Aqua ViTea, LLC

Aqua ViTea, LLC

AquaVitea KombuchaFounded in 2007, Aqua ViTea, LLC is a Kombucha beverage company that has built a national reputation for a quality, Vermont branded health beverage product with a competitive advantage.  Aqua ViTea has made a major commitment to extracting the excess alcohol from its Kombucha and is one of only a few Kombucha companies in the country to do so.

In 2018, the Flexible Capital Fund invested $300,000 in Aqua ViTea to support the purchase of a bottling line that is critical to Aqua ViTea for expanded production capacity in their Middlebury facility and to meet the growing demand of its customers in Vermont and beyond.  The retail Kombucha market was essentially non-existent before the year 2000. Over the past 15 years, market visibility has grown exponentially, and Kombucha has moved from select health food stores and specialty markets to filling shelf space in conventional grocery chains across the nation.

The company’s focus on local purchasing for their Kombucha, their interest in supporting other Vermont businesses that are preserving Vermont’s working lands, and their ability to create quality jobs are a strong fit with the Flex Fund’s mission. A majority of Aqua ViTea’s total annual expenses (~67%) are spent on products and services from Vermont and regional suppliers/providers.

Jeff Weaber, Founder

“Despite its recent popularity explosion and future potential, Kombucha still can be perplexing to consumers and even savvy investors. Janice and the folks at Flex Fund understood our product and company culture right away and have been both important strategic investors and sage advisers as we navigate our growth plan.”