Team:Austin UTexas/HP/Gold
Human Practices Gold
For the gold medal requirement, we met with Greg Goodman, founder of a local kombucha company, and discussed our project with him. We integrated his insights into our project.
The Kombucha industry is prominent in Austin, Texas because of the beverage's supposed health benefits. Local brands include Buddha’s Brew, Wunder-Pilz, Kosmic Kombucha, Live Soda Kombucha, and K-Tonic. We reached out to the Austin kombucha community to learn more about the industry and what characteristics they would want to see in designer kombucha.
We met a couple of times with Greg Goodman, the founder of K-Tonic Kombucha, to discuss his company and the kombucha industry. We learned about his company’s brewing process, challenges they face, and the properties he would want to see in designer kombucha. We signed non-disclosure and non-compete agreements to protect his business. So, while much of what we learned informed our project, a lot of this information cannot be shared as it may reveal trade secrets currently possessed or being pursued by K-Tonic Kombucha. In fact, we reviewed our Human Practices drafts with Mr. Goodman prior to publishing them online to ensure we didn't divulge anything that he would prefer to remain private.
Goodman was curious about finding out what specific microbes are present in his kombucha, and was especially interested in the amount of “good bacteria” present. He also expressed interest in minimizing the brew time of his beverage without affecting its flavor profile.
Goodman stated that the primary demographic of Kombucha drinkers prefer organic, natural foods and beverages. Unless there was an obvious perceived benefit, using GMOs to make kombucha would alienate consumers.
