First bottling line for RISE Kombucha

RISE started out selling its kombucha primarily in vegan restaurants. Even as sales exploded, operations were still entirely manual. As late as 2017, the company had 40 employees bottling the fermented tea beverage by hand. Then the decision was made to expand production capacity and automate the process. So, RISE Kombucha started looking for investors – and quickly found one. Thanks to more than 10 million Canadian dollars in growth capital, RISE Kombucha was able to build one of the most state-of-the-art kombucha production facilities in North America. The new filling line from Krones is a big piece of that.

Behaves like beer

RISE produces in 25,000-liter batches. “Good kombucha can’t be pasteurized. It has to be alive when it reaches the consumer,” explains Axel Kalbarczyk, president of RISE Kombucha. “We are one of the few producers that can accomplish this and ensure that the alcohol content stays below 0.5 percent alc/vol, which we do through a proprietary process. We keep it below 0.5 percent as the laws vary across Canada. Our kombucha has to be distributed chilled since fermentation doesn’t stop until it hits 4 degrees Celsius (39.2 degrees Fahrenheit).” RISE has also developed a recipe that makes its kombucha more flavor-forward instead of the vinegar-forward taste of most kombucha brews, giving it broader appeal.

According to Bottling & Sanitation Director Jocelyn Malo, kombucha behaves similarly to beer during filling. “Just the pH value is somewhat lower, at 3.0 to 3.5, and the residual sugar is a bit higher. It foams during the filling process, so you have to continually monitor pressure and CO₂ content. We bottle it cold, at about two degrees Celsius (35.6 degrees Fahrenheit),” he explains. “Cleaning and sanitization are also extremely important since it’s a live product and secondary contamination can be dangerous.”

The line fills the different kombucha varieties into 414-milliliter and 1-liter glass bottles, whose cylindrical form and minimalistic label design make them easily recognizable.

Although RISE Kombucha has already taken efficiency to the next level by moving from manual to automatic filling, increasing efficiency even further was a top priority for Jocelyn Malo. Therefore, staff were given intensive training to ensure that each of the four operators per shift could handle every machine. The effect is clear at changeovers: “We are averaging around 90 percent efficiency on the 1-liter bottle,” Malo explains. The line currently runs one day shift five days a week and is cleaned each night. Meanwhile, the kombucha brewers work seven days a week to produce the fermented beverage.

Good reasons to choose Krones

Axel Kalbarczyk explains why RISE Kombucha chose Krones for its first foray into automation: “Krones came recommended by our consultancy. We didn’t have any real experience with that sort of machinery ourselves. I wanted to be sure that it didn’t become a weak link in our process. It wasn’t cheap, and there was a lot of time pressure, but we got a good deal with Krones.” The fact that Krones has quite a number of technicians in Canada, most of whom have many years of experience, was another important factor. “The machines have to run. So good, effective service is essential. So far, we haven’t been disappointed,” says Kalbarczyk.

As Canada’s leading kombucha brand, RISE is the only Canadian producer to serve the entire country. Canada’s kombucha market is still experiencing double-digit growth, and RISE feels it’s well equipped for the future. “The new facility gives us everything we need to keep growing. The Krones line is the key. Investing in it was a good decision,” says Kalbarczyk. “With it, we can expand our current operating capacity three times over simply by adding shifts.” Even if, at some point, the kombucha trend eventually becomes a mature beverage category, “RISE will continue to innovate, step up our marketing, and maybe even start exporting. Whatever we do, we’ll always focus exclusively on better-for-you beverages,” says the company’s ambitious president.