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SMALL BUSINESS MONTH - SUPPLEMENT TO THE FREE PRESS - SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023
Supplied by Wolseley Kombucha
Michelle Leclair, founder/owner of Wolseley Kombucha.
Wolseley Kombucha Doing its Part to Make the
BY TODD LEWYS Being eco-friendly isn’t easy.
Yet, if each of us – from individuals to businesses – does what we can, even if it’s a small gesture, then the world will be a greener place sooner rather than later. T hat’s what Wolseley Kombucha did when they started their business back in 2016. “Right from the start, we had a sustainable compostable, as are the cups and sample cups we use at events. We also compost all our organic materials, such as ginger and turmeric.”
business model,” says Wolseley Kombucha’s founder and owner, Michelle Leclair. “It was always a dream of mine to be the owner of a sustainable business.” A producer of Kombucha – a fermented tea made with a living culture called SCOBY, organic tea, and sugar – is transformed by the fermentation process into organic acids that yield a fizzy, low sugar, functional probiotic beverage that promotes good gut health – Wolseley Kombucha produces large batches of the healthy beverage in huge stainless-steel containers. The Kombucha is then dispensed at their tap room at 749 Wall Street, and is available at 12 locations across Manitoba with refill stations – several in Winnipeg (restaurants, retailers) and in outlying communities such as Winkler, Steinbach, Morden, and Selkirk. Here’s the kicker: Wolseley Kombucha’s uses only glass bottles to dispense their healthy brew. “The idea is to refill and reuse,” says Leclair. “Customers can purchase the Kombucha, then bring the bottles to refill stations. They can clean them, then refill them, drink the Kombucha, and then repeat the process pretty much endlessly. We have customers who are still using their original bottles, which are now seven years old.” She adds that there’s another eco-friendly option – a subscription to Wolseley Kombucha. “It’s a service that we started during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will deliver to homes and pick up and exchange the bottles. We then clean and sanitize the bottles and put them back into circulation to be reused.” Leclair says the sustainable business model has been a huge hit with customers. “They love it. In general, people don’t want small bottles, so they love the two sizes that we offer; we also offer grab and go bottles, too. And because most of our customers are passionate about leading eco-friendly lives, they appreciate our approach. All our packaging is
And while Wolseley Kombucha is just one company, they are showing what businesses can accomplish when they fully commit to going green.
In 2022 alone, our customers helped
World a Greener Place
divert over 11,280 one-liter bottles from landfills through our sustainable refill program. That’s a lot of bottles that didn’t go into a landfill.
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