Putting the ‘Art” into Artisan brewing

Like many artisan brewing ventures, Gail Matthew’s Kc Kombucha brand was born in the pantry. Now three years after launching, she’s ready to supercharge her business.

Gail Matthew is used to doing it tough in business. Prior to starting Kc Kombucha she had spent some 20 years working in the hospitality sector trying her arm at various ventures including a licensed café in Grey Lynn. She’s also qualified in naturopathic medicine, is a medical herbalist, and ran a naturopathic business from home when her two children were still young.

Then the GFC’s fallout, and health issues suffered by her son, impacted heavily on Gail’s stress levels. So she closed her business to focus on her children and looking back, remembers being happier, healthier and “a better parent” as a result.

As her children grew older and more independent, Gail got serious about finding another business to purchase. However, despite her best efforts, no business she looked at “felt quite right”.

The answer came in the form of a kombucha hobby that had literally been quietly brewing away – first in her home pantry and then in a space under her stairs.

“I began forcing my kombucha on all my friends when they came around,” she recalls. “But they said to me ‘this tastes really good, you should sell this stuff’.”

In 2016 kombucha was still quite new in New Zealand, she remembers. Many people didn’t even know what it was, or what its live cultures, aka scoby1, could do for their health.

Gail knew about the good that fermented foods can do for the human body. Her mother had helped fuel her interest by producing foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir water and kombucha.

That was where the first seed of an idea was planted for commercially producing traditionally brewed kombucha (this is an artisan produced beverage considered far superior to cheaper products made from concentrate).

“I went to mum one day and said, shall I do this?” recalls Gail. “My parents had been business owners most of my life, so they had a wealth of knowledge and support for me to draw on.”

“Constantly reaching out for advice has been the most important lesson for me.”

Fast forward to 2021 – following three years of development and despite trading restrictions brought on by Covid-19, home-based Kc Kombucha is now experiencing a growing presence in New Zealand’s highly competitive market – with wholesale sales to hospitality venues and giftbox retailers, as well as online retail sales.

“Our online sales are primarily to women aged between 30 and 50,” explains Gail. “People looking to reduce their alcohol intake and looking for healthier alternatives. They’re also giving it to their kids to replace soft-drinks.”

Kc Kombucha is pitched as a premium beverage – ideal for bars, restaurants or barbecue. It has naturally occurring live culture, but thanks to clever filtering there’s no obvious scoby or ‘oyster’ growth on the top and minimal sediment, Gail explains.

Facing challenges, learning lessons
Gail admits that there was a lot to learn in bringing her product to market, and to a level she was happy with. With a premium product such as this, supermarket shelf space is out of the question, as are bars which often have agreements with one of the big beverage manufacturers. With Covid lockdowns the wholesale and events markets have become even tighter, with Gail relying 100 percent on online sales. She’s grateful for having a “super positive and super supportive” husband – her “rock” who brings in the money. “Grant earns it and I pretty much spend it,” she laughs. “And he’s my number one repairs and maintenance man.”

She’s also grateful to her two teenage children for mucking in – her daughter getting up before dawn to help at the markets, and helping with bottling, and her son doing all the keg washing.

The business has taught Gail a lot. She says there is always the fear of being laughed at or ridiculed in the early days, so self-belief is important, as is realising that the more you talk to people the more you learn.

“So constantly reaching out for advice has been the most important lesson for me.”

As an example, she remembers reaching out to a women’s virtual networking group called She Owns It for advice on approaching wholesale venues. She was subsequently linked up with business growth specialist Fiona Clark, who helped her put a presentation together, has taught her how to open doors better and think ‘outside the box’.

“She’s just been such a great sounding board, especially around business direction and where best to focus in order to get immediate sales,” says Gail.

Another piece of advice Gail has come to appreciate around “all that marketing and sales stuff” is that perfection doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and sometimes a “not quite perfect” plan is still good enough to get started.

“You just have to perfect things as you go,” she says. “For a perfectionist like me that was a big lesson to learn.”

Motivation to grow
Looking to the future Gail is upbeat. With the help of Grant and her parents she’s developed a special fermenting room next to the cool room on her property with a view to expanding production.

Her goal is also to increase sales substantially – that’s wholesale, online, markets and events, and will involve more staff and, to take the heat off Gail, a distributor on board.

“In two years’ time I’d like to think we’ll be operating from a dedicated brewery – a purpose built production facility away from the family home.”

Her BHAG is New Zealand domination. To be seen as the best ‘go-to’ premium kombucha produced in New Zealand, while holding onto the brand’s traditional brewing values.

And, of course, the road ahead for Kc Kombucha is underpinned and motivated by Gail’s personal journey towards better health.
“I love natural health and have a real desire to see people thinking more about what they’re putting into their bodies and how that makes them feel,” explains Gail, “and making better choices as a result.”

She also wants to continue being a good role model for her kids – not just in healthy living, but also in business success.
“Show them how you can turn an idea into reality, and that really there are no limits. You can do anything you want in life once you’re put your mind to it and learn how.” 

Story by editor Glenn Baker.