GT's Living Foods is the incumbent in the U.S. kombucha market.

The incumbent in the U.S. kombucha market, GTs Living Foods, has partnered with wellness brand Chopra Global created by alternative medicine advocate Deepak Chopra to encourage people to incorporate mind-body health through meditation into their daily self-care practices.

This marks Chopra Globals first national partnership since the recent launch of its mobile app that provides science-based guidances to help people enhance their well-being.

Starting with GTs Synergy raw kombucha line that has previously debuted three varieties through its Rooted In Nature campaign this fall Gingerade, Heart Beet and Tantric Turmeric, the partnership is also expected to include the companys other portfolio brands in the future.

Tonia OConnor, CEO of Chopra Global, wrote me via email about how the value of GTs Living Foods aligns with their companys commitment to consumers health and wellness.

GTs Synergy, like Chopra Global, was founded on the platform of advancing well-being and promoting healthy lifestyles, OConnor noted. Offering their subscribers free access to our new well-being and meditation subscription app further demonstrates GTs Synergy dedication to serving its customers.

She added: We are thrilled to partner with a company that values Chopra Globals self-care guidance and the opportunity to share a co-branded content series with new audiences in different formats.

I finally didnt feel so alone

As a reputable spiritual leader who is best known for his philosophies about how mindfulness can help people achieve success, Dr. Chopra has taught a number of top-notch celebrities including Oprah and Madonna how to meditate since the early 90s.

But Chopra Globals latest partnership truly hits home for GT Dave, the self-made billionaire who started fermenting kombucha at his parents kitchen as a teenager, and later created his own beverage empire that accounts for more than 40% market share of the category.

[Dr. Chopra] was doing what I think my parents were trying to do incorporating a different culture and lifestyle into the Western mindset, Dave recently told me, while describing how he was exposed to the Eastern way of living during his multiple trips to India as a child.

GT Dave's childhood exposure to the Eastern way of living contributes to his recent partnership with ... [+] Dr. Deepak Chopra.

The experience in India, including filling up a bucket of water from a well to take showers and meditating in a scorching hot weather, seems like yesterday for Dave.

There was a very strong emphasis on being mindful and living your life as if today was your last day, he said, and the whole conversations about counting your blessings were basically the foundation laid for me early on, which I am incredibly grateful for.

Recalling his early journey of selling kombucha, Dave stressed how foreign the concept sounded to the general public since there hasnt been a major focus on gut health and the benefits of probiotics until recently.

When somebody as high-profile as Deepak [partners with GTs Living Foods], it kind of gives [us] credibility, Dave said. Its so wonderful because, to be honest, I finally didnt feel so alone.

No plans for M&A or IPO

Rather than sitting on his laurels after being named an Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020 Greater Los Angeles by EY, Dave has bigger plans for GTs Living Foods continuing to scale against volatility in the marketplace, including the ongoing pandemic.

Were anticipating a greater emphasis on health [after] COVID, and we want to further this conversation of health is really your wealth, he said, adding how an increasingly competitive probiotic beverages market legitimizes his companys decision to branch out into adjacent functional beverage categories, such as water kiefer and wellness shots.

Dave noted: When you have multiple brands on the shelf that are making more or less the same product, it reinforces that this is not a trend or snake oil, but a substantial category that is here to stay.

The last thing the widely known kombucha king would do is selling GTs Living Foods or going public, citing how maintaining the companys originality and authenticity is key to ensuring its long-term profitability.

My goal was and is always to make the best kombucha, and I dont think I could say that with certainty if somebody else owned my company, Dave said.

Read more:

GTs Synergy Partners With Chopra Global To Encourage People To Incorporate Meditation Into Their Daily Self-Care Routines - Forbes