These Four Friends Launched a Wellness Beverage Startup, Attracting Top Notch Cafes and Wellness Experts Within Months

The wellness beverage startup "Calbrew Kombucha" was launched by four entrepreneurs named Sonali Sonapal, Shilpa Soni, Jagruti Shah, and Smita Agarwal in Kolkata.

These four Kolkata-based homemakers turned friends and made some serious efforts to be the lead runners in the city within a few months since it started. 

Calbrew Kambucha healthy beverages are the favorites in the top cafes across Kolkata and away.

Additionally, famous wellness experts like Luke Coutinho recommend Calbrew Kombucha beverages to their followers.

All success stories have varied tonalities and turning points, so it does.

15 years ago, they had different goals and routes, but one thing was common among them, they were committed to their respective family businesses, and some helped their husbands' ventures.

In 2007, these four fabulous women met in a women's financial freedom workshop in Kolkata. The four businesswomen got a connection in no time. They got along so well that they shared interests such as entrepreneurship, family businesses, and children.

The concept of Kombucha

The concept of Kombucha came from Sonali, and her son introduced it to her.

Sonali’s son came from the USA, and he introduced her to the Kombucha drink, and she was utterly impressed. And this is how She got the idea for the business.

Later in the year 2020, the four friends went on a trip to Varanasi, and during the tour, Sonali made a proposal about the concept and invited the other three to join.

These women entrepreneurs had a strong understanding of the business and were well-versed in the product's carved niche.

"In family businesses, what happens is, eventually, there is always some amount of male chauvinism. I understand it, because they have been working for ages, and they know the know-how, " Smita says to Your Story.

Gradually, they started experimenting with the kombuchas at Sonali’s house, as they tried different flavors and distributed them to friends and family.

They have gotten a warm response and did not wait long to rent a place for manufacturing and bottling units. That is how they launched their startup in 2021.

The birth of Kombuchas

The origin of Kombucha is in Northeast China in 220 BC. They have used the item for healing. Calbrew Kombucha uses the finest tea leaves from Oolong, Nilgiri, green, and black tea to make their kombucha.

These Kombuchas are the best to replace unhealthy drinks like soda and other carbonated beverages.

Other Categories

The recipes are developed by the four co-founders following extensive internal study. With fresh blends, infusions, and seasonal flavors like lavender, which it sources from Kashmir, the flavors, which vary from orange mint to peach, vanilla, and more, are continually evaluated.

Besides kombucha, the startup is also focusing on other wellness beverages that are fermented and derived from milk, like "kefir."

Kefir grains have a balanced combination of good bacteria and yeast. The flavors of Calbrew's kefir include kokum and mojito mint, in addition to blueberry and litchi lime.

Besides that, the startup also provides fusional drinks such as coffucha, a mixture of blended coffees and cold brew coffee, stored for 10 days to ferment and activate the bacteria and yeast in the beverage.

They also have a popular product called "kanji," made from carrot and beetroot juice that will be fermented. Since the product has a short shelf life, this product is sold only in Kolkata.

Future Plans

The founders of Calbrew intend to make their products available on e-commerce sites like Amazon and Flipkart soon. They are currently running active sales through their website and shipping across India.

The company is bootstrapped, and the founders are not inviting any investors as they focus on organic growth.