GT Dave on the challenges of being a kombucha leader

Back when GT Dave, founder of GT's Living Food, single-handedly proved that there was a market for kombucha in the U.S., "probiotic" was hardly a buzzword. "Fortunately today, that hurdle or barrier is no longer there," Dave said on the Modern Retail Podcast.

Kombucha is big business; sales exceeded $480 million in 2019, according to Nielsen. GT's Living Foods, which was founded in 1995, makes for a big piece of that pie -- 60% of it back in 2015, as he then <a href="https://www.inc.com/magazine/201503/tom-foster/the-king-of-kombucha.html">told a profile writer</a>.

He wouldn't provide an update to that figure for 2020, but did speak to the challenges presented by the pandemic, especially early on. "There was a time where anything that was considered single serve, like our 16-ounce bottle, was basically dead," Dave said about March and April.

In-store sales have since rebounded, and the company is taking its first steps in the direct-to-consumer space. "This quasi-subscription approach is something our fans have been waiting for a very long time and Covid kind of gave us that reason to explore it."

GT's other strategies for surviving the downturn include emphasizing the product's possible health benefits (or at least, its <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/16/style/self-care/kombucha-benefits.html">healthful reputation</a>) and communicating with retailers about their common interests in keeping supply flowing.