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Final Project
Here you can explore my final project topic: how to properly and effectively market kombucha tea to the general public.
Phase #1
History of kombucha and its evolution throughout the centuries.
Kombucha, known as the ancient drink of life has been consumed for thousands of years. It originated in China around 221 B.C., made "...for the Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi." (Jackson 2017) The Chinese revered this drink as a tea of immortality, and served it to their emperor (pictured at right) in hope of promoting a long and healthy reign.
(Jackson 2017)
(FSI 2018)
As the centuries passed, the magic of kombucha spread throughout the globe. Demand for kombucha grew as more and more people tasted the fragrant and distinct flavor of kombucha and experienced its plentiful health benefits. However, it was not until 1995 that the first commercially made kombucha hit the market: the now globally popular GT's Kombucha.
Phase #2
Does the general public understand the concept of kombucha enough to want to purchase it?
Kombucha, being a relatively new product on grocery store shelves, poses a great challenge in the area of marketing. Because of its abstract fermentation concepts and somewhat unappealing color and consistency, consumers may not be inclined to purchase kombucha unless they fully understand its scientific properties and wonderful health benefits.
(Christensen)
(Lance's Blog 2013)
While firms could push kombucha advertisements further to try to generate more sales, all an advertisement can really do is state "here's our product," it takes marketing to say "here's why you should purchase our product." In order to want to purchase kombucha, consumers will need that "here's why" factor. How can firms go about this? How can they interpret the science of kombucha into an easily understandable marketing format for their consumers?
Upon pondering this question, I decided to base my final project on creating an innovative and effective way to market kombucha to all consumers. The following will discuss the research I conducted and the marketing tactic hypotheses I formulated.
Phase #3
Conducting my research
Before creating my kombucha marketing tactics, I wanted to make sure that I personally had a full understanding of the science of kombucha. To do so, I spent some time reading about kombucha, and also visited the Kombucha 221 B.C. factory.
(VIVA 2016)
In short, kombucha is "...a tea that has been fermented with bacteria and yeast, and is rich with probiotics, antioxidants, amino acids and enzymes." (Karg 2019) To get a more visual and in depth understanding, I have also included a summary of my factory tour.
The scientific kombucha making process, as described to me by Kombucha 221 B.C. founder Aneta Lundquist is as follows:
#1
#1
-Water is heated to 200° F
-Various tea leaves are used to steep the tea, depending on the desired outcome
-Tea is cooled to 80° F
-Tea is pumped into large tanks to be made into kombucha
#2
-Tea is inoculated with 10% of the previous batch of kombucha to introduce the living bacteria (and yeast the bacteria eat) to the new tea
-Fermentation begins as the bacteria feed on the yeast and grow inside the tea
#3
-As the bacteria grow and the tea ferments a protective skin, called a scoby, grows on the surface of the tea
-After 30 days of fermentation, the scoby is removed and the kombucha is pumped into tanks
#4
-Flavored with ingredients such as honey, basil, and lemon
-Fresh kombucha is then chilled and carbonated with CO2
Armed with a better understanding of the science of kombucha, I set out to create my marketing tactics!
#5
-Bottled , labeled, and boxed
-Distributed to stores and restaurants around the country
Phase #4
Create marketing tactics.
Upon discussing the company's current marketing plan, Aneta shared with me that the Kombucha 221 B.C. team is currently conducting extensive market analyses to determine where their target market is.
This got me to thinking on my own what the target market for a kombucha company might be.
One may initially assume that the target market for kombucha would be Millennials and Generation Z. This is a very valid claim, as stated by Bhosale, "Millennial and Generation Z populations, especially, are developing a new palate for specialty tea and healthful beverages. These consumers' openness to experiment with new flavours and textures have formed a distinct demographic population with tastebuds for kombucha, giving the beverage the status of 'a new social trendsetter.'" (2019 p. 1)
However, for this project I have chosen to take a different route than this claim. While kombucha may seem like something "trendy Millennials" drink, we must remember that this generation is only a small fraction of our overall population. Older generations not only constitute a larger part of our population, they are also usually more financially stable and therefore more likely to spend their money on something like kombucha.
To cater to these older generations, I have created a set of informative visuals regarding the science of kombucha. These marketing visuals could be used in both digital and print formats, so as to cater to a wider age range, and therefore attract more profitable consumers.
References
Bhosale, M. (2019). Kombucha’s Rising Popularity--An Indicator of Evolving Consumer
Preferences. Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, (3), 47. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.usf.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsggo&AN=ed
Christensen, E. “How To Make Your Own Kombucha Scoby.” Kitchn. Image. Retrieved from
https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-your-own-kombucha-scoby-cooking-lessons rom-the-kitchn-202596
Jackson, A. (2017). “The History of Kombucha.” Drinkpreneur. Image and Text. Retrieved from
https://www.drinkpreneur.com/beverage-howto/the-history-of-kombucha/
Karg, T. (2019). Health in a glass: Kombucha shakes up RTD tea category. Beverage Industry,
(3), 14. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.usf.edu/login..aspx?
direct=true&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.581425206&site=eds-live
“Kombucha.” (2018). Food Source Information. Image. Retrieved from
https://fsi.colostate.edu/kombucha/
“Marketing Vs Advertising.” (2013). Lance’s Blog. Image. Retrieved from
http://lance-scott.blogspot.com/2013/08/marketing-vs-advertising.html
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