When Jamba Dunn started brewing beer as a hobby, his young daughter asked him, “Why can’t you make something that I can have?” His answer: He started making kombucha. Fast-forward to today, and Rowdy Mermaid is one of the fastest-growing kombucha companies in the Rocky Mountains, creating flavors like Alpine Lavender, Living Ginger and Rowdy Belly, from ethically sourced herbs, roots and flowers.
The Boulder-based company got its name when Dunn, his wife and his daughter were relaxing in some local hot springs. Well, his daughter wasn’t quite relaxing.
“My daughter had been playing mermaid all day, and I shared with my wife that I wanted to start the company; she asked: ‘What are we going to call it?’” Dunn says. “At some point my daughter was jumping over someone’s head, making dolphin noises, and I told her to stop being a naughty rowdy mermaid.” The name stuck.
With a background in microbiology, Dunn and his team are always experimenting with new flavors and tinkering with scobys (the symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast that is the base of kombucha).
“We are committed to building functional, flavorful drinks, with combinations of natural ingredients that are adaptogenic, calming, cooling, good for immunity or digestion,” he says, adding that they are all non-GMO and certified organic, too.
Pick up a bottle at your local King Soopers. Or if you’re in Boulder, stop by Rowdy Mermaid’s tasting room at the Rayback Collective, 2775 Valmont Road.