Armed with combined experience at Diageo, Firestone Walker, and JuneShine, the team behind Mate Maker has big plans for the hard kombucha category.
Mate Maker is the brainchild of founders Justin Medcraft – a former brand manager at Diageo, Pabst Brewing Company and Firestone Brewing – and Tom Appleton, an1 1-year Diageo veteran turned beverage alcohol consultant. The founders sought out long-time pioneer in the hard kombucha category, Josh Makler, to lead the company’s production as brewmaster. Makler’s resume includes time as lead brewer for Boochcraft, co-founding brewer for Juneshine, and founder of Kove Hard Yerba Mate.
Of course, there’s a celebrity partner, too. Australian dance music trio Rüfüs Du Sol is also behind the brand which debuted in their home country last October. The artists and founders have been friends for two decades. Mate Maker’s expansion mirrors Rüfüs Du Sol’s own trajectory, establishing the brand’s presence in Southern California, an area resonating with Australia’s easy-going, beach-oriented lifestyle, and one which the band and the fellow founders have made their home for five years.
The goal is to establish Mate Maker as a “credible, California craft brand that continues to be part of the handful of brands that keep raising the bar,” said Medcraft. Since a few other California-based names such as Boochcraft, JuneShine and Flying Embers kicked off the category, adult kombucha has gained momentum and interest from spirit companies and CPG investors. Last year, Flying Embers closed a $20 million round led by Beam Suntory, and JuneShine opened its Brooklyn taproom, an expansion fueled by a $24 million investment round closed in 2021.
Makler’s network in San Diego has helped the brand debut with multiple on-premise locations serving draft, and retailers throughout the region offering canned six-packs. The brand’s route-to-market approach reflects a strategy focused on depth over width, and working with retailers to execute above expectations, according to Medcraft. Products are distributed with Scout Distribution, which specializes in distributing craft beverages throughout the West Coast.
“Channel and market segmentation is incredibly important for products like hard kombucha that haven’t proven to scale nationally like craft beer, seltzer or mainstream flavored malt beverages,” said Medcraft. “I think the jury is still out whether or not hard kombucha will ever be a fully national product as a majority of its volume is still coming from California with pockets of other key cities now adopting it on the East Coast.”
The hard kombucha debuts in the U.S. with three 6% ABV flavors in 12 oz aluminum cans, all of which are made with real fruit and organic tea: Mango Peach Smash, Blood Orange POG, and Pineapple Sundream. But unlike other players in the category, Mate Maker’s key messages won’t be centered on gut health, probiotics, or zero sugar. Rather, it aims to appeal to a broader consumer base by emphasizing flavor, refreshment and real ingredients, according to Medcraft.
“Multiple alcohol categories have embraced real fruit and flavor as a way to innovate and grow the category,” said Medcraft. “We saw it with the growth of hazy IPAs in craft beer and we are now seeing it with the evolution of hard seltzer using real fruit juice.”
To get the word out, the company’s marketing strategy will focus locally on community events and curated local parties, but engage its owner and ambassador network through “epic level” activations and content that helps amplify the band to a large audience. In Australia, where its retail footprint extends to 300 stores, the brand launched with a marketing campaign around the band’s first homecoming tour with exclusive sponsorship, retailer giveaways, and boat party live streams. In the U.S. the company is aiming to build a lifestyle brand that builds community through shared experiences and “pinch-yourself memories.”
But Medcraft is aware from his time in BevAlc that his lifestyle brand might not be for everyone.
“Not everyone is going to like your brand, your product or your point of view and that’s okay,” he said. “Firestone Walker is the best example of obsessing over craft beer and sticking to their guns, not getting distracted by the noise.”
Mate Maker will likely be joined by more competitors, as macro brewers, strategics and kombucha brands are also looking to gain traction in the category. Sierra Nevada launched a hard kombucha in 2020, and Kombucha brands like GT’s and Aqua ViTea have also released alcoholic versions. To push sales outside of the golden state, hard kombucha brands are also evolving into better-for-you beverage platforms. JuneShine introduced spirits-based RTDs last year, and Jiant expanded into hard tea. Recent entry and San Diego-based Miixt joined Kombucha Cocktails, which launched in 2021, as some of the few spirit-based kombucha RTDs on the market.
But the founders still see hard kombucha as an emerging category that has a few players with a lot of opportunity.
“Contrast this against categories like craft beer or hard seltzer that are oversaturated with products and there is a far smaller handful of brands that have emerged as leaders that are growing the category,” Medcraft said.