Three years ago, I visited the Los Angeles HQ of Better Booch. Husband and wife founders Trey and Ashleigh recently shared the story of their company on Instagram, from the 2012 beginning, though the ‘unhinged things‘ they did to grow. It’s inspiring to read about their journey to their current position as the 9th largest brand in California by number of Instagram followers.

When we first started, we went all in on a dream, and honestly, we’re still in awe of where we are today. It means everything to us, and it wouldn’t be possible without all of you.

We were craving something more balanced and health-focused, and quickly realized most kombucha relied heavily on fruit juices and sugar to taste good. So we did things differently, building our flavors from organic teas, herbs, and botanicals instead. That’s how we created a better booch 🤭 one that’s genuinely delicious and incredibly low in sugar.

What started for us at farmers markets in Los Angeles has grown into something bigger than we ever imagined, now brewed at our beautiful brewery in Ventura. From the very beginning, we believed everyone deserves a drink that’s as good for you as it tastes.

Along the way, we’ve grown our family too 🤍 joining forces with incredible people including a chef, a microbiologist, and a chemist (because teamwork really does make the dream brew work).

Why we built Better Booch:

🏡 Family-owned & brewed in-house
We make every batch ourselves with full control over quality.
🌿 Premium organic ingredients
Only the finest organic teas, herbs, and botanicals go into every can.
🧪 Science-backed benefits
Fermented foods can support gut health, immunity, and overall wellness.
🦠 Proprietary probiotic blend
Each can includes 9 strains of pre-, pro-, and postbiotics.
✨ Double the benefits
Our probiotic blend works alongside natural fermentation for real benefits in every sip.

We couldn’t afford daytime hours at our shared kitchen, so we brewed at midnight because it was cheaper. We’d finish at 6am, pack the previous batch, load everything up before sunrise, and head straight to the farmers’ market. Fully nocturnal life.

Trey bought a used red minivan and delivered 100 cases a dy by hand, going store to store all over LA before we even knew what distributors were. Shoutout to our friend who introduced us to our first distributor, LA Distributing, that’s how we got our start.

We built our first Booch Bar at Grand Central Market by hand on a shoestring budget. In 2014 it was featured as a ‘Hot 10’ in 2014 by Bon Appétit Magazine: “If a Portland mixologist and a Brooklyn fermenter had a baby, it’d be an indie kombucha bar serving flavors like cucumber-mint and oolong-rose on tap, all of them organic, all fermented in small batches, and all dispensed by a hirsute “boochtender.” Well, they did, and it’s irresistible.”

As we grew we couldn’t afford a space alone so we partnered with a coffee brand and shared a space.

We developed a hard kombucha but never released it. We still have the pilot cans at home.

We’ve shared laughs, spilled some kombucha, and even made flavors that were so wild (looking at you, Maple Syrup Rose 🌹) we had to stop… but maybe it’s time to bring them back?

So we’re here to say never give up on your dream! We wouldn’t be here without you all supporting u and cheering us on every step of the way. Love you all!