Welcome back to the Marian Flaxman Network Podcast. Keeping with our February theme of kombucha producers leading up to World Kombucha Day on 2/21, today’s episode features a conversation with the owner and brewer at Boochy Call Kombucha, Eric Kelchlin.

Eric was an avid beer brewer until he realized that he had developed a dangerous addiction, and needed to quit drinking completely. He got sober, and fell in love with kombucha as a replacement beverage, and hobby. After receiving a ton of positive feedback about the palatability of his brew, Eric decided to take the plunge and open his own kombucha company. He now serves kombucha to his community, selling at farmers markets, through door to door delivery, and his kombucha is on tap at local bars and restaurants. In this conversation, Marian and Eric tackle many topics that are critical to public health, including access to nutritious foods and the health benefits of fermented foods, mental health, addiction, potential improvements to local food systems, and how public health professionals and healthy food producers could shift their communication strategies so that people feel drawn into health conversations, rather than rejected by them.