Elgin business uses Speyside water to make kombucha
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
What is Kombucha? Pronounced Kom-boo-cha the fermented, lightly effervescent, sweetened black tea drink has gained recognition over the globe for its health benefits including millions of gut-friendly microbes and organic acids.
The global kombucha tea market has grown from $2.33 billion in 2022 to $2.81 billion in the past 12 months.
Armed with the facts and with a desire to provide people with what they are seeking, a savvy Elgin based business has created Kompassion Kombucha.
The business – that won best Craft Kombucha Provider UK, last year – was set up by Rajkumar Dhanaraj in March 2018 in Hackney. But, as a resident of Inverness he decided to move the company a bit closer to home to make use of the region’s natural resources.
Speaking more about his business, Rajkumar said: “There are so many health beneifts to kombucha including it being 100 per cent natural, vegan, non-alcholic, gluten free and it has a long shelf life.
“Most of the ingredients are organic and it has 627 million gut friendly cultures per bottle.
“With a society that is much more health-conscious these days, we really wanted to tap into the market and create a drink that was different to the regular fizzy drinks that are normally the only alternative to alcohol.
“The market was bigger down south, and we started in Hackney by making small batches, and letting people try it at the park to see what they thought.
“Once we were happy with the flavours we then made batches and were distributing it via bikes to cafes, shops and bars.
“We were just ready to expand when Covid came along. Luckily, we survived and were able to get the warehouse in Elgin for
manufacturing. I am so happy we did as the Speyside water makes it taste incredible!”
For the past six months Kompassion Kombucha has been distributing to the region through Williamson’s Foodservice and hopes to extend its reach to the rest of Scotland over the next year.
Kompassion Kombucha currently has four unique flavours for customers to choose from, including: scotch bonnet chilli; sarsaparilla root; elderflower; and lavender. Another two flavours are set to be released this year.
Rajkumar explained that some of his customers have been getting creative with the product: “We have pub customers down south who are doing great as it is providing more options for people who don’t drink.
“Surprisingly one of the pubs is using it as a mixer for drinks! We hadn’t thought about it, but it is selling really well so we don’t want to lose that opportunity either!
“We are also trying to pitch into the convenience sector, so it is just like a takeaway drink rather than exclusively to cafes or pubs.”
However, one of the challenges for the business is creating an awareness of the drink in Scotland. The kombucha market is currently bigger in Europe and the United States, so it is a perfect beverage for local businesses to stock for tourists.
Rajkumar said: “We want to let locals here know what it is, so we are trying to get the word out about it!
“We are getting regular customers back though, and the feedback is good, so we can see that the sales will go up once people try it!”
Rajkumar currently employs two people in Elgin and hopes to increase this over summer as sales expand. All the bottles are currently hand filled, so a lot of love and time goes into Kompassion Kombucha.
His wife, Dr Saranya Selvaraj is also a director of the company, but doesn’t work in the business as she is busy running her own dental practice in Forres.
“In Indian culture it is sentiment to put things in the wives name as it’s said to be a sign of good luck!,” explained Rajkumar.
“She has been a tremendous support and stood with me during my tough times.
“We have also got two lovable, kind, cute, cheeky monkeys named Krishang (8) and Tanush (5), who keep us on our toes!”
He added: “A big thank you to all of our customers for their immense support. We promise to keep delivering the best product and we are excited to launch our new flavour this summer - I am sure customers will love it!”
E: orders@kompassion.co.uk
