After declaring bankruptcy last year, Wisconsin-based NessAlla Kombucha has been acquired and revamped by newly formed Upside Beverage Co.
Launched in 2008 by co-founders Vanessa Tortolano and Alla Tsypin, NessAlla was an early entrant to the craft kombucha market and has maintained a largely regional presence in the Midwest since then. The Madison-based company offers seven regular flavors in 16 oz. glass bottles, as well three premium flavors (Butterfly Effect, J-Hops and Magic Matcha) alongside rotating seasonal varieties.
However, after filing for bankruptcy in July 2020, the company was purchased at auction by local entrepreneurs Brook Hanson and Jillian White. Hanson is the founder of Sun Prairie, Wis.-based Upside Grounds, which produces packaged coffee fortified with electrolytes. Both that company and NessAlla have been folded into holding company Upside Beverage Co., which will operate out of Garver Feed Mill in Madison.
White told BevNET that after she discovered NessAlla had filed for bankruptcy, she began researching the company and the principles behind it, eventually bringing the idea of buying the brand to her friend and neighbor Hanson. After a positive meeting with the NessAlla team at its brewery, the pair confirmed their intentions to make a bid at the company’s bankruptcy auction and were ultimately successful.
“After meeting them and the people who worked there, everything kind of seemed to fall in line,” Hanson said. “It seemed like a natural fit.”
Under its new leadership, much of NessAlla will remain the same: Tsypin is still onboard leading R&D and product development, and Hanson and White said most of the brewery staff has remained onboard. But changes are also in the works, starting with the debut of a 12 oz. can format, which will sport redesigned package labels, that will be rolling out to retailers and foodservice accounts within the next two weeks.
In terms of distribution, White and Hanson said the goal is to expand NessAlla’s current presence beyond its existing footprint of over 400 locations across Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois via partnerships with L&L Foods, Natural Direct, Co-op Partners and Trust Local Foods.
“I’m really excited to see a lot of the effort that we’ve put in so far coming together in the next few weeks,” said Hanson. “We kept the name because it’s something people know and appreciate. I see a big future and I’m really excited about it.”