Cultured South
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Cultured South Fermentation Company
OVERVIEW
Cultured South is Atlanta’s first and only kombucha taproom. It’s struggling to make a name for itself in Atlanta’s West End despite its popular location in Lee+White off of the Atlanta Beltline. What makes a taproom one that people want to go to? What about one that sells kombucha?
Reorganizing customer flows, optimizing signage in the area, and thinking about ways to create a distinct atmosphere can draw more people to the space.
ROLE
customer research & experience design
PROJECT TYPE
client work
PROCESS
generative research
market research
evaluative research
background
I met Melanie Wade, the owner of Cultured South Fermentation Company, through a mutual contact. Melanie is known in the local food community for her work mentoring emerging entrepreneurs, and she owns a community kitchen utilized by members of the food entrepreneur community.
Cultured South is Atlanta’s first and only kombucha taproom, located right off of Atlanta’s Westside Beltline Trail. It has been in the Lee+White Food and Beverage District for over a year, and intends to be “a home base for the Atlanta community to connect and learn through the natural abundance of Cultured South’s local, probiotic-rich goods.” Despite a few regular customers, business had been slow, especially during the weekdays. Cultured South Fermentation Company also produces Golda Kombucha, a 5-year-old kombucha brand.
When I met with Melanie, she told me about her vision for the taproom. She wanted the taproom to just “be an Atlanta thing,” meaning, she wanted it to be popular and well known in the city.
I wanted to know:
What would Atlantans think of a kombucha taproom?
What did previous customers think of Cultured South?
What were some of the “cool” places in the city doing to build community?
process
discovery | exploratory research
comparative analysis
Melanie is also a member of the Kombucha Brewers Association, so she knew what brands in Atlanta and the SE US would be her competition. I researched these brands, and I assessed their target markets, reach, strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities.
Southeast Kombucha Brand Analysis - Strengths, Weaknesses, & Opportunities
Golda is the most expensive of the local kombucha brands. It has the broadest reach of all Atlanta-based brands and has a moderate regional reach when compared to other regional brands.
Southeast Kombucha Brand Analysis
aspirational company reviews
Taking into account what Atlanta-based breweries Melanie admired, I looked at reviews of those companies to see what drew people to the space and what kept them coming back.
This exercise was to see what Atlantans value. On reviews of popular brewhouses in the city, the food and ambiance offered seemed to be mentioned more or just as often as the brews. The menu offerings at Cultured South seem to be most of the interest.
define | customer surveys, interviews, observations
In order to learn more about what Cultured South’s customers thought, I created a survey and conducted interviews to learn about their experiences.
In general, most Cultured South visitors enjoyed their experience and had positive things to say about the Taproom.
I wanted to understand how customers use the Cultured South Taproom and how employees interact with them, so I visited during the weekend and during a weekday to conduct observations. I either sat at the bar or on a bench near the corner of the taproom.
During the week, some customers were working on their laptops independently or with friends, and others were having business meetings. On the weekends, people were more social and seemed to wander into the Taproom after visiting the Beltline or another place in the Beverage District.
After I got a good sense for what Cultured South was, I wanted to explore the opportunities for what it could become.
challenge
The Cultured South Taproom is struggling to become a local favorite. Customers like the kombucha and don’t have any strong aversions to the space, but customers are not necessarily community members.
How might we make Cultured South Taproom a cool community staple in Atlanta's Historic West End?
goals
Create an atmosphere that would bring people into Cultured South, and keep them there.
Better brand Cultured South within Lee+White and around the Taproom.
First, it was important to understand what Atlanta’s West End was really like.
Melanie felt that it was important to get insights from the community to learn about their needs and interests, and I agreed. Melanie wanted Cultured South to be of service to the area, but was sensitive to issues of gentrification as well. In my conversations with customers, we discussed their familiarity with the West End and what purpose the Taproom should serve.
I got the sense that people felt the Taproom wasn’t made for long-time West End residents.
HISTORIC WEST END
The West End is located in the southwest corner of Atlanta and is actually older than the city itself. By the 1980s, the West End was mostly Black and middle-class. The Atlanta University Center is nearby, which houses Morehouse, Spelman, and Clark Atlanta University, all historically-black institutions. The area is also known for its vegetarian and vegan food options - there are more than five popular spots within a two mile radius.
The 2008 financial crisis hit the West End hard, and many families lost their homes. Over the last ten years, prices in the area have surged, mostly due to investment on The Beltline's Westside Trail. Today, the West End still retains a good number of its native residents. New residents are moving in rapidly, but new properties on the market are still mostly single-family homes, meaning that young, single people are less likely to move to the area.
LEE+WHITE
Cultured South Fermentation Company is located in Lee+White.
The Lee+White Food and Beverage District is
the largest conglomeration of local brands" [representing] "23 acres of entrepreneurial passion and community support. The property’s 426,000 square foot imprint is home to native breweries, innovative menus and eatery options, creatively crafted cocktails, and sweet treats.”
Although the district has no issues getting business from Atlanta locals, many of the businesses, including Cultured South, are not being frequented by longtime West End residents.
If you are used to being tunnel vision about what's around you as a long-time neighbor, this district doesn't really appeal to you.
BLACK BREWERY CULTURE
Taprooms and breweries are typically associated with White crowds, and Black people and other communities of color are not known to frequent them. Long time West End residents likely don’t see the value in such spaces either.
Many Black women in the Atlanta area I surveyed were kombucha consumers and would likely enjoy a visit to Cultured South under a slightly different value proposition. Maybe a taproom that presents a different experience.
As an older neighbor in the [this] neighborhood, you probably aren't drinking beer. And you probably don't want to be around transplants and millennials.
Kombucha was the basis for the Taproom, so I wanted to understand the city’s awareness with it. I knew my sample size wouldn’t be large enough to speak to the entire city, of course, but I asked about their familiarity with the drink, the flavor profiles they enjoy, and under what circumstances they would consume the drink.
When I was talking to people about Cultured South, people were excited about possibly being able to work there because there isn’t a coffee shop in the vicinity.
Cultured South is open from 11 AM - 7 PM on Tuesday - Sunday, and traffic is pretty slow on weekdays. I figured Cultured South could be a place where people work remotely, and I decided to explore what kinds of spaces are preferred. I asked about typical times that people like to start working, what essentials they needed to feel comfortable, and their motivations for working outside of their homes.
user personas & user journeys
User Persona: Ashley, a regular Cultured South customer
User Journey: Ashley
Ashley is returns to Cultured South for the food and beverages offered, and she tells her friends how good the vegan cheese board is.
User Persona: Christine, a potential Cultured South customer
User Journey: Christine
Christine is driven to return to Cultured South for the atmosphere. She tells her friends that it's community-based and super cute.
design
Cultured South | connecting the brand to the taproom
Lee+White almost looks like an industrial warehouse until you see the murals. Businesses in the development utilize good art as signage.
In my research, I realized that visitors didn’t always understand the connection between Golda Kombucha and Cultured South. Stronger and more visible messaging on the building exterior would make the connection more obvious and also assist customers in finding the taproom in Lee+White.
A mural at the Lee + White complex displaying all the companies occupying spaces there. Golda Kombucha is represented, but Cultured South Fermentation Co. is not.
There is signage that represents Golda Kombucha and Cultured South Fermentation Co., but it does not face the parking lot or the Beltline trail.
Unutilized wall space facing the parking lot in front of the taproom.
Cultured South | hours
Cultured South’s hours place some limits around their ability to build community. If Cultured South would like to be utilized as a meeting space or remote working space, opening earlier than 11:00 AM is key. I heard from customers that the Taproom wasn’t central, so they were in the West End less often. If the Taproom is looking to be a chill place to go after work, it would need to be open longer than 7:00 PM to account for the traffic and allow customers to be in the space long enough to make the drive worth it.
Cultured South | customer journey
When people are able to locate the Taproom, a lot of consumers leave after ordering their kombucha. This is likely dependent on their schedules, but layout makes it easy, as there is not a clear flow.
Where most customers place their kombucha orders.
The taps and the menu board for kombucha are at the side of the bar closest to the door. Cultured South has a cozy space by the entrance of the taproom, but it’s easy to pass.
Moving ordering to the other side of the wrap-around bar would allow customers to see the entirety of the taproom while they wait for their items. Relocating the couch to the main seating area would make it more visible and better utilized in the space.
Forcing customers to the other side of the wrap around bar to receive their items will allow customers to see the window and seating area looking out on the Beltline as well as the vast indoor space. Getting more people to stay in the space and see the opportunities is key for building community.
Cultured South | menu
When I met with customers at Cultured South to conduct interviews, I asked them to provide feedback on the menu. As I waited, I realized two issues:
a) customers didn’t understand the way items were grouped.
b) kombucha wasn’t the most prominently featured item
“Oh, okay, it’s over here.”
Kombucha offerings were listed in the bottom right corner of the menu, and snacks were located in the top right of the menu.
The current Cultured South Taproom menu
Based on the feedback I received from customers about the menu, I sketched a reorganization of the current menu to more prominently feature Golda Kombucha and better group the offered menu items.
In this reorganization, Golda Kombucha is at the top of the left side of the menu. The flavors are listed as well.
Golda Kombucha| the can size
Cans of Golda Kombucha are also for sale in the taproom. Compared to other local competitors, Golda is the largest canned kombucha on the market and the highest in price. Consumers said that they would not be consuming a 16 oz kombucha in a single sitting, and they missed having the option to reseal the container.
When I brought this up to Melanie, she explained to me that she had just recently made the switch from glass bottles to cans. She considered a smaller size, but didn’t want to sacrifice sales in order to make the switch. Product changes, like size, are risky because they have to be reprocessed with grocery store distributors.
Switching from cans to bottles has increased Cultured South Fermentation Company’s profit, and Melanie will consider dropping the item price in the future.
a 16 oz can of Golda Kombucha
Cultured South’s atmosphere | visuals
The walls at Cultured South are pretty empty. Picture walls can help to brand the space and generate interest for non-adoptive visitors. Cultured South is currently looking for local artists to commission some artwork for the space.
At the time, Melanie was also displaying a friend’s artwork for sale. We discussed the possibility of Cultured South being a place where community members would be allowed to host art shows in the future.
This is this first thing a customer sees when they enter Cultured South.
Cultured South’s atmosphere | sounds
Music fills empty spaces, fosters conversation, promotes good work environments, and people remember the feelings associated with it. I wanted to create a distinct atmosphere in Cultured South, so as a fun project for myself, I created a few playlist options with a few songs for different space utilizations and time of day.
Cultured South as a chill work space in the mornings and early afternoons.
Cultured South is a place to go on weekend afternoons.
Cultured South as a place to go for a chill evening date or an after work drink.
reflection
This project was fun for me. I just moved back to Atlanta at the beginning of this year, and this work forced me to very quickly get up to date with new developments and spaces in the West End.
If I had more time, I would have spoken to more long-standing West End business owners. They carry so much historical knowledge about community interests, and I wish I had more time to dig into those perspectives.
It was a pleasure to work with Melanie! I appreciated that I didn't have to skate around issues of race and class in this work, and I thank her for trusting me.
