Today we’d like to introduce you to Melanie Styles.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was working in the PR and marketing industry for a few years after college when I went to visit my grandma in Southwest Virginia in 2013. It was a momentous visit because she was making kombucha tea, something she had made for years prior, but it was the first time I really saw the love and joy she poured into it. She taught me how to make it from our family recipe, explained the role of the scoby, and I learned about the many health and wellness benefits of kombucha. I took home her scoby and started brewing in Atlanta, where I began my side hustle selling at farmer’s markets around town and building something. After less than a year, I went full-time with Golda Kombucha, which I named after my grandma who lived to be 95 years old.
Eventually, we were selling in Kroger and Whole Foods before building our first brewery in Tucker, GA operating from a shared kitchen space. In 2018, we moved the production to our current location in the West End where we also opened Georgia’s first kombucha taproom. It’s called Cultured South and we offer kombucha products as well as other fermented foods. Now, we’re expanding as we gear up to open our second location in East Point. A 1900s industrial factory reimagined, Atlanta Utility Works will serve as our company’s headquarters and includes a brewery, kombucha taproom and full bar and a full-service events space.
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?
One of the biggest challenges has been learning the ropes of building a company that manufactures products, from scaling to abiding by many standards and regulations to make a product that people consume. Education was also a big part of our offering because kombucha was a fairly unfamiliar beverage in the marketplace and in the food and beverage industry when we first started out. It took grassroots marketing and education at farmer’s markets and events and around the city to engage one on one with people and share the story of kombucha. The reception from Atlantans was grounding and energizing, especially when it was just me at farmer’s markets but also through the pandemic to today. I wouldn’t be expanded at this rate without the warm outpouring of support from the community!
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Cultured South Fermentation Co. is known for manufacturing Golda Kombucha, and offering a kombucha product that uses local fruit and herb pairing layered with a green and black tea blend. Our core flavors include Strawberry-Mint, Lavender-Lemonade, and Peach-Ginger, with seasonal offerings based on the availability of in-season produce sourced from local farmers. We’re also now known for making fermented foods and health and wellness products.
We pride ourselves in sourcing the freshest and best ingredients at a hyper-local level and pioneering Georgia’s first and finest kombucha product and taproom.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
To me, success is linked to healing – healing my community through health and wellness and ensuring people have a quality product with which they can nourish their families. Offering a community space to come together and show up authentically. Success has also meant being able to support and pay our team, keeping staff full time and growing teams. We went from a one-woman operation in a part-time capacity to now opening our second location with a team of 12.
Expanding and opening Atlanta Utility Works is a huge milestone for us! We’re already offering full-service events in the space, and sometime this summer, Atlantans will be able to visit the brewery and kombucha taproom which has a full bar and spend time in the space with friends and family.
Pricing:
- Golda Kombucha ranges in size from $5 for a can/pint to $25 for a 64 oz growler
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.culturedsouth.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/culturedsouth/
Image Credits
Courtesy of Cultured South
