Local company hopes to capitalize on Kombucha craze

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Maxime Boivin from Barroco mixes a cocktail at RISE Kombucha's recent event.

Published on April 5, 2013

When Westmounter Julian Giacomelli joined RISE Kombucha four years ago, few people outside of a very small group of health-conscious specialty-store shoppers had heard of Kombucha, a fermented carbonated tea beverage that purports to energize and aid digestion.

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Abbatis , Quebec , British Columbia , Ontario

Today, Kombucha is all the rage, having to take its place on grocery-store shelves amid a multitude of health beverages, and Montreal-based RISE is feeling the flush of success.
Nevertheless, Giacomelli insists that Kombucha is no fad, and that it's like nothing else available on the shelves.
"It's raw, it's organic, and it's actually alive," he said.  "It's not pasteurized or processed in any way. There is nothing else like it that you can buy, and people really love the way it makes them feel."
He explains the product's health claims: that the yeast and bacteria in the tea are a probiotic, which, like yogurts and other fermented products, can help aid digestion, detoxify, and return the body to its natural PH balance.
Judging by sales, many members of the public agree, and their support has helped propel RISE to new heights.  In recent years, they have expanded outside of Quebec, making footholds in British Columbia and Ontario, and Crudessence Kombucha inc, the makers of the product, have recently signed a deal with Abbatis Corp to begin distributing the product in the United States.

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Giacomelli says that sales – now up to 500,000 bottles a year – have doubled every year since the company began five years ago.
A recent launch event for the brand's two new flavours – Mint Chlorophyll and Rose Schizandra, featured celebrity 'mixologists' competing  to see who could create the most appealing cocktails, both alcoholic and virgin, using the products.
The event's title – "Why I Rise" -- is a feel-good message designed to highlight what Giacomelli says are the company's 'post-2012' values of corporate responsibility and social engagement.
"We are a brand that tries to give more than it takes," he said. "We are an organic, fair trade, conscious commerce.  We try to be good neighbours.  We use local suppliers, support community ventures, and provide good jobs."

"It's raw, it's organic, and it's actually alive," he said. "It's not pasteurized or processed in any way." -

He said that the company, which employs about 60 people, is a good example of the type of business thriving in the current market: "Sustainable, but ambitious."
And he believes that Montreal, a city not exactly known for its flourishing business climate in recent years, may be on the head of a new wave.
"I am hugely proud that this is a Montreal-based company," said the Westmounter, who had to leave Canada for years to find good business opportunities.
"I think that a lot of socially, environmental business stuff will be coming out of Quebec in the next few years," he said. "There's been an awakening here, and a ripeness for new things."