As The Bucha of Byron adds Acai Berry to its kombucha flavour line-up, it has also updated its packaging with resealable metal lids and a new design, created by Melbourne-based studio Taboo.
The brand is developed in collaboration between Byron Bay-based beverage producers, Kombucha Brewing Co and Stone & Wood. Its new Acai Berry flavoured kombucha uses the superfood in the drink for the first time in Australia.
“Acai is a great superfood and the taste blends perfectly with our low sugar, premium kombucha,” co-founder Cam MacFarlane said.
The new flavour coincides with a new look for The Bucha of Byron across all its flavours, including Original, Ginger, Lemon Myrtle and Tropical.
MacFarlane told Food & Drink Business that when the brand was launched in 2016, the kombucha category was still in its infancy. The products were initially designed as a substitute for alcohol, with the look aimed to feel as at home in a pub as it would in a progressive café.
“As the kombucha category developed, it became clear that the bigger opportunity was a soft-drink replacement rather than alcohol replacement,” he said.
“Through our brand refresh we wanted to ‘lighten up’ the brand and inject some vibrance and freshness that was previously missing. But the challenge was to do this in a way that still represented our laid-back Byron roots – we think the new design does that very well."
The kombuchas have been packed in Stone & Wood’s beer bottle design for the past five years, which featured “a twist top like a beer lid”, said MacFarlane, but following feedback from consumers on where they were drinking Bucha, the team decided to change to resealable metal lids for its closures.
“Over time we started getting a lot of feedback that people are also drinking the Bucha outdoors and wanting to take it with them to the beach, and they want to be able to have a sip and put the cap back on before they drive or throw it into their bag,” said MacFarlane.
“We’ve listened to our drinkers who told us they want to be able to take the Bucha with them wherever they go.”
The Bucha of Byron Acai Berry flavoured kombucha, as well as the rollout of its new packaging, can be found in some of the Gold Coast's, Brisbane and Byron Bay's most popular cafes and shops, as well as Foodworks stores nationwide.
