Producer
Background
Education and earlier ventures. David Begg studied engineering at university. His career before drinks ran through two businesses: he founded Active Hotels in 2001, a company that later became booking.com, and in 2002 he co-founded the furniture brand Tom Dixon, which he ran for about ten years.[1]
First encounter with fermented tea. Begg came to kombucha at the home of his friend Howard Napper, a yoga instructor and wellness broadcaster who, as of a May 2020 interview, had been alcohol-free for 15 to 20 years. His first introduction was through a black oolong mix, which he described as rich, hearty and unfiltered, sitting between a craft ale and a scrumpy cider. He has separately credited the impetus for launching The Real Co. to tasting a home-brewed drink at a friend's dinner party that he could not believe was non-alcoholic.[1],[2],[3]
Role & Contribution
Product development. Begg developed REAL's liquids by experimenting with fermentation, the taste profiles of loose-leaf teas, and the impact of conditioning and bottling on flavour; the company credits almost two years of persistence with producing a liquid of the depth of flavour he had been missing. He began brewing on his kitchen counter using Silver Needle tea, then scaled through an understairs cupboard, a spare room, a garage and eventually a microbrewery. REAL's production later moved from his home garage to a small facility on a farm for four to five years, and then to the fermentary that opened at the end of 2022.
Conditions for a business. Before turning kombucha into a business, Begg required three things to be in place: a product the team truly believed in, a shelf-stable ambient product, and branding that represented what they were doing. Among the early decisions he and his fellow founders took was to add no flavourings to the fermented tea, letting the flavours of natural fermentation define the drink.
Collaborations
Begg worked alongside nutrition innovator Adrian Hodgson, a co-founder of Real Kombucha, and tea expert Will Battle, experimenting with 150 different teas before arriving at the company's three brews. A pivotal moment came on 9 January 2017, when Begg and Adrian brewed a white peony tea that convinced them they could control the quality of fermentation the business would require.