NH Kombucha Company crossed a 10th summer milestone and is currently celebrating the 10th winter vending at the Tamworth Farmers’ Market.
We caught up with owner Moselle Spilller to congratulate her and to reminisce.
“The market is essentially the same, different vendors come and go, but the core handful of vendors have been there the whole time and it’s amazing!” said Moselle.
“There are more people moving to the area especially since the pandemic, so there has been an overall increase in traffic. Times have changed, with pricing and all of that.”
She still serves a lot of the same base of loyal regulars she’s built up over the years. Some of her favorite memories are around some of the ‘fan’ art she’s received from customers. The first fan art she received was from the daughter of another vendor. She gave Moselle an amazing drawing of her tent and booth.
She once received needlepoint artwork with an embroidered bottle of kombucha that says ‘buch babe’. Then there’s the portrait of her with ‘I love kombucha’ pins hot-glued for the eyes.
There’s also the memorable not-so-wonderful customer interactions. She used to give out little paper shot glass sized samples, but then so many people would regularly show up for a sample and not buy. Once a lady took a sample and did a spit take into the pavement saying, “Oh my god, this tastes like vomit!” So that was less than ideal.
In the beginning, there was very little educated consumers about Kombucha. Barely anyone knew anything about it. Moselle must have talked to over a thousand people educating them about what kombucha actually is over the years. Now a lot more people know what kombucha is and it’s easier.
She changed her business name in 2021 when she became licensed by the state to ferment alcohol. The business was previously called Mo’bucha and was renamed NH Kombucha Company to reflect a more company-focused identity.
Moselle is a creative, unique person, but her business doesn’t have an original name. This is intentional. She prefers to work for the business rather than being the business itself. It allows her to separate the ego from the business and this has made everything easier.
She has no world empire plans, she just wants to focus on a high quality NH made product. It’s nice to know you are buying a local product. She is currently the 2nd fully licensed kombucha brewery in NH.
“How awesome [is] the farmers’ market as an opportunity for small local entrepreneurs. It’s really the American dream and I am so grateful for the opportunity,” says Moselle.
She really believes in buying local and supporting micro-economies. It’s important for her to support and keep money local.
“The Market does a great job to keep the money at the market. The wooden credit chips are great and keep the market strong. Parades, pet parade & baby parade. Live music. It’s all wonderful!” she adds.
She has lasted this long because the environment created there is always positive.
