Life & Work with Suhyoon Wood

Beejou Craft Kombucha started with a mad scientist, a passion for health and nutrition, and a SCOBY. Six months after Beejou’s first batch was brewed, their customer base had grown so large that they had to turn their passion project into a business to accommodate the demands of their community. Without realizing it, the founders of Beejou discovered a need that they could fill in Columbus. With the support of their friends, family, and Hive, founders Suhyoon and Daniel Wood began breaking ground on their brewery and taproom in January of 2020 and began manufacturing during the first week of March.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being the only kombucha manufacturer in our area, we needed to do our due diligence when it came to making Beejou happen. Though we were afforded many incredible resources, none of them had built a kombucha business from the ground up. Learning to immerse ourselves in the world of commercial kombucha brewing, which was incredibly different than homebrewing, was one of our largest hurdles. Our second hurdle was COVID, hands down. By the time Governor Kemp issued the stay-at-home order, we were a week and a half into being open for manufacturing! Luckily, we were able to pivot quickly and shift our sales options to both curbside pick up and delivery. Though we had the unfortunate luck of opening during a global pandemic, it’s all we know for Beejou and we are grateful to still be thriving despite it!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
At eighteen, I earned my degree in photography from The Evergreen State College in 2011. I worked extensively in my field as a photographer for the Washington State Legislature and was able to successfully move my career to the Columbus, GA area when I relocated with my spouse. After a couple of years and due to undergoing a lot of personal changes, I decided to go back to school to pursue a Master’s in dietetics in hopes to work with my passions: food and science. By then, my dream job was working for an unnamed millionaire, who’d allow me to spend however much I’d like on food, to create fantastic dishes for them!

During the first year of going back to school, I had happened upon an opportunity to make kombucha – something I had wanted to do for years. Batch after batch, I found success. Not only in my processes, but in establishing recipes that made kombucha palatable to any range of palates. I had gotten to the point where I was home brewing so much and selling to so many people that I began to look into becoming legitimate. My research and desire to not do illegal things brought me to where I am today; the owner of Columbus, GA’s first and only kombucha brewery and taproom! A year ago, when I made my first batch, I had no idea that I’d be where I am now. I am elated to say that in the short time we’ve been operating that we’ve become a household name in the Columbus, GA area. We are passionate about incubating other businesses and take pride in helping fellow entrepreneurs in our area succeed.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Kombucha is a huge, international market! I believe that as research continues to point to the need for maintaining good gut health, kombucha will continue to be a go-to option for a source of probiotics

Pricing:

• $5 for 12 oz bottles
• $20 for 64 oz growler
• $28.50 for six pack of 12 oz

Contact Info:

• Address: 1204 1st Ave, Ste, C Columbus, GA, 31901
• Email: info@beejoukombucha.com
• Website: beejoukombucha.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/beejou.kombucha
• Facebook: facebook.com/beejou.kombucha
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/beejou-craft-kombucha-columbus