We had the good fortune of connecting with Natalie & Hannah diSanto and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Natalie & Hannah, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
We have always been passionate about natural healing, with Natalie, our founder having a deep love for herbalism. Natalie discovered fermented tea (kombucha) through her explorations with holistic health. We saw the benefits that kombucha brought to our own bodies and began to share with friends and family. After our inner circle began to drink us dry we decided to get licensed and bring our ‘buch to the Farmer’s Markets. From there, we have continued to expand our circle of sharing to all of Northern Colorado and opened our tasting room in March 2018.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Turtle Mountain Fermentery is unique because we brew exclusively with yerba mate tea, which gives our kombucha a bright, crisp flavor. We have also developed a unique form of brewing that allows us to use significantly less sugar than many competitors. We believe if we are going to produce a health drink that it should truly be healthy! Turtle Mtn was established in 2014 and run solely by Natalie until 2017, when Hannah joined the team as Natalie was pregnant with her son. It is not easy to take a passion and turn it into a profitable business that can support multiple people, but through our hardwork, creative pivoting, and the amazing support of our community we continue to grow our company and offer our tasty ferments to an increasing group of awesome people!
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
In our opinion, some of the highlights of our area are : The Lyric Cinema, The Mishawaka, Tap & Handle and obviously Me Oh My and Snowbank. For breakfast WE LOVE Gibs Bagels! After we visited everywhere in town, we would escape up the Poudre Canyon and camp for the rest of the week next to the river. It is our favorite place to be: relaxed on the warm bank, watching my son throw rocks in the water, enjoying the sunset and gazing at the stars.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We are lucky enough to have received so much support from the awesome community of Fort Collins! We have met some of our best friends through this community. The amazing family (Caitlin, Jason & two toddlers) who own and operate Me Oh My Coffee and Pie in Laporte inspire us with their commitment to giving back and fundraising, running a business together, and simultaneously being wonderful parents, incredibly kind people, and amazing friends. Dave from Snowbank Brewing has helped our company transition from micro-batch to small-batch, helped us make the jump to canning, and is happily Partners with our co-owner, Hannah.
Website: www.turtlemountainfermentery.com
Instagram: @turtlemountainkombucha
Facebook: facebook.com/turtlemountaintea