NextScience Enters Major Distributors with Fermented Beverage 'Kombucha'

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Next Science announced on the 23rd that its subsidiary Freshco, which produces ‘I'm Alive Kombucha,’ has launched the product as an exclusive item for major retailers and began full-scale sales at 16 stores nationwide starting from the 19th.

The exclusive kombucha is supplied under an ODM contract with Bioport Korea, a health functional food specialist company, and is packaged as a set of six 315ml bottles.

Kombucha has gained tremendous popularity as a celebrity drink in the US and Europe, earning the nickname ‘Next Cola.’ Unlike the global market trend, the domestic beverage market is dominated by fruit juices and sports drinks, so the Korean kombucha market is still in the early adopter entry stage.

In response to these changes in the global beverage market, Freshco, Korea’s leading kombucha company, made bold preemptive investments and formed a technical partnership with the US company Buchi to develop a flavor suited to Korean tastes.

The company manufactures and sells its own brand ‘I'm Alive Kombucha’ using patented fourth fermentation technology and differentiated technology such as Korea’s only halal certification. It is recognized for its competitiveness in the global market with evaluations that it has captured both ‘taste and efficacy.’

Since last year, it has continuously supplied ODM products to Ediya Coffee, Smoothie King, and Coupang.

Recently, with increased interest in health and immunity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, kombucha containing probiotics that enhance immunity has been recognized as a valuable health drink related to immune strength. Accordingly, Freshco has achieved sales about ten times higher than the previous year, and a company official stated, “Even with full operation of production facilities, we cannot keep up with the incoming order volume.”

Next Science CEO Eul Eu-kyu said, “Customers who have tried kombucha experience its taste and efficacy firsthand and are using it more frequently. To meet the concentrated demand, we plan to complete additional factory expansions by the second half of this year.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.