Dive Brief:

• Cold-pressed juice and drinking vinegar maker Suja Juice has said it may make a kombucha product, but only if it can control the alcohol and sugar content, according to Food Navigator. 

• The beverage company makes pressed probiotic waters with 5-10 calories and a range of drinking vinegars, as well as cold-pressed organic juices and smoothies. “The whole fermented beverage segment is on fire, whether it’s kombuchas or drinking vinegars or products with probiotics,” Suja’s CEO Jeff Church told FoodNavigator-USA.

• According to SPINS, refrigerated kombucha and fermented beverage sales grew 28% to $429 million from the prior year through May 21. 

Dive Insight:

Kombucha — a vinegary-tasting fermented tea — often contains about 1% alcohol, and some producers have faced regulatory difficulties as a result. Suja Juice’s hesitancy to enter the category before it has solved this issue is well-founded, as alcohol content could alienate various categories of health-conscious consumers. Still, growth rates in the fermented beverage category are nearly 30% and not many households are using it. Still, for a company like Suja Juices, which has been quick to market with every other trend in this category, a kombucha launch is likely to be just around the corner — assuming it can find a way to cut the alcohol.

Kombucha is just one of many fermented food and beverage products that have surged in popularity during the past few years. Kimchi, a Korean pickled cabbage dish, and kefir, a tangy fermented milk, are other examples of products that provide "good bacteria" that can aid the digestive system. According to MarketsandMarkets, the global kombucha market is expected to be worth $1.8 billion by 2020, suggesting it is a trend with staying power, rather than just a passing fad.

Analysts suggest kombucha’s popularity is due to a growing interest in healthier drinks outside the bottled water category. Even the world’s biggest carbonated soft drinks manufacturers are entering the category — late last year PepsiCo acquired KeVita, a manufacturer of kombucha, sparkling probiotics and vinegar tonics. Kombucha maker Health-Ade also has attracted venture capital investment, with $7 million in Series B funding from CAVU Venture Partners last year, a fund whose partners include Coca-Cola executive and developer of Vitaminwater Rohan Oza. ​

Kombucha remains a fast-growing niche in the beverage industry, and if Suja Juice can succeed in crafting a nonalcoholic version, it could allow it to tap into a whole new segment of consumers, including children.