Motherlove Ferments was born out of a passion for fermentation. They are a business caring deeply about health for both people and the planet, crafting each product with this in mind. They believe “what we put into our bodies directly impacts our energy levels and how we feel and packaging affects the environment around us.”
You can count on their fermented beverages to be brewed with all organic ingredients, no artificial anything, and a high probiotic count. Harnessing the flavours and colours from whole foods, combined to promote better digestive health. Our flavours are light and refreshing, making a healthier diet feel more achievable.
Founder Rochelle Minagawa is a lifelong athlete who has always loved fermenting beverages and food. With the belief that kombucha can taste as good as it is for you, she aims to create flavours that are fun and functional, while not overly acidic or sweet. Just a healthy beverage, so you can feel good about what you and your family are drinking.
Question: How are you supporting other local businesses?
Answer: We try to source as locally as possible, and all of our hiring is local. A popular flavour is the Lavender Lemonade – we source our lavender from an organic lavender farm in Kelowna. We try to source within BC if possible, and next within Canada. Some ingredients we are unable to source locally, like lemon, sugar, and tea. In these cases, we always source organic and fair trade and have made this a standard for our business.
For our services, we use almost exclusively (90%) local businesses. For instance, our banking is with Valley First Credit Union and insurance is with Capri.
Question: What social and environmental practices are you proud of?
Answer: For the wellbeing of our planet, we use only refillable, reusable or recyclable packaging. Our cap handles are PLA plastic made from corn and are 3D printed locally by Gamer Gadgetry. If a cap ever breaks, they print it into something else. We use aluminum caps on our glass bottles and don’t use any plastic or styrofoam in our packaging. We even use corn-packing peanuts. All of the organic tea waste is used at local farms so they can grow veggies. Organic sourcing is huge for sustainability as well. For us, there is a continuous conversation about how we can be more sustainable.
We have a pretty small team. There are only three of us in the brewery now, four on the payroll. For our staff, we pay industry-standard – higher than minimum wage. We prioritize mental health days, fitness, and health programs, and as an extra perk – staff members are given a growler of kombucha every week!
We don’t track how we give back, but any time someone asks for our product for an event, we do our best to provide it. We donated growlers to an event recently that did a yoga class for nurses. Others include college events, local giveaways, fundraisers, and charities.