Profile: Bruja Sana Kombucha, Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico

Daniela Guilbert founded Bruja Sana Kombucha in 2015 after discovering the drink while living in Vancouver and visiting Northern California. On returning to Mexico, she was dismayed that kombucha was largely unavailable. A friend suggested that she start making it, and after experimenting with home brewing, she began the trial-and-error process of discovering the secrets of commercial production. At first, she was also making almond and cashew-fermented cheeses, but it quickly became a kombucha-only operation. Bruja Sana means “Healthy Witch” – that’s “witch” as in medicine woman, not a Halloween witch. She opened in the coastal town of Tulum, then moved inland to Valladolid in the Yucatán Peninsula or “Riviera Maya” area. Her factory employs members of the Mayan community. Early sales were helped by tourists, who knew about kombucha and bought from her stall at the farmers’ market. The business grew rapidly. From an original set of ten 20L glass jars, she upgraded to a single 200L stainless steel tank, then increased to five of those. Demand created a need for more capacity, so she added a 1,000L stainless steel tank. Bruja Sana now boasts an impressive 8,000L total capacity from two 3,000L tanks, one 1,000L, and five 200L. These sizes allow for flexibility in meeting the demand for different flavors. On average, they produce between 3,000 bottles per month, or 1,200L — so there is plenty of spare capacity for further growth. They are launching a larger 1L bottle and kombucha shots augmented with superfoods Bruja Sana Kombucha is available in stores and restaurants in the Yucatan and can be ordered from their website for free shipping across Mexico. Prices (in MXN) include shipping: 6 pack $700.0012 pack $1,178.0024 pack $2,246.00 Daniela is delighted that there are now more kombucha brands than ever in Mexico and sees this as a sign that the market for healthy alternatives to soda is growing. Flavors 400 ml bottles are available in Original Ginger Mango Passion Fruit Yerba Buena Chlorophyll Pineapple Rosemary Her best-selling flavors are the Original, followed by Ginger. Podcast Hear Daniela tell the story of Bruja Sana Kombucha in this podcast interview. The post Profile: Bruja Sana Kombucha, Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico appeared first on 'Booch News.