Kombucha Is Booming. But Is It Still Kombucha?
Newsweek · C · trust 53/100
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Kombucha has built its reputation on being alive. The tangy, naturally carbonated drink is made by fermenting sweetened tea with a culture of bacteria and yeast, creating a beverage associated with fermentation, live cultures and gut health.
Digestive wellness was highlighted as a top global trend for 2026 under the header "Gut Health Hub " by market research firm Innova Market Insights, which reported that a majority of consumers now view gut health as central to whole-body wellness.
And for kombucha, the numbers reflect that. The U.S. market for kombucha was worth an estimated $1.83 billion in 2025 and revenue is projected to reach $3.46 billion by 2030, according to business consulting firm Grand View Research.
Still, a distinction some consumers might miss is that pasteurization substantially reduces or eliminates the living microorganisms present in kombucha, while unpasteurized products retain active cultures.
“Because the microorganisms remain active, an unpasteurised kombucha can continue to change after bottling. Depending on the product and storage conditions, this may affect carbonation, flavor, acidity and, in some cases, alcohol content,” Hamid Ghoddusi, head of Microbiology Research Unit at London Metropolitan University, told Newsweek.
That creates a clear commercial tradeoff. Heat treatment can make the product more stable and predictable, while leaving it untreated preserves the living cultures created through fermentation.
Producers have taken different approaches to balancing live cultures, product stability and distribution.
Pasteurization offers a practical advantage for producers. A living fermented drink can continue changing after it has been bottled, making consistency and distribution more difficult.
A study published in Food Bioscience in April examined four commercial kombucha products and found that heat treated samples remained stable over 90 days, while untreated products showed yeast growth and increasing alcohol levels in storage.
Sõsu Kombucha has chosen the unpasteurized approach. The Portuguese producer was founded by João Santos and Carolina Nunes in January 2025 as a small operation producing around 50 liters a month, and it has since scaled up to 3,000 liters monthly to supply more than 100 establishments.
That rapid growth makes Sõsu a clear example of the challenge facing raw kombucha brands. Even as production expands, the company has stuck strictly to its unpasteurized model.
“We keep the drink unpasteurized and refrigerated, with the fermentation process providing its natural carbonation,” Santos told Newsweek .
Sõsu added that scaling the business has also required greater attention to how the product moves through its distribution network. “Refrigerated storage and clear handling instructions become increasingly important as more distributors and retailers are involved."
The company’s kombucha is also unfiltered. Santos explained that this approach allows the product to retain the distinct characteristics of a traditionally fermented drink while still expanding commercially.
Sõsu’s trajectory suggests that preserving live cultures can be commercially viable beyond very small-scale production. The brand has apparently built a viable commercial operation around cold-chain distribution, managing live fermentation through refrigeration rather than halting it with heat.
That distinction becomes more important as kombucha moves further into the mainstream. Products sold under the same name can be fermented, processed and stored differently, while consumers may have little indication of those differences when they pick up a bottle.
Santos said consumers need clearer information about what has happened to the drink before it reaches them.
“Consumers encountering different products under the same category name can benefit from understanding how fermentation, refrigeration, and processing affect the finished beverage,” he said.
For Santos, that information matters because fermentation is part of the reason people choose kombucha in the first place.
“If consumers are going to make a choice based on fermentation, they deserve to understand what fermentation actually means,” Santos said.
Ghoddusi takes the same issue further, arguing that the information should extend to how a product has been processed.
“Consumers deserve transparency . If a product is pasteurised, say so. If it is merely flavoured to resemble kombucha, say so,” Ghoddusi said.
The distinction is particularly relevant in a market built around the idea of fermentation and live cultures. The available evidence does not establish that unpasteurized kombucha is healthier, nor does it provide a scientific definition that determines when a product stops being kombucha. What it does show is that pasteurization changes the microbial contents of the drink.
Professor Dennis Sandris Nielsen, head of the Food Microbiology, Gut Health and Fermentation section at the University of Copenhagen, cautioned that the presence of live microorganisms should not itself be presented as evidence of a health benefit.
“There is very little evidence, if any, that consumption of live kombucha microbes has an effect on their own,” he said. Potential effects could instead come from metabolites produced during fermentation or compounds in the tea itself.
For consumers, that makes the processing information more than a technical detail. Someone choosing kombucha for its fermented character may want to see whether the product has been pasteurized, whether it remains refrigerated and what that means for the drink inside the bottle.
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