Norwich drinks brand Oichi Kombucha eyeing up expansion

Three Norwich sisters behind a thriving sustainable drinks brand have set their sights on international expansion.

Thorayya and Shifa Mears, aged 42 and 43 respectively, started Oichi Kombucha during the lockdown in 2020 and were later joined by older sister Khalila, 49.

Before starting the business, Thorayya worked as an artist and had just recovered from breast cancer.

Thorayya said: "Having cancer made me rethink what I wanted to achieve in my life.

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Oichi Kombucha uses locally foraged ingredients to create its drinks (Image: Oichi Kombucha)

"Shifa, who worked as a massage therapist, had moved back from Spain to England and we had always enjoyed each other's company and were both interested in health.

"My mum Mansurah also used to make kombucha when we were children and we wanted to reimagine it and add flavours to make it delicious."

The two sisters started making the fermented tea drink at home during the lockdown using ingredients foraged from the Norfolk countryside, offering local deliveries using refillable bottles.

Oichi Kombucha is now stocked in 30 retailers across Norfolk (Image: Oichi Kombucha)

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Eldest sister Khalila then joined her sisters in 2021 after her teaching job was impacted by the pandemic.

Fast forward to 2023 and they go to markets across Norfolk, are stocked in 30 retailers across East Anglia and deliver UK-wide.

The kombucha uses ingredients foraged from the Norfolk Countryside (Image: Oichi Kombucha)

The three main flavours are lemon, ginger and turmeric, hibiscus and rose and lime, ginger and mint.

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They are now based in a production unit in Hethersett thanks to the Broadland Food Innovation Centre, which also provides them with free business support and advice.

Broadland Food Innovation Centre helped them secure funding for a bottling machine (Image: Oichi Kombucha)

Advisor Nick Smith also helped them secure funding to purchase a semi-automatic bottling machine and the sisters now produce around 1,000 bottles a week.

Thorayya added: "I am so proud of us and we are a great example of a female and family-led business.

"In the next five years we would like to get into a supermarket and then into the Middle Eastern market - but one step at a time!"

Order online at oichidrinks.co.uk