From music to microbes: How Kerala-based Kumbayah Kombucha is brewing ‘real’ kombucha for India

In India’s fast-growing functional beverage market, kombucha has quietly found its way onto café menus, quick commerce platforms, and premium retail shelves. But according to Arvind Mohan, much of what is sold as kombucha in the country isn’t actually kombucha in the traditional sense.

“Most people believe they’ve already had kombucha,” says Arvind, Founder of Kerala-based Kumbayah Kombucha. “But what many have tried is a sweet, fizzy drink that resembles kombucha. Real kombucha is a living, fermented beverage. It’s not just a flavour profile.”

The startup was officially founded in 2021. However, its journey began years ago in a home kitchen. Kumbayah Kombucha has grown from a personal experiment into a brand selling over 1.5 million bottles annually across South India.

Brewing kombucha the old-fashioned way

At its core, kombucha is a probiotic drink made by fermenting tea and sugar with a live culture known as a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast). The process produces natural carbonation, layered flavours, and beneficial bacteria that support gut health.

At Kumbayah, the process is deliberately unhurried.

“We brew our kombucha for 20 to 30 days,” Arvind explains. “We start with freshly brewed tea, add cane sugar and a live culture, and allow it to ferment slowly. We don’t pasteurise it and we don’t add artificial carbonation. The fizz you taste comes entirely from fermentation.”

That distinction, he says, is critical. Pasteurisation extends shelf life but kills the live cultures. 

“Once kombucha is pasteurised, it’s no longer probiotic. It may still be a low-sugar soda alternative, but it’s not living kombucha. The difference isn’t ideological—it’s biological.”

A musician’s path to fermentation

Arvind’s route into beverages was anything but conventional. Trained as a Hindustani classical musician, he spent years performing and teaching before turning to fermentation.

“I started brewing around 2015, while dealing with digestion issues and looking for something natural that actually worked,” he recalls. “It was just for me at first. But friends started asking for bottles. What stood out was that they didn’t drink it because it sounded healthy. They drank it because it tasted good and made them feel lighter.”

His co-founder, Ashvini Birghoffer, a French national with a deep-rooted culinary background, also trained in Indian classical music. The two met at a music academy in Bhopal and bonded over music, flavour, and fermentation long before Kumbayah existed as a brand.

“Ashvini brought structure to what I was doing intuitively,” says Arvind. “She built fermentation schedules, SOPs, and quality systems that allow the drink to remain alive while staying consistent as we scale.”

Arvind often draws parallels between music and brewing. 

“Music taught me patience long before kombucha did. You can’t rush a raga. You sit with it, listen to it, and let it unfold. Fermentation works the same way. If you try to force it, you lose what makes it alive.”

Scaling without compromising the craft

Based on market analysis from late 2025 and early 2026, the Indian kombucha market is experiencing rapid growth, with industry reports indicating it reached a revenue of $100.8 million in 2024 and is projected to continue expanding significantly. Industry estimates project a CAGR of 16–20% in India, significantly higher than the global average of 15–16 percent, with the category expected to reach $439–460 million by 2033. The startup considers Atmosphere Studio as its competitor.

What began with an initial investment of around Rs 30,000 has grown steadily, clocking close to 2,000% year-on-year growth, largely driven by southern markets.

Today, Kumbayah is available all over Kerala , Madurai, Coimbatore, Chennai, Pondicherry, Bangalore and Hyderabad. It is stocked in neighbourhood cafés, traditional Kerala restaurants, premium retail outlets, hotels, and on quick commerce platforms such as Swiggy Instamart. The brand has also made its way into fine-dining spaces like Yuki.

“Our positioning is simple—premium in process, accessible in pricing,” Arvind says. “Starting at Rs 125 for 275 ml, it’s meant to be an everyday drink, not an occasional indulgence. The same bottle should feel at home in a small café or on a fine-dining table.”

Strong across Kerala and Karnataka, the startup is preparing to deepen its presence in Hyderabad, with Mumbai and Delhi targeted for early 2027. The company is already profitable and not actively raising capital.

“We’re choosing to grow at a pace our product and supply chain can genuinely support,” Arvind says. “Our goal is to build a Rs 100 crore brand by 2028 without compromising fermentation, flavour, or accessibility.”

The company reported a revenue of Rs 15 crores for FY 25 and is projecting 25 crores for FY26

Flavour first, health as a consequence

In a market where health drinks are often sold as obligations, Kumbayah has chosen a different approach.

“No one builds a real habit around something that feels like medicine,” Arvind says. “We didn’t want Kumbayah to be something people force into their routine.”

Instead, the brand prioritises flavour and balance. “Taste is what brings people back. If the drink isn’t refreshing and genuinely enjoyable, nothing else matters. The probiotic benefits come naturally when someone drinks real, well-fermented kombucha regularly. You don’t have to sell it too hard—people feel the difference,” he claims.

The longer fermentation—20 to 30 days—is central to that philosophy. “Real probiotics come from time,” he says. “If you cut fermentation short, you’re essentially making a flavoured soda that looks like kombucha but doesn’t behave like one. Instead of changing the product to suit systems built for scale, we’ve built systems that respect the product.”

For kombucha to go mainstream in India, Arvind believes it must move beyond the wellness aisle.

“Kombucha needs to step out of the health shelf and into everyday food culture,” he says. “It belongs on menus, alongside coffee and alcohol alternatives.”

He sees cafés and restaurants as key to this shift. “When people taste kombucha in the right context—paired with food or as part of a social moment—it stops feeling intimidating. It becomes a preference.”

Ultimately, he believes the transformation from niche to mainstream hinges on enjoyment. “The shift from obligation to enjoyment is what makes kombucha an everyday drink. Health then becomes a quiet advantage, not the headline.”