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Kombucha was on the rise in Malaysia a couple of years ago, and it is now common to find several local brands in the city’s food and convenience stores.
Over the years, we have been the protagonists Lots of stories from Malaysian kombucha brewers. Most started because they noticed noticeable improvements in intestinal health problems after consuming kombucha and wanted to spread its benefits.
Sophia Tong’s background is a little different. With the RM500, he launched his kombucha brand, Floating mother, Waiting for the Instagram blockade to end so you can get a legal license in the UK.
Finding his home
Prior to founding Floatingmother Johor, Sophia was a paralegal who planned to continue her Bar Vocational Training Course (BPTC). However, this did not work due to COVID-19.
In the meantime, he found kombucha in a cafe he visited and immediately fell in love with its taste. Coincidentally, even then he was on a diet and found that kombucha was low in sugar and low in calories, so it was a good alternative to other sugary drinks.
After creating a desire for kombuchha while she was in the blockade, Sophia decided to try to do it herself.
However, the drink can generally be difficult to make from scratch if it no longer has a “mother”, a launcher known as SCOBY, Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast. SCOBY kombucha is a great jelly-like mass that you would normally see in a large preparation.
A new scoop is grown by combining tea, sugar and some pre-made kombucha, and it takes a few weeks to ferment at controlled temperatures.
Sophia’s attempt to grow her SCOBY took longer than she thought, so she tried her luck and got a small initial batch at a nearby coffee shop that she supplied free of charge.
Mango kombucha was the first flavor he made, and he had surprisingly good results from the start. After receiving positive feedback from relatives who were encouraged to sell the drink, Sophia finally joined Floatingmother R&D in June 2021.
Cooperation above competition
As mentioned earlier, there are currently local kombucha brands in the Malaysian market, although most of them are saturated in the Klang Valley. Although I couldn’t find many johor-based kombucha brewers, Sophia pointed out that more competition is emerging.
But instead of seeing the other player as a threat, he thinks it’s gratifying. “To me, Johorians seem like a good sign that they’re looking at a healthier lifestyle,” Sophia told the Vulcan Post. “I would love to exchange ideas [with other brewers] and share my journey with them if there is a chance, because the exchange of knowledge also forms a healthy community. ”
And because different methods of making beer can yield different results, each kombucha in each brand will have its own unique flavors. Ultimately, it’s about the customer’s personal preference.
In terms of cost, Floatingmother’s drinks are priced at RM 12.90 for classic flavors like watermelon, pineapple and mango, and the price is RM 14.90 for premiums like lychee and rose. These prices match the range of other brands like Boocha and WonderBrew, to name a few.
Working as Floatingmother’s solo artist, Sophia can produce at least 300 bottles per batch, and she makes them twice a month as each batch needs 14 days to prepare. Although she did not disclose details about the business’s sales, she reported that Floatingmother is profitable.
Significant name
When I first heard the brand name, “Floatingmother,” I admit that I found it quite commendable. But after understanding the process required to make kombucha, it is clear that the brand name refers to SCOBY.
Sophia confirmed this and shared that the inclusion of the name “mother”, while it may be appealing, has a greater meaning behind it.
“I have always had a heart for children, especially for orphans and children in need. One of my dreams is to help my children, for example, with the right education, basic supplies and nutritious food, ”said Sophia.
Through Floatingmother, Sophia added that part of the business’s revenue will go to a “Local Love” charity, which the 27-year-old created with his kombucha brand.
He summed it up: “‘Floating’ refers to SCOBY and ‘mother’ represents my heart to children. opportunity to understand “.
More ambitions going forward
As the saying goes, “If you want to go fast, go alone; but if you want to go far, go together. ‘ Sophia believes this is true and hopes to find investors to join her journey to bring Floatingmother to the next stages.
Floatingmother is taking some KL stores to take its kombuchas to retail shelves, it also works with logistics companies to ship its products nationwide.
“We also want to put more emphasis on the ‘Local Love’ project to raise public awareness of the issues that children face. We plan to visit an orphanage and feed the children, ”added Sophia.
The goal is to have Floatingmother’s kombucha as a childhood drink. “If children learn to replace, eat and drink unhealthy drinks with kombucha from an early age, the society of the future will also be healthier,” Sophia hoped.
Floatingmother’s production plans to move from her home to a larger space to take on more helpers. “We would prefer to hire unmarried mothers when we want to help them. Through this, we hope to provide a better standard of living for families in need, ”concluded the founder.
Asked if she still intends to get a legal license, Sophia has since shared that she has given up on that dream, as she now finds more enjoyment in building Floatingmother.
- You can find out more about Floatingmother here.
- You can read more of the Malaysian F&B brands we have worked on here.
Featured Image Credit: Sophia Tong, founder of Floatingmother
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