Brewing giant Lion New Zealand partners with Tauranga kombucha company

Good Buzz Brewing Co relocated to Tauranga from Wellington earlier this year. Three of the owners are (from left) Richard Gatward, Amber Campbell and Alex Campbell. Photo/John Borren

Tauranga-based Good Buzz Beverage Co is being backed by brewing giant Lion New Zealand, entering a partnership with the kombucha company to take it to the next level.

Lion New Zealand has become a 25 per cent shareholder in Tauranga-based Good Buzz Beverage Co, which specialises in crafted kombucha.

The company started in Wellington in 2014, moving its operation to Tauranga earlier this year. It is now in more than 600 stockists around the country.

Lion New Zealand's managing director Rory Glass said in a press release health and wellbeing was a big focus for its customers so it was "delighted" to add kombucha to its non-alcoholic portfolio.

"And we're particularly excited about helping them unlock the opportunity to tap into the on-premise market," he said.

"Just as Lion once was, Good Buzz Beverage Co is a little Kiwi company with some big dreams, and our partnership will help them scale up to the next level."

Good Buzz started in a small, shared facility in Wainuiomata and now has a range of seven flavours.

Glass said kombucha had seen massive growth worldwide and was poised to take off in New Zealand.

"We surveyed the market and Good Buzz kombucha was the stand-out offering. We were looking for a naturally fermented probiotic product, but just as importantly it had to taste great too. Good Buzz ticks all those boxes."

As part of the new partnership and shareholding, Lion's business development director Scott Wright will join the Good Buzz board.

The company shared their excitement about the partnership on Facebook yesterday.

"We were absolutely blown away to have an iconic Kiwi company like Lion take notice of our hard work and are thrilled to be entering into this mutually beneficial partnership as they grow their non-alcoholic portfolio," the company's Facebook post said.

"We've put it all on the line as a family and as a business to do something we love, produce a product we're proud of - and one that you enjoy - and now with this partnership, we're ready to take it next level so we can grow and show folks what a couple of crazy kids from Tauranga can do."

Founders Alex and Amber Campbell started the company after spending 14 years in the United States.

Mrs Campbell is the chief "boochmaster", using a culture first brewed with by Alex's grandmother in the 1970s in Kaikohe.

Mr Campbell is managing director. He has business and logistical experience from tours with the United States military in Iraq and Afghanistan and also had a software career in Silicon Valley.

Investors Richard and Wendy Gatward joined the company in 2016.

Good Buzz relocated to Tauranga to help meet increasing demand for their products.

Mr Campbell told the Bay of Plenty Times in June it had gone from bottling 30,000 kombucha drinks in the capital to 100,000 - with the capacity to hit 700,000.

Pure Bottling NZ which was on the same street had provided premises and was bottling for Good Buzz.