What is your business called and what does it do?

Tonica Kombucha; we make delicious, lightly sparkling kombucha here in Toronto, and we bottle it up and ship it across Canada to over 2,500 stores. Our kombucha is authentic (which means it has living enzymes that are great for gut health!), made with organic ingredients, and is low in sugar.

What made you want to do this work?

I fell in love with the digestive benefits I got from drinking kombucha and started to make it for myself, friends & family. When I started brewing kombucha, there was no kombucha available in Canada in stores, back in 2006. At that time, I had no plan to build a business, but it organically blossomed into a larger and larger operation as demand grew. Little by little, I stopped my day job of teaching yoga, and Tonica became my full-time job.

What problem did you want to solve with the business?

I wanted to make kombucha taste delicious so that everyone could benefit from the digestive boost it contains. Often, the kombuchas on the market are very strong and have an overly vinegar type taste, which can turn off many who would otherwise benefit from it, so my goal was to make a sparkling and delectable fruit-forward flavour profile that everyone would enjoy.

Who are your clientele/demographics?

The kombucha demographic is fairly wide ranging, from young folks and families looking for low sugar and alcohol free alternatives, to baby boomers with declining digestive fire. Kombucha is the perfect lightly sparkling beverage for all those looking for functional beverages to add to their daily lives because it is both delicious and has the added digestive boost benefit.

How does your business make money? How does it work?

We sell our product, Tonica kombucha, across Canada to retail grocery chains, independent shops, cafes, gyms, and yoga studios.

Where in the city can we find your profession?

In Toronto, you can find Tonica Kombucha at Metro, Farmboy, Rabba, Sobeys, No Frills, Fortinos, Longos, Healthy Planet and many more wonderful stores!

What is the best question a prospective customer could ask a member of your profession when comparing services? Give the answer as well.

A great question to ask is: Is all Kombucha the same? Do all kombuchas have digestive benefits?

The answer: while authentic kombucha is fermented for up to 60 days and is filled with living enzymes and natural probiotics, many kombuchas today are made using synthetic probiotics that will die in packaging before they reach the consumer. Not all kombuchas are created equally!

For maximum digestive benefit, make sure your kombucha is living, or “raw”. It should say “always refrigerate,” and the real living kombucha will only be sold in refrigerated coolers (if it is shelf stable, it can’t be an authentic living kombucha, or it would explode in its packaging). And look for the KBI seal on packaging, which is a 3rd party international seal that certifies the kombucha is pure and unprocessed.

What is the best part about what you do? What is the worst part?

There are so many “best” parts, but a couple that tie for best: bringing together amazing people on our team and giving them tools and space to grow into their superpowers and watch how they transform themselves and the Tonica team around them.
I also LOVE when I meet random people and find out they are Tonica customers and they tell me how much they love our product, or how much it has changed their lives.

On the other hand, seeing so many “greenwashed” kombuchas on the market that are riding the coattails of real functional kombucha, and confusing the customer by making products that don’t actually have any digestive benefits.

What is your favourite joke about your own profession?

That my company grew organically just like our kombucha SCOBYs do! First selling one case, then doubling, then tripling…same with every batch we make; every scoby creates a “baby” and doubles with each brew!

Where can we follow you?

Follow us on Instagram @tonicakombucha and @zoeytonica and visit our website.

PAY IT FORWARD: What is another local business that you love?

I love the snacks from Nudfood & the organic pumpkin seeds from Prana

The post Homegrown Business: Zoey Shamai of Tonica Kombucha appeared first on Toronto Guardian.