Last year, I met Gina Méndez, the founder of Kova Kombucha in Puerto Vallarta. At that time, I reported that she had been in business for a year, was operating out of her home, and producing 250-300 bottles per month. She planned to move to a larger space.

Twelve months later, I visited Gina at her larger space. She now produces twice the quantity in Puerto Vallarta and, together with her business partner, who operates a sister brewery in Zapotlanejo, near Guadalajara, sells Kova in five cities. Between the two facilities, they are selling 700 bottles a month.

The larger space means she can brew more kombucha, but she barely keeps up with demand. The 200-liter stainless steep primary fermentation tank and kettle have streamlined part of the production process. Her challenge is the labor-intensive manual work of sanitizing, filling, and capping the bottles. Nevertheless, she still performs multiple times a week as the lead singer in The Lovers, playing in clubs and bars around town.

She’s planning to relocate to a new facility closer to her home. I look forward to catching up next year to see how much further Kova Kombucha has come.

Listen to the podcast to hear Gina tell the story of her growing business.

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