Riding the Next Wave: Laird Hamilton launches Kombucha in Kegs
Jonny Wilkinson is not the only sporting legend with a kombucha company. Big wave surfer Laird Hamilton has launched on-tap kombucha aimed at the corporate market.
Food Navigator USA reports that Laird Superfood, funded by co-working tech company WeWork, is making kombucha on-tap available in corporate offices.
Of interest was the comment by co-founder Paul Hodge “Even if kombucha was a declining industry, we’d still be making it.”
Of course, as we all know, kombucha is anything but a declining industry.
Further, the company is focused on the Portland, Oregon market. This self-described “kombucha capital of the world” is proof that supposedly ‘saturated’ markets are in fact ripe for innovation and new approaches.
The thirst for quality kombucha generates increased demand.
Attractive Price Point
By going the keg dispenser route, Laird is avoiding the crowded bottled ‘booch space. The three flavors on offer (pineapple ginger, berry ginger and lemon-honey) are priced at $77-85 for a 20 liter keg. This gives a price equivalency of under $2 for a typical 450ml bottle, with none of the packing and labeling issues associated with individual glass containers.
What’s more, the Laird ‘booch is raw and ‘authentic’.
While a glass of ‘booch won’t give you the physique of a Wilkinson or a Hamilton (or even that of GT Dave) the increased availability is something we can all be pumped about.
