People to Watch: Mother Kombucha

Tonya Donati & Josh Rumschlag Mother Kumbucha, Co-Founders

BY KAYLA GLEASON

Fermentation can be intimidating, if not downright scary for those inexperienced in the process, but one St. Petersburg company has gotten the formula down pat and has become a pioneer in the industry.

Since opening in 2014, Mother Kombucha has been brewing up a wide array of tasty fermented teas. Tonya Donati founded the business with her husband (and creative director) Vic Donati and Event Coordinator Josh Rumschlag after experimenting with homebrewing in her garage.

Tonya Donati and Josh Rumschlag

“My background is in healthcare,” she said. “I was an occupational therapist and have always been interested in helping people improve their lives and health. I’m a strong proponent of whole-body wellness. I would always find myself recommending meditation, yoga and healthy diets to my patients.”

After leaving her role in the medical field to spend time with her two young children, Donati still wanted to explore new ways to engage people with health and wellness and promote awareness of what we put inside our bodies.

Rumschlag, on the other hand, had been homebrewing and honing his fermentation skills for years before helping start the living tea company. He even studied traditional Chinese herbology, giving him the extensive knowledge necessary to develop new flavors that are not only unique but good for you.

With their combined backgrounds, the founders knew they were onto something groundbreaking.

“We wanted to make something with less sugar, something we would want to serve to our kids and, at the time, Florida did not have a regional kombucha brand and we thought it needed one,” Donati said.

Initially selling their product at local farmers markets, the brand soon began partnering with nearby Mad Hatters Ethnobotanical Kava Bar before going on to developing relationships with over 350 bars and restaurants in Tampa Bay and surrounding areas. Even upscale eateries like Paul’s Landing at the Renaissance Vinoy feature Mother Kombucha in some of their most popular drinks. Blueberry Fizz, anyone?

Despite all of this, the company still sticks to their roots, frequenting local farmers markets, including the widely loved Saturday Morning Market held every weekend next to Al Lang Stadium between October and May.

Even for those who aren’t interested in hitting the town for a drink or are just looking to stock their own fridge with a healthy, soda alternative, Mother Kombucha is sold in Publix across the state of Florida, as well as Whole Foods, Winn Dixie and Earth Origins – partnerships that have significantly driven up demand.

In fact, the brand outputs so much product that they had to move into a 15,000-square-foot facility in May of 2018, just to make for more room to expand. Donati notes this should be more than enough space to hold them for the next few years. “We have room to about quadruple production in this space, something we definitely need since we’ve grown very consistently and organically over the years,” she said.

Even as they continue to expand, the company wants to remain environmentally conscious. In fact, the warehouse Mother Kombucha operates out of has installed solar panels recently and the company is making a switch to 100 percent recycled case boxes. They are also working towards a B-Corp Certification, which verifies a business’s ethical environmental, social and legal practices.

“We really want to fine-tune and monitor what we are doing,” said Donati. “As a culture, the office is very much about recycling and reducing. We generate almost no garbage and 100 percent of our food waste is composted.”

But this mindfulness runs even deeper. Every Mother Kombucha flavor starts with green tea that is organic and sourced from a fairtrade, single-origin farm. The products are also vegan and made in small batches. And they make sure what’s healthy for the planet is more than healthy for the consumer, too, by adding adaptogens, B vitamins, amino acids and more to an already gut-friendly drink.

Since gaining notoriety over the past decade thanks to social media and a spectrum of celebrity fans, kombucha has been praised for its probiotic properties and laundry list of supposed health benefits.

“Kombucha has significantly less sugar than other sweet, fizzy drinks on the market and the adaptogenic herbs we add really help your body manage stress,” said Donati. “Things that are good for you should also taste great.”

And regardless of whether you are trying to curb your soda cravings, finally get around to that health-focused new year’s resolution or just try something new, Mother Kombucha has flavors for every taste. According to Donati, Hopped Passionfruit, Blue Rose and Turmeric Ginger Lemonade are their most popular. Plus, Whole Foods customers should be on the lookout for Mother Kombucha’s exclusive flavor for the grocery chain: Goji Grape.

Which will you try?

Thus, Mother Kombucha was born.