Blog Review: Booch Organic Kombucha, London, Ontario, Canada

This Canadian ‘booch brewery named their blog #GetBooched, which ties into the way they tag posts on Twitter, which links them to others using the same tag. Clever, huh?

 

Blogging since: January 10, 2017
Last Updated:  June 15, 2018
Posting Frequency: 1x month
Post Length: 200-500 words
Aesthetic Appeal: Short and effective WordPress blog posts, often based on conference presentations and events, give this blog a very “newsy” feel.
Graphics: Simple and effective.
Categories: Business, Cheers to Health, Giving Back, In The Community, Recipes.
Comments allowed: No
Alexa.com global traffic ranking: 5,786,377

 

They have a healthy social media presence, with 12,700 followers on Instagram, where they’ve posted nearly two thousand pictures. Over three thousand follow them on Twitter reading 1,652 tweets. And they have 4,635 followers on Facebook.

 

Their company mission statement ties into the blog categories

 

At Booch Organic Kombucha, we believe that healthy beverages are the basis for vibrant living. We use kombucha, the ancient elixir of yesteryear, to heal gut disturbances, one bottle at a time. We are committed to food security, socially responsible business practices, and to nourishing our community.

 

Indeed, the blog sits under the Community Tab on their website. Notable posts include:

The Kombucha Opportunity

The posts under the Business category align with many of the same issues addressed by Booch News.

 

There’s an extensive synopsis on founder Shannon Kamins’ presentation to the Guelph Organic Conference.  She quotes compelling Statista data on the growth of the industry and the dominance of ‘kombucha’ as the most searched term on Google in the health food category in the USA.

 

This graph shows the share of consumers who’ve tried Kombucha in the USA in 2016.

 

This raises a number of immediate questions we’d like to see addressed:

 

• When will we Statista update the numbers for 2018?  What will they look like?
• What do the numbers look like in other countries?
• What will it take to convince the silent majority to “give booch a chance” and taste it?
• Do investors realize what an insurmountable opportunity the kombucha trend represents?

 

Shannon notes

 

With 86% of Americans not having even tried the beverage just 2 years ago, it’s incredible how kombucha is already a $1 billion industry.

 

Bingo!

 

Growing the Business

In sharing how she grew her business from a kitchen-table operation to a larger scale, Shannon shares some interesting numbers on the scale of the operation:

 

Shannon and her team of fermenters at Booch Organic Kombucha handcraft a variety of kombucha flavours that fill about 7,000 of their classic stubby bottles per week. That number continues to rise as the demand keeps growing for their Booch On Tap program, seasonal craft flavours, and Kombucha Vinegar.  In their new 9,000 square foot facility, the Booch team is able to use sophisticated technologies to help create greater consistency within their unique three-step fermentation process.

 

A quick calculation reveals that at $4.85 (Canadian) a bottle they are shipping $34,000 worth of the product a week for an annual turnover of around $1.7 million (Canadian) or $1.3 million (US).

 

They source local, organic ingredients to support the Ontario economy.

 

In The Community

They report on their sponsorship of  the documentary The Time Is Now, which provides insights, anecdotes, statistics, success stories, and advice for how everyone can build a more sustainable tomorrow.

 

The company shares how this vision informs their daily operations:

 

“We produce minimal waste at our facility and ensure that every single paper towel, tea leaf, fruit peel, or botanical used is composted. Our Booch facility is powered by Bullfrog, subsidized green energy, and also has a bottle refill program at multiple locations where people can reuse their bottles. Any extra bottles get sent to Purdy Natural, where they are filled with handmade liquid soap. Every business decision is made with the planet in mind.”

Suggestions

With a lively Facebook page, there’s lots of content to expand on in blog posts. We’re curious to know more about their partnership with Fanshaw College on the science of booch brewing. This local educational facility announced a joint research project on kombucha brewing which would be ideal to explain further on their blog.

 

Booch [Organic Kombucha] has identified a potential new product – a kombucha ethanol content measurement kit, which would consist of a detailed protocol outlining a proven method. To explore this potential new product, Booch is collaborating with researcher Karen Buchholz with Fanshawe’s School of Applied Science and Technology and a student research assistant to develop and compare three different methods. The results of the project will assist Booch in expanding its market and ensuring safe kombucha products for all ages and potentially new industry standards in the accurate measurement of ethanol in kombucha.

 

Likewise, they were one of the 147 vendors (and sponsored the photo booth) at the recent London VegFest. It would be fascinating to read a report of their experience at the event on the blog. It’s a great viral marketing opportunity with nearly 2,000 @VegFestLondon followers and 4,200+ on Instagram they enjoyed priceless coverage on social media. It would be a shame not to leverage this with a celebratory blog post.

 

Overall

Booch Organics blog is a natural extension of their core mission and values. Rather than a hackneyed display of kombucha bottles photographed in nature or grasped in peoples mitts, they write newsworthy and informative posts.

 

Other ‘booch blogs should take note…