Inspired by customers using kombucha as a cocktail mixer on social media during the pandemic, the team behind MightyBooch is launching Miixt, a new vodka kombucha RTD, this week.
Might Booch founder Kate Franklin is building on the path paved by a handful of brands, who in recent years have turned adult kombucha into an emerging category forecasted to grow 75% in the U.S. by 2025, according to the IWSR.
But hard kombuchas are made by leveling up the fermentation process, adding a second round of yeast and sugars. Franklin claims the later step irritates her stomach, so she’s aiming to find other consumers who, like her, enjoy the fermented beverage but also prefer a spirit-based kick. She’s betting on drinkers’ preferred base for ready-to-drink cocktails, vodka.
Described as a kombucha-vodka “refresher”, the 4.5% ABV can is also catering to the consumer trends of low-ABV and better-for-you beverage alternatives.
“We’re definitely communicating that it’s 110 calories and contains only five grams of sugar and is gluten free,” Franklin said. “We’re not kind of saying that alcohol is good for you, but it’s definitely a better-for-you option.”
The product is also made with organic raw kombucha (brewed by her husband, JP Franklin), premium vodka, real fruit juice, and sparkling water. The initial SKUs boast familiar flavors: strawberry lemonade, peach, mango and tangerine. Both the name and the formula were designed to appeal to customers as an accessible, straightforward cocktail that can entice non-kombucha drinkers as well, she said. Prior to launching MightyBooch in 2019, Franklin worked for a branding agency that produced campaigns for spirit brands in the Campari Group and Diageo portfolios.
The RTD is sold in four-packs and available now in California, Colorado and Missouri for a suggested retail price of $11.99. The company is based in Oceanside, California and is aiming to build off its strong base of local MightyBooch customers in Southern California. In its homebase, products are sold in Total Wine in San Diego. Franklin targeted Denver because of the market’s familiarity with kombucha, and distributor Craft Republic in St. Louis was able to secure immediate placement in grocery chain, Schnuck’s. The brand also secured a Massachusetts distributor last week.
Since a few California-based brands such as Boochcraft, JuneShine, and Flying Embers kicked off the category, adult kombucha has gained momentum and a boost from spirit companies and CPG investors. Last year, Flying Embers closed a $20 million round led by Beam Suntory, and JuneShine opened its Brooklyn taproom, an expansion fueled by a $24 million investment round closed in 2021. Macro brewers and strategics have also aimed to gain traction in the category: Sierra Nevada launched a hard kombucha in 2020, a year after Anheuser-Busch’s ZX Ventures-backed Kombrewcha refreshed its look and alcohol content. As hard kombucha brands push sales outside of the golden state (where volume dominates), they are also evolving into better-for-you beverage platforms. JuneShine introduced spirits-based RTDs last year, and Jiant expanded into hard tea. Miixt joins Kombucha Cocktails, which launched in 2021, as one of the few spirit-based kombucha RTDs on the market.