Chapel Hill alumnus creates Kombucha company

Chapel Hill High School alumnus Rajeev Rajendran extended his profile beyond that of the average college student when he created his own kombucha company, Resistor Brews.

Rajendran is no stranger to the entrepreneurial lifestyle. His mother, Vimala, is the founder of Vimala’s Curryblossom Cafe.

Rajendran discovered his own interest in entrepreneurship after a friend gifted him some  kombucha cultures. Kombucha is a drink made by fermenting sweet tea and adding bacteria cultures.

He attempted to heat up the cultures with an electric blanket, to prevent damage from the cold temperatures in his house. The experiment resulted in a sweeter kombucha than he typically found in stores.

“I had not really enjoyed most of the kombucha that I had. I felt like most of it was both too sweet and too sour. I was just curious if I could make something that still had some interesting fermented funk to it but that was more balanced,” Rajendran said.

Following his discovery, Rajendran began selling the product in his mother’s restaurant while they were out of town. He was approached by a merchandiser for Weaver Street Market, but he chose to travel and participate in theatrical productions rather than devote his efforts to a full-time business.

“At some point, I thought I want to give this a shot and see what can really happen with it. I started selling it at the restaurant again about two years ago,” Rajendran said.

While taking computer science courses at the Durham Technical Community College, Rajendran found inspiration in the resistors and capacitors on the circuit diagrams around him.

“I like the design. I like that [resistors] are low-tech impediments to current flow, and I am secretly trying to promote my political agenda,” Rajendran said.

He created Resistor Brews in 2017, in the kitchen of his mother’s restaurant. The company has since expanded from the restaurant to a brewing headquarters in Hillsborough with a small staff.

“While studying [at Durham Technical Community College], I thought that I could start this business on the back burner and I could learn about it, and still work towards getting a computer science B.S.,” Rajendran said.

Rajendran’s goal, when bottles were placed on the shelves of Weaver Street, was to surpass sales of other available kombuchas and expand to other locations.

The company has two flavors of kombucha available: grapefruit and hibiscus.

“[The product] sold a lot faster than we thought. We matched the top-selling kombucha product at Weaver Street within our first week and then we ended up doubling their sales. Within five weeks, we became the top-selling beverage at Weaver Street,” Rajendran said.

James Watts, the Merchandising Manager of Weaver Street, confirmed the beverage’s success.

“The Resistor Brews grapefruit kombucha started selling at Weaver Street in February of 2018, and was the third ranked item in the functional beverage category for that month. It has been the top-selling item for every succeeding month,” Watts said. “The newer hibiscus kombucha has been in the top five since it was launched in December [of] 2018.”

Both flavors can be purchased at Weaver Street Market and the majority of coffee shops in Chapel Hill, including Joe Van Gogh, Open Eye and Caffe Driade.

“In Chapel Hill and Durham, if there’s a coffee shop, we’re probably in it,” Rajendran said.

Bottles are also available for purchase in Durham, Saxapahaw, Hillsborough, Raleigh and Greensboro.