Crafting Flavorful Wellness | MORNING LIGHT KOMBUCHA
Photos by JOHN BURNS
Morning Light Kombucha is an indigenous and woman-owned company located in Hoyt, Kansas. Kombucha is a fizzy, fermented tea that’s good for digestion and keeping the gut in good health. Morning Light brews over 70 seasonal flavors throughout the year, including strawberry basil, blackberry lemongrass, wild gooseberry and blueberry rhubarb crisp. Their product is made with local ingredients for a fresh, farm-to-can taste.
Owner Melinda Williamson is passionate about health. Helping people through food and wellness is the foundation of her business, as well as a personal mission inspired by her own experience. In 2010, Melinda was working as a research associate in Oklahoma when she became very sick and was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder.
“I went from being a healthy young woman to being so sick that I had a hard time getting around without assistance,” Williamson said. “I already exercised and ate well, and wanted to know what else I could do to heal.”
Williamson went back to her roots and looked to food as medicine. Her research pointed to the importance of gut health, so she introduced fermented foods into her diet and her daughter’s, and both felt healthier as a result.
“I’m glad to say that I’ve been able to keep my autoimmune disorder under control for a decade,” Williamson said.
Faced with the possibility that her illness could make it hard to take care of herself, Williamson decided to move back home to Kansas to raise her daughter near family. She had always wanted to own a business and decided to put some thought into how she could make that dream come true in Kansas.
“I sat down with a notebook and wrote down the first thing that came to mind — I wanted to help people,” Williamson said. “I knew that I wanted to create a product or service that would make people’s lives better.”
Williamson is a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi tribe. She grew up with indigenous culture and teachings focused on respect for community, the Earth, and all living things, so helping others is part of her way of life.
She thought about her goals and values and came up with a wish list for her business. She decided that she wanted to focus on food and wellness, and to work with local farms. She wanted to create jobs in her reservation community and make sure that the sales from her business would benefit native communities. Finally, she wanted a business that is sustainable and respectful to the Earth. She still wasn’t sure what she wanted to make, though.
After moving back to Kansas, Williamson met a friend who shared a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast), and she began brewing her own kombucha. She shared with family and friends, and they started sharing with others. Williamson realized that the perfect product was right in front of her and made the choice to focus on kombucha as a business. She tackled the miles of paperwork required, built a commercial kitchen in her residence, and started connecting with local farmers. Morning Light got its start in 120 square feet of space in 2016, and sales took off immediately.
“We were selling so much kombucha,” Williamson said. “I have no idea how we did it!”
Seven years later, Morning Light Kombucha has grown from a one-woman crew to a staff of seven. The company ships over 70 flavors nationwide throughout the year, and sources 90 percent of their ingredients from local growers. Williamson partners with growers who are good stewards of the land and committed to sustainable agriculture, many of whom are women.
“We now have farmers who grow for us specifically, and that was always my goal,” Williamson said. “Those farmers can count on our business, and we can count on consistent quality. It also keeps our money local, and all of us talk each other up in a community of support.”
Morning Light also operates a tiny storefront in Hoyt, located in an old grocery store in the same space that houses their brewery. Currently they are only open two days a week, but Williamson hopes to expand those hours soon.
Fortunately, Morning Light offers doorstep delivery all year around for people in the Topeka area and ships product nationwide.
“Right now, there is a lot of hurry up and wait,” Williamson said, “because we are still canning everything by hand. Our next step is to invest in an automatic canning line and that will be a total game-changer. I’m trying to manifest that for this year.”
