Boulder’s Rowdy Mermaid is hoping to become a nationally recognized brand
As a beer-brewing enthusiast, Jamba Dunn started making kombucha in his garage in Boulder when his daughter asked for “less sweet, less vinegary” kombucha made with fresh herbs from their garden.
Having lost his job in the corporate tech world during the Great Recession, Dunn refocused his energy on creating the best possible kombucha for his daughter. By 2013, after refining his recipe with the help of microbiologists, he began to build it into a business named after its chief taster and critic — his daughter, aka the Rowdy Mermaid.
Four years later, kombucha has become a household name with annual sales growing by 30 percent each of the last three years and, in 2018, it surpassed the $500 million mark nationwide, according to Kombucha Brewers International. With no signs of the market slowing down, Dunn decided the time is now to try to expand Rowdy Mermaid Kombucha from a regionally sold specialty product into a nationally recognized brand.
“Rowdy Mermaid was originally disruptive for making functional, plantbased kombucha and making a much higher quality product than had existed in the marketplace,” Dunn said. “Now, we’re looking to position ourselves for larger growth. As a local company that was self-funded, we were very conservative in the way we approached the market and made very strong relationships with our vendors. But this next year will be the first foray into trying to reach broader audiences. I kind of see it as Rowdy Mermaid kombucha growing up.”
However, with little experience in the food industry, Dunn needed help. It just so happens he’s known Justin Gold, the founder of Justin’s natural and organic nut butters and peanut butter cups, since he was a waiter at the 14th Street Grill around 2004. On Monday, Gold accepted a job as the first member of Rowdy Mermaid’s advisory board.
“The problem with the kombucha category, in my humble opinion, is that they either taste too medicinal or they just don’t taste good at all,” Gold said. “Jamba has done a really good job of handcrafting this process that creates a product that doesn’t taste like any of the other kombuchas.”
Unlike other kombuchas that offer different flavors, Rowdy Mermaid focuses on the functionality of each recipe. For example, it markets its peach brew for its positive effects on the immune system and its lavender brew for its calming effects. It also offers brews to help cool the body, promote physiological balance and ease digestive issues.
While working with microbiologists, Dunn was able to produce the only non-caffeinated kombucha on the market and figure out how to limit the amount of sugar and alcohol in the final product.
Dunn and Gold believe this scientifically based method of making kombucha will continue to separate the company from the rest of the pack.
“Going forward, we’re really focusing on science as our strategy,” Dunn said. “We built out a laboratory here where we solved the sugar and ethanol issues that have plagued the industry and we’re now building out a genetics lab so that we can understand not only the genetics, but also the metabolites that are created by kombucha and better control every aspect of the product.”
Developing more products, however, requires more revenue. Hence the hiring of Gold.
“One of the key advantages that I bring,” he said, “is that I’m still working. I’m highly active and involved in my business and my organization has a lot of resources, from planning an expo to talking about freight logistics and warehousing to the best in class ways of managing brokers, that can help Rowdy Mermaid.”
With the help of Gold, Dunn is confident 2019 will be a big year.
“As Rowdy Mermaid is starting to grow into new channels and starting to sell to conventional markets, which is Justin’s wheelhouse,” he said. “It’s a match made in heaven.”