IN the past few years, we have seen the emergence of a number of drinks which we didn’t know about all these years.
Some of the drinks struggled to penetrate the market while others found a constituency which was ready to consume them on a regular basis.
One of those drinks, which made it and continues to grow in popularity, is the one called Kambucha.
It’s made in this country and those who are behind it have already said they intend to take it around the world.
We support their grand initiative because our economy can be boosted by a boost in our export receipts.
Of course, some people, naturally, will question whether those behind Kambucha can really transform their product into something that can be a hit around the world.
But,there is no harm in trying because, after all, even Coca-Cola didn’t start as big as it is today.
In the beginning, it was just a syrup which was produced by an American pharmacist, Dr John Stith Pemberton, who then took the jug of the new product down the road in Atlanta to Jacob’s Pharmacy, where it was sampled and described as an “excellent” drink.
That was on May 8, 1886.
Carbonated water was mixed with the new syrup to produce a drink that has probably become the world’s best soft drink today.
Dr Pemberton was trying to find an alternative to his morphine addiction and didn’t know that he had struck gold.
Today, the Coca-Cola Company is a huge global firm whose net operating revenues worldwide amounted to around US$43 billion last year.
Those who were there in Atlanta in 1886, including Dr Pemberton, could not have imagined, even in their wildest dreams, that the drink would become such a worldwide hit.
The same can happen to Kambucha.
The company that makes Kambucha employs a considerable number of workers with the firm having a refreshing emphasis on employing more women than men.
However, those leading Masvingo City Council claim that Kambucha contains alcohol and have blamed the drink as part of a cocktail of drinks behind a rise in alcohol and drug abuse among its employees.
The council’s doctors believe some workers have been consuming both Kombucha and Kambucha drinks, which they suspect contain alcohol and have intoxicating effects.
We don’t know whether that is true or false.
What we want to see are facts being laid out in the open to show whether it’s true or not that Kambucha has traces of alcohol.
Any drink, which carries alcohol, should indicate likewise, on its sleeves, and also clearly pronounce the level of the alcohol content.
This is meant to ensure that the kids know what they can drink and what they should not drink.
We have experts in this country who can make an authoritative pronouncement which can tell us if, indeed, as the Masvingo City Council claims, there is alcohol in Kambucha.
That will settle this case for good.