expo in Washington, DC was a great experience for the brands and attendees! The Kombucha Village atmosphere brings brands together to share responsibilities, promote each the category as a whole, and sample and sell, sell, sell! Rather than being spread throughout the conference floor, several brands band together to demonstrate […]

Monday, 23rd May 2016

KBI’s Kombucha Village at the Green Festival Expo in Washington, DC was a great experience for the brands and attendees!

The Kombucha Village atmosphere brings brands together to share responsibilities, promote each the category as a whole, and sample and sell, sell, sell! Rather than being spread throughout the conference floor, several brands band together to demonstrate solidarity and to introduce consumers to the entire category. Sampling & DIRECT SELLING are encouraged at these events to hook everyone from the kombucha curious to the serious sippers, and the DC date was no exception.

The KBI Kombucha Village in Washington DC included the following brands:

Buchi (NC)

Mountain Culture (VA)

Craft (DC)

In yet another packed session, KBI president Hannah Crum was on-hand to share with attendees the benefits and basic facts of kombucha in an educational presentation. She also pitched in pouring samples and answering questions while enticing passersby to stop for a quick sip!

“What I love about the Kombucha Village is that it introduces consumers to the category. They can quickly see at a glance that we are more than just a single brand and they are excited to try all the different flavors.” ~ Peter Roderick, Mountain Culture

Don’t miss your chance to “brand together” as KBI still has five more Kombucha Villages with slots available. Start planning now for Fall- reserve your spot today before these dates fill up!

Future KBI Kombucha Villages:

MENF Albany, OR (June 4-5) – SOLD OUT!
Green Festival Los Angeles (September 16-18)
MENF Seven Springs, PA (September 23-25)
MENF Topeka, KS (October 22-23)
Green Festival San Francisco (November 11-13)
Green Festival Portland (December 9-11)

AVERAGE MENF ATTENDANCE 10,000-15,000 people
AVERAGE GF ATTENDANCE 3,000-8,000 people

“Buchi has long understood the value of connecting directly to new customers. Education and sampling is vital to introducing newbies to Kombucha as it brings more drinkers into the category. We are thrilled to have forged this terrific opportunity and are even more excited to see it grow. Hope you will join us at the Kombucha Village!” Michael Numinous, Buchi Kombucha

KBI Visits Congress

On Tuesday, March 15, KBI President Hannah Crum, Operations Administrator Morgan Meredith and several KBI member brewers met with representatives from Congress. Since Congress was in session, many sent staff aides and legislative assistants to meet with the group. After the meeting, all of the members met individually or in small groups with legislative aides […]

Wednesday, 16th March 2016

After the meeting, all of the members met individually or in small groups with legislative aides to share samples, educate about our industry and discuss regulatory concerns with the goal of uncovering potential solutions. They also discussed ways in which the industry can generate additional kombucha commerce in their states.

The breweries represented include: Aqua ViTea, Capital Kombucha, Barefoot Bucha, Sole Kombucha, Buchi, Health-Ade, and Holy Kombucha.

20160315_115950(0) — As an additional highlight, Mike from Buchi Kombucha played live music in the hall in order to generate more interest in our meeting and bring more people into the room!

The legislative assistants listened intently to our concerns and offered helpful feedback for KBI’s future endeavors. Here are some of the ways members and non-member Kombucha companies can find additional resources:

-Contact each state regarding its own Value Added Producer grants for brewers

-Contact agriculture coalitions and boards in your state

In discussing strategies to create legislation to protect the industry, it was recommend that we:

-Connect with more brewery associations

-Connect with Congress members who sponsored the Cider Act

We are delighted to have taken this next step, and are already planning a more formal gathering for Congress members in September, coinciding with Natural Products Expo East.

Want to be more involved? Contact Morgan to find out how you can assist with government outreach.

We grow together!

KBI at US Green Festival Expos and Mother Earth News Fair

Tuesday, 1st March 2016

Kombucha Brewers International is creating KBI “Kombucha Villages” at several festivals happening around the country in 2016. Similar to a beer tent, but featuring KBI Brewery Members, the Village involves several brands banded together for discount pricing on booths while also serving up tasty glasses of booch in a fun atmosphere. This movement is spearheaded by PR Committee Board Liaison, Zane Adams of Buchi Kombucha, who states, “the initiative will bring kombucha brewers together so they can educate consumers on the unique, craft nature of our product while also promoting unity in our industry.”

So far KBI is partnering with the Green Festival Expo and the Mother Earth News Fair and is in discussions with other festivals as well. Each of these festivals will carve out premium location space and collaborate with KBI to generate interest in the category and help draw larger audiences to the festivals through social media promotion and inclusion on press releases.

The Green Festival Expo, known as “America’s Largest and Longest-Running Sustainability and Green Living Event”, brings together vendors and businesses along with eco-minded consumers to help further sustainability initiatives. The festival also offers several awards, including the Green Festival Community Award (a $5000 grant for a sustainable community project), the Green Festival Brand Award, and the Super Green Shopper Prize.

In addition to booth space, KBI has also secured a 30 minute speaking slot to further kombucha education and direct festival goers to the “Village”.

Upcoming Green Festival Dates

Each of these shows has a spot for four KBI members to set up a 5’x10′ space in a central area, and each show will feature a KBI speaker presenting.

Any interested members can email Morgan (admin@kombuchabrewers.org) to register and pay exhibitor fees.

KBI will also be assisting members with participating at the Mother Earth News Fair in all its locations.

“We participated in the inaugural MENF in Wisconsin last August. Attendance that weekend surpassed our expectations despite it being it’s first time at this venue and timing coinciding with the Wisconsin State Fair (that’s changing for 2016). We sold out of kombucha by 2pm on Saturday so we doubled our inventory for Sunday and had fairgoers waiting in line all weekend. The MENF staff was very supportive and gave us additional space and chairs so that we could conduct workshops on homebrewing throughout the weekend. The workshops were filled to capacity with extremely curious and questioning DIY’ers. Overall, a fantastic event with great reach and enthusiasm. Highly recommended.” -Karma Kombucha

“Buchi Kombucha was welcomed with open arms and hearts at the Mother Earth News Expo. Our booth was jammed packed all day with four lines, and full fermentation workshops. It’s a great way to meet homesteading individuals and families who hold a value set around fermentation and sustainability.” -Buchi Kombucha

Please contact Morgan for more on exhibiting at one or more of the Mother Earth News Fairs.