Partner Interview: Mannanova

What does Mannanova do and what is your role in the company?

Here at Mannanova, we are Kombucha educators, consultants and producers. We help small, medium and large producers through the process of scaling up and brewing Kombucha on a commercial scale. Tom is director of production, notably for our in-house Kombucha and our Kombucha "stabilizer", Manna-K.

Since when have you been following the Kombucha market and why?

I was first introduced to Kombucha while stocking the shelves at an organic grocery store ten years ago. It was the first time I had seen, or even heard of this fizzy fermented beverage. I was intrigued, and I brought one home that night with my groceries. To be honest, I was not a fast fan. It was like nothing I had ever tasted before, and was not at all what I was expecting. I quickly dismissed it, and almost completely forgot about it. But, later that year, while I was looking for work, a friend of mine got me a plug to work on a bottling line. He said they were bottling iced tea. However, I showed up for work to find that this was the very same product I had bought and wrote off. Needless to say, I did end up developing a pallet and falling in love with Kombucha. And this little Kombucha company I went to work for would become the largest and most popular brand in Canada. Coincidentally, it was also where I met Sebastien Bureau. And here we are.

What role does your business want to play in the Kombucha market with its products?

Most notably, we help brewers move from the basement to the brewery, so to speak. We've already made mistakes, so they don't have to! We give conferences and workshops around the world, focusing on the practical aspects of brewing commercially. In 2019, we launched our online Kombucha Masterclass, the most complete and affordable way to ramp up your Kombucha knowledge and production.

What are your expectations in exhibiting at the Kombucha Summit?

First, I always like making new Kombucha friends, and these conferences are great for that! I'm looking to bring concrete, hands-on methods and tips to my fellow Kombucha brewers. I know these conferences can sometimes be frustratingly high-level, and we pride ourselves in talking specifics: equipment, processes, etc.

What’s the best way for Kombucha brewers to get in touch with you?

You can reach me at tom@mannanova.com.

Thanks a lot to Mannanova for their support and we're looking forward to welcoming them for the Virtual Kombucha Summit in four weeks! Stay tuned for more interviews in the coming days and weeks!

In case you have any questions, comments or suggestions, ping us any time at info@kombuchasummit.com or on Instagram.