Story

Big Island Booch owners Brendan Roberts and Kela Cosgrave.

What an amazing ride it has been! The story of Big Island Booch is a story of fortitude and dedication to a dream. Brendan Roberts and I, Kela Cosgrave, started with the humblest of beginnings, where we sold only ONE bottle of product at our first retail showing at Uncle Robert’s Awa Club in Kalapana in 2013. In a few short years, we have grown beyond our wildest dreams and continue to go up, up, and up! From our small home-based business to opening an elixir bar, to taking on larger spaces as we could afford it, we now have two locations: a 7,000+ sf Boochery where we facilitate the fermentation of our USDA certified organic Big Island Booch Kombucha and Jun, Conscious Cultures Kraut and Kimchi, and the 2500 sf Conscious Culture Café where we provide healthy meals with an emphasis on sustAINAbility, organics, local sourcing, sustainably and humanely sourced meats, gluten-free options and living foods. Conscious Culture Cafe is also the main hub where our beloved “Boochies” can come and get their fill-ups of our on tap Booch and Jun as well as purchase our Kraut, Kimchi and hot sauces.

The idea of kombucha is not new by any means. Depending on the information source, Booch has been produced for thousands of years and was introduced commercially to the US in the 1990s. What we strive to do with kombucha is what makes Big Island Booch special. We have taken a product that was new to Hawaii and unheard of by most locals when we began, and through creative combinations, eye catching bottling and branding, and hard work, have grown a market that started with a disastrous Day 1 where we sold just one bottle of Booch, to a thriving business projected to break $1 million in revenue after just three years and minimal debt. The secret? Sticking to the core principals of quality over growth, local over imported, and education. Or, maybe the secret is the fact that every ounce of Big Island Booch Kombucha touches full moonlight charged quartz crystals to ensure that the vibration stays pono. It has been a labor of love. Because Hawaii wasn’t a market for kombucha when we began, we spent less time trying to distribute product and more time educating people about what kombucha is and how it benefits your health. We didn’t just find a niche to operate in. We created a market for our Booch through education, and impressed upon the market the Big Island Booch brand through quality production and an innovative, creative breadth of products.

Our gratitude to our beloved Boochies is deep, for we couldnt be here without their undying love and support. We vow to continue providing clean and healthful foods infused with love and intention.