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59 StPeteLifeMag.com May/June 2020
SPL LIVING
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.
“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
recommending
meditation,
yoga and
healthy diets to
my patients.”
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
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.
Thus, Mother Kombucha was born.
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
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
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
BY KAYLA GLEASON
/StPeteLifeMag.com