E-Malt.com News article: USA, MI: Unity Vibration to increase beer production and expand into new markets

Unity Vibration Living Kombucha Tea in Ypsilanti Township is expanding its reach across the country and increasing production to accommodate the growing demand for its products, annarbor.com reported on November, 15.

"We’re expanding in the markets because we need to," said co-owner Rachel Kanaan. "We need to support our space."

To meet the need, Rachel and business co-owner Tarek Kanaan, her husband, are using a crowdfunding platform, indiegogo, to raise $60,000 by November, 18 to purchase the items they need to increase production.

Unity Vibration is a one-year-old microbrewery. The products are composed of 95 percent organic ingredients and the beers are gluten-free, raw and vegan.

"What we’re trying to do is raise funds for a number of things," Rachel Kanaan said. "We only have 10 kegs right now. We're aiming at under 250 kegs. Kegs can be expensive. ... We would really appreciate people donating; it's for a good cause."

In the early days of the business, Tarek Kanaan said, they were limited to producing around 120 cases of beer per month. Now, they produce on average 350 cases a month.

He said the goal is to produce the beer at full capacity, which would be 1,600 cases a month. "We want to be able to max out our capacity," Tarek Kanaan said. "In order to up the new markets, we need the inventory."

In addition to more kegs, which would allow them to reach more than 150 new and current retailers, Rachel Kanaan said the funds would also aid their plans to create a small cellar for aging barrels and a small tasting room. She said the 2,400-square-foot location is large enough to accommodate both.

"We've seen an increase in interest from people that are coming here to visit here from different states and out of the county who have enjoyed the beer," she said.

That increase in interest has allowed the company to expand the number of accounts it has in Michigan to 60 and to other states such as New York and California. Tarek Kanaan said the couple has also seen interest from a distributor in Maine. Locally, Unity Vibration products are offered in Whole Foods Markets, various food co-ops, wine specialty stores and smaller niche stores that serve people looking for vegan or gluten-free products.

"We're meeting with a distributor from Florida," Rachel Kanaan said. "We get calls all of the time and we're looking at what's feasible for us. We definitely have intentions of spreading our message and products to as many places as possible.

"At some point, we’ll have to slow down, but we’re trying to fill that capacity and need. We like being small, but we definitely have bigger plans and we definitely want to keep growing."

Seeing the business evolve over the years has been rewarding for the couple, Rachel Kanaan said.

"We don't have a lot of time to think of our success, but it's really pretty amazing for us," she said. "It's really rewarding when we can go to a beer fest and see what the customers have to say. That’s the best thing."


21 November, 2012