THE PARTNERSHIP

After living in San Antonio for 18 years, Greg Goodman grew to appreciate real Tex-Mex and interior Mexican food, which was strikingly absent from the Austin food scene in 2010, until Veracruz All Natural opened. “In San Antonio, even the smallest, family-owned taqueria made their tortillas and the options for stellar Mexican food were in the hundreds vs. a small handful in Austin, tucked away on the east side and far north Lamar,” Greg lamented. “Once I tried Veracruz, I felt like I was home.” After Greg started KTonic in 2014, he explored all kinds of fermented beverages, including tepache (made from pineapple rinds and piloncillo) and pulque (fermented agave sap), and came to realize the rich history of fermentation within North America.

As tempting as it might have been for KTonic to release a Mexican-inspired fermented product on their own, Greg knew that without having that cultural history or input, it would not only be disrespectful; he would be missing out on the opportunity to collaborate with culinary professionals rooted in the Mexican tradition. So, Greg got in touch with the Veracruz team about a collaboration that involved joint flavor development and design of a new product for both KTonic and Veracruz All Natural. “I had some flavor ideas already, but I thought the best way to approach product development was to ferment a variety of key elements of Mexican cuisine and then try different combinations together. We had a group of 6-7 of us weighing in; overall, a fun and productive process.”

Over the course of a couple of sessions, KTonic and Veracruz landed on an Ancho Tamarindo flavor with elements of orange, ginger, and a hint of chipotle for added heat and smokiness.

For the label design, KTonic’s brand creator Amanda Pounds and Veracruz All Natural’s creative director Ryan Myers worked together on different elements of the label. The end result was a label with KTonic’s core elements handled in the style of Veracruz’s branding, which truly galvanized the partnership!

"We were so excited when Greg pitched us the idea about collaborating on a special kombucha flavor. In Veracruz, Mexico, we loved drinking tepache and thought this would be a perfect opportunity to create a new kombucha flavor based on a beverage we love. We are very proud of this new ancho-tamarindo kombucha!" --Reyna & Maritza Vazquez

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