Agua de Madre

Agua de Madre was founded by Nicola Hart, who began making water kefir at home in 2017. She realised she had a business when a friend started serving it, unbranded, at the London restaurant Moro. Nicola saw demand for a grown-up alternative to both alcohol and sugary soft drinks, and one that works well with food. The name comes from the mother culture that starts fermentation, and Agua de Madre is one of the few companies in the world producing unpasteurised, ambient, live water kefir.

Each drink is naturally fermented using water kefir grains, giving a lightly sparkling result that is vegan, gluten-free and caffeine-free with no fake sweeteners. The drinks are brewed and bottled in small batches, and the range has been recognised by Imbibe in the no and low fermented drinks category. The brand describes itself as rooted in ancient wisdom and crafted for modern life.

Agua de Madre is a certified B Corp and donates 1% of its profits to women-focused charities. The Remedio range is made from whole crushed fruit fermented with water kefir grains, and is one of the ways the business finds value in ingredients that might otherwise be wasted.