Wild Ohio Brewing taking over Luna Kombucha brand

Written by on June 1, 2016 in Gluten Free - 5 Comments

una KombuchaLuna Kombucha is becoming the Wild Ohio Brewing Company.

Luna Kombucha has been crafting kombucha — a probiotic tea typically very low in alcohol consumed to aid in digestion — since 2011 in Columbus. About two years ago they began brewing some slightly higher ABV kombucha teas.

Ownership of the Luna Kombucha brand was transferred in April to its employees under the name of Employee Brewing Company, led by Luna operations manager Russell Pinto. The employees of Employee Brewing Company collectively developed the new trade name of Wild Ohio Brewing Company, which refers to the open fermentation process utilized in the kombucha making process.

In addition to the name change, Wild Ohio Brewing Company is shifting the focus completely away from being a low alcohol health beverage to instead being a gluten-free alternative to beer.

“We will no longer be producing our low ABV kombucha tea and instead will be focusing our efforts on our high ABV craft beer alternatives,” said Taylor Manning, Marketing & Event Coordinator for Wild Ohio Brewing Company.

Wild Ohio’s lineup of “Kombucha-Inspired Ales” will include Blueberry Lavender, Ginger, Black Cherry Bourbon, Blood Orange Tangerine, Hopped Mango, Hopped Black Raspberry, Mint Julep, Blueberry Hambela and Cranberry. Products range from 5 to 9.2% ABV.

“We will continue to utilize the Luna Notti brand here in Ohio until we are fully equipped to roll out our new branding and marketing materials,” said Manning.

The company plans to rebrand the packaging “making it more gender neutral and also more appealing to millennials” according to a statement. It also plans to add new flavors to the product line and increase product availability.

“We are currently seeking both regional and national distribution,” said Manning.

About the Author

Cheryl Harrison. Editor of Drink Up Columbus. Co-Founder of the Columbus Ale Trail.

5 Comments on "Wild Ohio Brewing taking over Luna Kombucha brand"

  1. Lenny Kolada June 1, 2016 at 12:15 PM · Reply

    FWIW, I loved the old branding. Hope the new branding is as awesome.

  2. Dana September 17, 2016 at 4:23 PM · Reply

    This is not actually good news. Luna Kombucha was an amazing drink that I enjoyed way, way more than other kombucha brands. The flavors were just delightful.

    Also F off on the whole “make the labels gender neutral” thing. You mean like all other beers are Fing “gender neutral”??? Really??? Last I checked most of them are MASCULINE in design. So we can’t have ONE freaking drink where maybe the guys won’t touch it ’cause they think it’s girly? Really? Funny thing is I never thought of LK’s labels as girly. They were just labels. Seems like I wasn’t the one with the problem!

    This just SUCKS all around. I just googled this whole thing because I hadn’t seen LK in Lucky’s for a while. Well, now I know. I shoulda stocked up. 🙁

    • Cheryl Harrison September 19, 2016 at 2:46 PM · Reply

      I loved Luna’s labels, too

    • Cathy February 16, 2017 at 2:52 AM · Reply

      I agree wholeheartedly!! Wish they could go back to what they did really well!

  3. holly November 20, 2016 at 11:42 PM · Reply

    Ditto Dana. Why are they completely turning their back on the kombucha itself? Why not offer it in tandem. This news makes me sad and frustrated! Boo.

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