In a recent episode of D2CVille Stories Series, our interviewer Berkay sat down with Jennifer Farber, Founder and CEO of Rho Kombucha. Rho Kombucha is a brand based in Hamburg, Germany. It offers kombucha tea with different flavor options.
When asked “where are you dialing from?”, Jennifer says she is “Right from Hamburg, the most beautiful city in Germany.” After Berkay’s terrible joke claiming otherwise, the two delves into a nice conversation about kombucha tea, ecommerce, and business.
“Gut health is very important to me. It's very important for me because I got diagnosed with an autoimmune disease when I was 23 years old.”
Jennifer describes herself as an absolute foodie who is passionate about good food, food innovation, fermentation, and nonalcoholic beverage innovation. She emphasizes that her professional work revolves around these areas. However, her personal background is also closely tied to her interest in gut health. Jennifer reveals that she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease at the age of 23, which led her to prioritize her gut health. In her search for solutions, she discovered the benefits of probiotics and found Kombucha to be one of the remedies that helped her improve her gut health. This personal experience has shaped her perspective on the importance of gut health and its impact on overall well-being.
Jennifer has a strong marketing background and studied brand management, which theoretically prepared her for building an FMCG brand. However, she quickly realized that there is a significant disparity between theory and practice. Jennifer had to learn the ropes the hard way, especially when it came to e-commerce, as her previous internships didn't provide her with extensive experience in that area. Nonetheless, her two-year stint as an assistant in New York played a crucial role in shaping her mindset and opinion about founding a company, offering some valuable insights.
What is kombucha tea, really?
Kombucha is a fermented tea that requires a few basic ingredients: sugar, tea, and the Kombucha culture, commonly referred to as SCOBY, which stands for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. She understands that these components may seem simple, but the actual process of creating Kombucha is microbiologically intricate.
Jennifer realizes that conveying the true essence of Kombucha is challenging for someone unfamiliar with it, as it is an experience best understood through the tasting. She believes that trying Kombucha firsthand is the only way to truly comprehend and appreciate its remarkable qualities.
Traditional retail vs. Ecommerce. Which one is better?
Jennifer recognizes that traditional retail lacks the ability to effectively convey detailed explanations, where products are displayed and sold with limited context. Understanding this disparity, Jennifer and her team concentrated their efforts on crafting packaging that exudes a sense of healthiness. Nonetheless, Jennifer firmly believes that e-commerce remains the superior means to provide consumers with a richer and more informative understanding of their product.
Premium pricing under harsh EU regulations
Jennifer understands that Kombucha is a premium-priced product, typically costing around €1.50 for a delightful beverage in Germany. However, in their case, one bottle is priced at €2.99. From her perspective, selling a product like this becomes a challenge that necessitates the power of storytelling. Due to EU Health Claim rules, they are prohibited from directly mentioning health benefits on the bottle or packaging. Instead, they must depend on the art of storytelling to educate individuals about Kombucha and the beneficial aspects of probiotics, without explicitly referencing them. Jennifer finds this task to be exceedingly difficult, as they navigate the delicate balance between informative storytelling and complying with the regulations.
Jennifer started her journey by opening a small brewery
Jennifer's entrepreneurial journey began with the daunting task of building her own brewery and manufacturing facility in Germany. With no existing knowledge of Kombucha production, she had to learn engineering techniques and brewing from scratch, which proved challenging for someone with a marketing background. After a year of development, they successfully started selling Kombucha in restaurants and coffee shops, but the pandemic disrupted their business. They adapted by focusing on retail and navigating the difficulties of introducing an innovative product with a premium price.
Jennifer faced additional challenges as a female entrepreneur seeking funding and scaling up a complex product. However, she viewed these obstacles as opportunities for personal growth and believed in the product's benefits. The increasing awareness of the immune system and gut health during the pandemic further boosted Kombucha's popularity. Despite initial inexperience, Jennifer's journey taught her valuable lessons and emphasized the importance of mental health and a positive support network for sustainable entrepreneurial growth.
But then she switched strategy
Jennifer underwent a significant strategic shift, selling her manufacturing facility and outsourcing production to a contract filler. She now primarily works with freelancers, focusing on online marketing and maintaining in-house sales, accounting, and operational support. While she cherished being involved in the production process and employing mentally and physically handicapped individuals, she realized the need for increased focus in order to build the brand successfully.
Jennifer acknowledged the challenge of obtaining quality certificates for a small manufacturing setup, necessitating substantial investments. To prioritize brand building and category creation, she made the difficult decision to let go of the manufacturing aspect and collaborate with a contract filler. This allowed her to concentrate her efforts on developing the brand and achieving growth.
What message your packaging gives?
Jennifer experienced disappointment when she realized that many people didn't perceive their brand as the cool lifestyle brand they had intended it to be. Despite using a pharmacy bottle as packaging, which was meant to evoke a sense of youth and style, the brand failed to resonate as intended, particularly in organic stores. Despite offering high-quality Kombucha, customers did not associate it with being an organic product. Instead, they viewed it primarily as a cool brand due to its minimalistic and lifestyle-oriented branding.
Realizing that customers perceived the brand more as a cool brand than a healthy one, Jennifer took action to address this perception. One of the changes made was modifying the bottle design. Previously, her focus had been divided between operations, team management, and production, leaving little room for brand and marketing efforts. However, with the help of a contract filler and an in-house content creator, Jennifer now has the capacity to concentrate on building the brand, marketing strategies, and creating engaging content. Although initially uncomfortable in front of the camera, she is actively learning to share her daily eating habits as people are interested in knowing the person behind the brand. Jennifer's role as a woman who established a small manufacturing company adds an extra layer of interest and relevance to her story.
She had an engineer co-founder but he unexpectedly left the business
“I made a lot of mistakes along the way”, Jennifer says. But among the notable errors, the most significant was selecting the wrong co-founder, which caused considerable challenges and required her to assume multiple responsibilities single-handedly. This unintended solo journey taught her the importance of making careful choices when it comes to business partners. Jennifer emphasizes the necessity of getting to know potential co-founders before embarking on a project together, recognizing that building a team is vital alongside a solid idea and financial resources. She appreciates the value of having capable individuals in her team, such as someone adept in e-commerce, surpassing her own skills in certain areas.
The future of the brand: New DIY Kit
In response to customer demand, Jennifer's company launched a do-it-yourself Kombucha kit, providing customers with the opportunity to engage in the intricate process and create their own kombucha. This offering has been well-received, and the company is satisfied with the performance of the DIY kit as well as its existing product lineup. Looking ahead, their focus is on enhancing their professionalism in e-commerce, strengthening their presence on YouTube, and pursuing collaborations with influencers. These strategic efforts aim to further expand their reach and engage with their target audience in a more impactful way.
We thank Jennifer and appreciate her honesty with her answers! If you’re looking for a bottle of great Kombucha Tea, visit Rho Kombucha at https://www.rhokombucha.de/ !
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