Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Koenigkann.
Hi Daniel, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started Living Vitalitea officially on 1/3/13, just over 11 years ago. However, I began brewing Kombucha in the fall of 2011 while working as a mechanical engineer for a medical device startup company in Massachusetts. The job was exciting, and my career was progressing, but there was one problem: my heart was not in it. After realizing that the pharmaceutical industry cares more about profit than the cure, I decided to leave the industry and start focusing on something that truly impacts the well-being of the individual: Kombucha. After nearly a year of working to start my business and filing for permits in Florida, I began selling to local retail locations in Orlando. Today, we have perfected our craft after many trials and tribulations. We have many products and constantly reinvent ourselves to meet market demands. We have seen businesses come and go, but we have always stuck to our true and tried methods: slow and steady, quality above profits, top customer service, and keeping business as transparent and simple as possible. Its recipe has allowed us to survive two recessions, a pandemic, and a constantly changing business atmosphere.
Let’s dig deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you overcome?
We have experienced many failures along our journey. Still, each time, it has taught us valuable lessons that have taken us to the next level, anywhere from bad water filters, bad sugar, and power shutdowns that nearly wiped all of our products to losing massive business due to competition flooding the market. Each time, we have pivoted, learned from our mistakes, and refined our skills to offer something unique beyond comparison.
As you know, we’re big fans of Living Vitalitea LLC. What can you tell our readers who might need to be more familiar with the brand?
We have transformed our business several times over the last 11 years, offering different packaging options (glass bottles, cans, Kombucha on tap options), two company-wide re-brands, and moving manufacturing locations 3 times. Still, we have always maintained our values. Our values are top quality above profits, customer service, and keeping business simple and transparent. We are known for the best and cleanest-tasting Kombucha on the market. We do so by sticking to clean, traditional, consistent production methods and using top-quality ingredients. We are proud of everything we do, do not cut any corners, and do not use anything that is not beneficial for your well-being. This is a product that I (Daniel Koenigkann, the owner of Living Vitalitea) consume daily. It is something I’ve been making for myself for 13 years. I dream of offering a product that benefits humans, unlike 95% of package products in the supermarket.
What does success mean to you?
Success is at the intersection of doing something you love, that you’re good at, that the world needs and that makes money. In Japanese, this is also called Ikigai. I will add to that and say that freedom of time and the quality of life (travel, experiences, family, and friends) are paramount to the definition of success.
Pricing:
- $3/can wholesale
- $5/can at the store
- $14/32oz Kombucha on Tap
Contact Info:
- Website: www.livingvitalitea.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/livingkombucha
- Facebook: facebook.com/livingkombucha
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/TEfMVqPkfyY?si=qBE-4o900J7ZzYmV
Image Credits
Credit Daniel Koenigkann
