Like most startup founders, the journey of Cyriac Thomas of Umami Brew is interesting and personal. Cyriac began his journey into the kombucha business after being inspired by a personal mission to overhaul his unhealthy habits and seeing his partner at the time struggle with alternatives to alcohol and unhealthy sodas. He noticed a lack of options for clean, refreshing, and tasty non-alcoholic beverages in the market. This led to him brewing his first batch of Umami Brew kombucha in 2019.
Cyriac aimed to create a beverage free from artificial flavours, preservatives, and chemicals. Umami Brew’s products also have an impressive twelve-month shelf life at room temperature. When asked about the idea behind the name, Cyriac says, “If you ask chefs what umami means to them, you’ll likely hear a range of answers.” “To us,” he continues, “umami is the sensation you experience after tasting something intensely flavourful. It’s also the art of balancing ingredients to perfection.” Umami Brew’s savoury kombuchas like Pineapple Spice, Kokum Ginger, Apple Cinnamon, Spiced Kairi, Coffee Orange, Salad bar, to name a few hit all flavour notes – sweet, salty, bitter, and sour, making them quite wholesome.
A surge in India’s economy and a rise in the opportunities available here, Cyriac decided to move to India. It was during this transit period, he decided to travel. During Cyriac’s 120-day-long trip, he explored countries like Russia, Poland, Germany, Austria, Sweden, England, France, Scotland, and more. It was during his travels that he was introduced to local fermented drinks such as kefir, kvass, and kombucha made by locals. “I was fascinated by these unique, tangy beverages, which I had never encountered before,” he states. Upon returning to India, he started making kombucha at home where he began experimenting with different flavours for personal use. Soon, one thing led to another and a chef reached out to him to supply 60-70 bottles. This snowballed into more restaurants and cafes reaching out to him.
However, he also shares that kombucha, like many fermented drinks, comes with challenges such as limited shelf life and the need for a cold chain. “When I moved production to a farm and set up a manufacturing plant, we dedicated the first two years to research and development to solve these issues. Today, Umami Brew has a shelf life of above 12 months at ambient temperature, all while preserving the integrity of the drink,” he adds.
Cyriac is aware of the rapid number of kombucha brands that exist and are coming up in India. However, he thinks this is “exciting because it signals that the drink is becoming mainstream.” “When we entered the market,” he starts, “the category already had several players but we set ourselves apart with our focus on taste and specialising in savoury kombucha. This distinction made it easy for us to partner with restaurants, as our brew complemented their food offerings. We’ve never positioned ourselves strictly within the kombucha category; instead, we see ourselves as part of the broader soda category. Our mission is to offer an alternative to more sugary, artificial sodas in the market. We’ve worked hard to ensure that even non-kombucha drinkers don’t feel intimidated by Umami Brew, encouraging them to make the switch.”
Umami Brew kombucha is available in several fun and desi flavours such as Kokum Ginger, Apple Cinnamon, Spiced Kairi, Salad Bar, Coffee Orange, Pineapple Spice, and much more.
However, their latest product called Ginger Ade was born out of the simple frustration of the lack of a good ginger ale in the market. Most ginger ales on the market are full of artificial flavouring, citric acid, and malic acid—something that didn’t align with Umami Brew’s philosophy. After almost a year of R&D and multiple rounds of trial, they finally came up with Ginger Ade, which is their take on ginger ale, made with a kombucha starter, real ginger, and lime juice, yet tasting just like the store-bought versions. They have also developed a spicy variant specifically designed to complement cocktails.
Ginger Ade by Umami Brew is a fermented beverage made from black and green tea, flavoured with real ginger and lime juice. Unlike their regular kombuchas, the tea concentration in Ginger Ade is lower, resulting in a lighter, and more refreshing drink whereas the honey gives it a natural hint of sweetness. Since Ginger Ade is brewed using the same fermentation process as the kombuchas, the health benefits are also similar. “The natural acids produced during fermentation support gut health, while the drink is rich in antioxidants. With the addition of real ginger and lime, you also get the added benefits of these ingredients—known for their digestive and immune-boosting properties. Above all, Ginger Ade is a guilt-free, clean, refreshing, and delicious beverage,” Cyriac concludes.
