My mother was diagnosed with cancer in 1994 and everything changed. It wasn’t long after that that I started brewing it myself.Ĭan you tell us the story of what led you to this particular career path? I was 13 when I first tried kombucha, and originally thought it tasted really weird! But my parents continued brewing new batches and were convinced it improved their energy, sleep and digestive health. So, it’s probably no surprise that one day they brought home ingredients that a vegan friend got from the Himalayas to make their own kombucha using a lump of bacteria and yeast (known as a “Scoby”). My parents were ahead of their time, frequently introducing us to new age foods like tofu, wheat grass and noni juice. From the womb, I was raised a vegetarian and my family welcomed all philosophies into the household, including Eastern traditions. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, but my upbringing was very unconventional compared to your typical LA kid. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”? Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. GT resides in Los Angeles with his husband, Allan and pet bunny Madonna continuing to act as a steward for Kombucha and all living foods. GT has expanded into new areas including adaptogenic mushroom tea. Today GT’s Living Foods is still the #1 selling kombucha brand and retains 40 percent of the kombucha marketplace. Little did he know what started in his home kitchen would become the largest Kombucha company in the world, leading a soon-to-be multi-billion-dollar category. The journey began when GT’s family was gifted a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) and he experienced first-hand the positive impact Kombucha had on his mother’s recovery during her battle with breast cancer. GT began brewing Kombucha out of his childhood home in 1995, pioneering the category as the first person to bring the traditional Eastern drink to the U.S. As a part of our series called “5 Things You Need To Know To Create A Very Successful Lifestyle Brand”, I had the pleasure of interviewing GT Dave.Īs the Founder and CEO of GT’s Living Foods, a beloved Kombucha brand, GT Dave has not only revolutionized the way people think and feel about Kombucha and fermented foods, but dedicated his life, his brand and even his name on the label, to the philosophy that living foods should be around us and in us to live happier, healthier lives.
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