Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Greco.
Hi Peter, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
A little before lockdown my little sister came home from college, I think it was, to visit and told the family she learned how to make kombucha. Right before she left, I asked if she would make me one little mason jars worth. She set up the ferment and texted me however many days later when it was ready to drink and I took one sip and it was easily the best kombucha I have ever had. I had to try it out. I made two batches and they tasted absolutely awful. They were super vinegary and just horrible. I decided to just not do kombucha because I think I just didn’t care enough to time out the batch right or something. So time went on. I wasn’t interested in making anymore.
Then one day my dad gave me 40 bucks and told my sisters and I needed produce from this vegan market. He didn’t care what, we just needed some produce. So I’ve got the 40 bucks I drive over to the market with two of my sisters Tess and Hallie and were walking around the market and there was a rack in the back with a Kombucha starter kit. I checked the price. It said $40.
I made another batch.
I followed all the directions and what not and made a black tea kombucha. It was awesome. My whole family loved it. In the directions, it showed how to do a “second ferment” where you add fruit. I added strawberries, waited the few days and it also came out great. I kept making more kombucha for the family trying different fruit combos. Pineapple mango, strawberry peach, etc. I just kept going.
In college, I was on a track team. November came along and the team was having a potluck-style tracksgiving. The day came and I didn’t have any food to bring but I did have five swingtop bottles of strawberry peach kombucha in the fridge. I figured “eh they’ll drink like 2 or 3 bottles and I’ll still have some left”.
They drained all five. And asked what it was, who brought, what’s in it and all these questions about it.
I walked to my car after that tracksgving going “hey ok I could sell this I think.” Then lockdown happened. I brewed a during lockdown a lot and made I think four flavors or something. I posted on my Instagram story a video of me asking if anyone would like to buy some kombucha I’ve made. My inbox flooded. It was a weird but entertaining feeling. So, I saved, cleaned and sanitized a good amount of kombucha bottles from the store and filled them with each of the flavors and told my Instagram story “ill be delivering this day” my Instagram got even more messages. So I loaded up the trunk and drove around Denver just doing a mobile lemonade stand essentially that day to friends who ordered online. I sold each 16oz bottle for $3. I came home with $70 in my pocket and decided to give it a shot. I kept doing deliveries throughout lockdown and I have not stopped brewing a day since. It has been three years.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not smooth but not horrible.
– Fruit flies love scoby more than they love fruit
– Some people didn’t take me seriously when I said I’m starting a business
– Flavor consistency is difficult
– Winter brewing is weird
– I had a bad experience with a craigslist deal buying some brewing gear from an asshole
– I did most of this so far as a full-time student on the track team so brewing plus a little bit of a job on the side is a challenging combo
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Degree work/specialize: I have a degree in Industrial Design, also known as product design – I specifically like soft goods design so backpacks and sidebags and such are fun to design because I add a lot of color too it which I acquired that knowledge from graphic design school
Hobby/sidework: Photography and videography – I have a youtube channel where I edit a video every now and then of my friends and I doin something fun or a product review video and then I also love coaching triple jump in track so ya
Most proud of? This is hard. I’m not sure. I’m proud that I want to do a lot of things in my life but I don’t know if that is what I’m most proud of.
What sets me apart? I keep going and people know this about me. Stopping isn’t a thing.
Keyword: Juggernaut (from college) There is a small quick story about this one.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I am a very open book with most people I know. I talk a lot and don’t shut up so an answer for this question doesn’t come to mind.
Contact Info:
- Website: peteskombucha.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/peteskombucha
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/25peterg
- Other: petergrecodesign.com
