the old new drink
With origins dating back to China two hundred years before Christ, Kombucha is a new - or not so new - aerated drink made from the delicate fermentation of green or black teas, slightly sweetened, with a special type of probiotic. This drink has gained prominence for the health benefits of those who consume it, as it has an antioxidant action, which curbs the burden of aging, and causes an improvement in the digestive process as well as a strengthening of the immune system.
Growth of the sector and field for export
Like the tea market in general (see our text "Tea: the big bet of 2021" ), Kombucha has proven to be an excellent product both for domestic production and for export. In less than two years, the number of companies that produced the infamous carbonated tea jumped from less than five to more than forty here in Brazil.
This demand is not only manifested in the domestic sphere, the greater concern with food health is notable, especially among young millennials (born in the late 90's, beginning of the 21st century). In the US, 66% of this audience consumes probiotic beverages and other foods. In addition, there was a great expansion of 42% in this sector in the North American economy, at the turn of the year 2017 to 2018, according to Nielsen, and expectations for this year are even higher.
Large multinationals in the BigSoda sector, such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, which worried about the criticisms of their old products being little or hardly healthy, decided to invest in the small and new entrepreneurs of the new tea to reach this audience. The goal now is to take Kombucha to supermarket and retail shelves in general.
Opportunities for Small Businesses
But this is not something that only giants can do, in fact, the Brazilian market has developed very well with small and promising companies as the production process itself, although delicate, is simple, and there is a lot of scope for internationalization of Brazilian Kombucha to other countries, as long as they prepare for it, something we can help. Countries like the US, responsible for 8.2% of the world's imports of this product category, and other European countries could be choices to be further researched, in a personalized way.
By Felipe Piccirilli on 06/10/19
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