Kombucha is carbonated and keeps fermenting, so its package has to hold pressure and keep out light, and it has to stay cold. Amber glass bottles with screw caps are the standard; flint (clear) glass shows the color but lets light in; cans with a printed sleeve are light and stack well but need a canning setup; and 64-ounce growlers sell refills at a market. Every package says "Keep refrigerated", and the alcohol has to stay under 0.5%, which is why the cold matters. In the example below, a Portland kombucha maker prices four options: 45 cents to $4.95 a package.
The short version
- The package has to hold pressure and stay cold.
- Amber glass with screw caps is the standard.
- Flint glass shows the color but lets in light.
- Cans with sleeves stack well; they need a canning setup.
- Growlers sell refills at markets.
- "Keep refrigerated" on every package.
- TaroStack puts the bottle, cap and label in each flavor's cost. More below.
The options
| Option | Keeps out light | Holds pressure | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 oz amber glass | Yes | Yes | Grocers, cafés |
| 12 oz flint glass | No | Yes | Shelves out of light |
| 12 oz can with sleeve | Yes | Yes | Grocers, events |
| 64 oz growler | Yes | Yes | Market refills |
Bottles are filled cold, capped straight away and moved to the cooler; a warm bottle keeps fermenting and builds pressure and alcohol. The steps from brew to bottle are in kombucha production process.
The label
A bottle's label lists its ingredients in order by weight (21 CFR 101.4), the name and place of business (21 CFR 101.5) and the net quantity (21 CFR 101.105), and declares any major allergen (21 U.S.C. 343(w)). "Keep refrigerated" goes on every package, and the batch's lot and date, as kombucha shelf life explains. This is general information, not legal advice.
An example: four options for a kombucha maker
Brightwater Ferments, the made-up fermented food and drink maker in Portland, Oregon, I use in these examples, fills about 600 packages a week for grocers, cafés and a market:
| Option | Parts | Per package | 600 a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 oz amber glass | Bottle 65¢, cap 8¢, label 10¢ | $0.84 | $503.58 |
| 12 oz flint glass | Bottle 55¢, cap, label | $0.74 | $442.98 |
| 12 oz can with sleeve | Can and end 32¢, sleeve 12¢ | $0.45 | $269.28 |
| 64 oz growler | Growler $4.50, cap 30¢, label | $4.95 | $2,970.00 |
Grocers and cafés get 16-ounce amber bottles; the market sells growlers, with refills in the customer's own growler at a lower price. Cans cost less per package but need a seamer and someone to run it, so they wait for more volume. The business's year is in kombucha business plan.
Get the calculator
Download the kombucha packaging calculator. Two sheets: components, each part of each option with its pack price, units, how many a package uses and waste; and compare, each option's cost per package and per week at your volume, with notes. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
A cost sheet doesn't know which batch is in which bottle. When a batch tests high for alcohol, the bottles from it have to be found at every grocer.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each batch's lot, the packaging in its cost, and where every case went.
Each batch a lot. Each batch of kombucha records the ingredient lots it used, gets its own lot and dates, and lot labels print for the packages.
Packaging in the recipe. The bottles, caps and labels are items in each flavor's recipe, so every batch uses them up at the price you paid, and the count of what's left stays current.
Where it went. Each customer's order records the lots it got, so one recall report shows every customer a batch reached.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Which batch is in a package | Written on it | The lot on its label |
| Bottles, caps and labels left | Counted when you run out | Used by every batch |
| Which shops got a batch | Invoices | One recall report |
Lots, batches, recipes and true cost are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.