Founder Interview: Andy Heerwagen, Founder of KombuStar Kombucha

Describe your product in one sentence and tell us about your brand.

KombuStar Kombucha is a very tasty, living and sparkling beverage. Based in the Cologne Area in Germany, our fermented and probiotic Kombucha comes in four flavors, each sparkling and refreshing – Original, Ginger Lemon, Great Berry and Supergreen. All ingredients are organic. Each bottle contains the proven optimum daily dose of probiotics. It is made for people who take care of a healthy lifestyle, and in particular for athletes to support recovery after sports.

What‘s your story and how did you get started?

Andy Heerwagen is the founder of KombuStar Kombucha. Actually, I am an engineer for biotechnology and have already a good deal of experiences in fermentation from my professional life.

When my family and I was living in the USA, we got in touch with fermented foods especially with Kombucha. Discovering that Kombucha was supporting gut health, I was deeply moved about it and its inherent functional benefits. I already knew Kombucha from my childhood back in the day, but when I got to know it in the USA once again I was thrilled.

During this time my mother was suffering from the side effects of diabetes. I thought Kombucha could help to improve her condition. I got started in my kitchen with the first batch of Kombucha. Furthermore, I visited some breweries in California to learn more about the manufacturing of Kombucha and dove deeper into the science behind probiotics and their impact on the gut health and the microbiome. Back in Cologne, I founded KombuStar Kombucha with the aim of creating an optimal composition of probiotic effectiveness and the best taste experience. When I provided friends, family and my co- athletes/bicyclists with my composition the feedback was overwhelming – and my Star was born.

What‘s your current stage?

KombuStar Kombucha is available online and some local stores. LOHAS, athletes and a German soccer club are ordering online, mostly nationally. We are about to face the next level from a small business to a bigger one.

What excites you most about Kombucha and its future?

When I discovered Kombucha a true passion starts instantly and became a full-grown love. I believe that Kombucha is way more than a lifestyle beverage or functional food. Probiotics support the microbiome and are supposed to help with many diseases related to the gut. The research on the gut as an underestimated organ and its impact to the whole organism is just at the beginning. The more we will be knowing about the microbiome, e.g. the interaction between gut and brain, and many more effects, the more people will be getting aware of a gut-sane diet. The gut is the shooting star, Kombucha the rock star.

What are your expectations in attending the Kombucha Summit?

I’m looking forward to meeting other passionate Kombucha brewers talking about their experience with distributors, legal challenges and best practice in production. I’m also interested in new and emerging trends.

Thanks, Andy for the interview! You keep reading — we keep posting more interviews from the exciting world of Kombucha!

For those of you interested in participating in 7 days: You can still purchase the last tickets here and in case you have any questions, comments or suggestions, ping us any time at info@kombuchasummit.com or on Instagram.