When Muskegon residents Zach and Brenna Smith took a chance on their startup beverage brand Lively Up Kombucha, they needed a facility that would help them consistently produce quality products. Kitchen counters and closets wouldn’t cut it- Zach and Brenna instead turned to the Food Agriculture Research and Manufacturing (FARM) accelerator and business development center at Muskegon Community College. Finally, despite pandemic hardships and relocations, Lively Up Kombucha finally found a facility with all the amenities necessary for success.
“Over a decade ago, we were avid kombucha drinkers, buying bottles daily. As much as we loved it, our kombucha habit was becoming expensive,” Zach said. “Instead, we decided to try our hand at brewing it ourselves. Armed with mason jars and a bit of know-how, we started fermenting kombucha right on our kitchen counter.”
“As our passion for brewing grew, so did our ambitions. Kombucha became a catalyst for personal growth, sparking a deeper commitment to healthy eating, regular exercise and even spiritual development. We started small, renting a 100 square-foot closet at Ice Box Brand in North Muskegon,” Smith continued. “From there, we moved to a 900 square-foot retail space in Roosevelt Park, where we really began to scale our operations. We started distributing beyond Muskegon, and our little kombucha business began to take off.”
“Then came the challenges of COVID-19. Like many small businesses, we were hit hard. Almost overnight, we lost a significant portion of our business. But instead of giving up, we pivoted. We expanded our distribution across the entire state of Michigan, opened a retail front in Roosevelt Park for curbside pickup and even started offering home delivery. While the world was at home, we were hard at work, determined to keep our business alive.”
“By the end of 2020, as food service and independent retailers began reopening, we secured our first distributor. It was a turning point- we had outgrown our space in Roosevelt Park. Around that time, I was involved in early conversations about FARM, a new food manufacturing space. It was almost serendipitous that FARM was completed and available just as we needed a new home in April 2021.”
Located at Muskegon Community College, the FARM accelerator and business development center enables successful entrepreneurs to move from either of these early-stage locations or from anywhere else to take the next step in growing their business to full commercialization. “It is a remarkable facility that fulfills a crucial need in the community by providing food entrepreneurs with the resources to expand their production operations,” says Clarence Rudat, Manager of FARM.
Located in an 8,000 square-foot facility, FARM can accommodate three tenants, each processing commercial-grade products. The units are designed with a seamless workflow in mind, featuring a receiving area, processing area, shipping area and locker room.
Each unit comes equipped with essential amenities, including refrigerators, freezers, hand and eye washing stations and stainless-steel tables. Each tenant outfits their space with any additional equipment needed to produce their product. The open floor plan allows tenants to design their production areas for maximum efficiency.
FARM also offers flexible leasing options, ensuring that businesses of all sizes can find a suitable arrangement to meet their needs. “When you become a tenant of FARM, you also become a client of the Michigan State University (MSU) Product Center,” continues Rudat. The center helps food entrepreneurs develop their business or product plans, assists with product research and connects them with experts in packaging and labeling at MSU, nutritional analysis and financial and business consulting.
Additionally, FARM consultants aid with food safety and training, sourcing raw materials and equipment, connecting entrepreneurs to distributors and food retailers and even finding funding opportunities to grow the business.
“Choosing FARM was a no-brainer,” said Smith. “It offered the space we needed with minimal upfront investment. FARM provided us with room to grow. It offered the cold and dry storage and processing space we desperately needed to scale our operations further. This isn't just an incubator for early startups; it's a steppingstone for small food businesses like ours to grow into something much larger.”
As Smith and his wife continue to expand at FARM, they are already looking ahead to the next chapter. “Our dream is to find a new home in Muskegon County, where we can combine manufacturing with a non-alcoholic tasting room that offers health-conscious food options,” he shared. “We're excited about the future and can't wait to see where this journey takes us next.”
Lively Up Kombucha has come a long way from the mason jars on kitchen counters, but their mission remains the same: to create a drink that not only tastes good but also supports a healthy, balanced lifestyle. And thanks to FARM, they are well on our way to making that mission a reality.