Meet startup: PiQi

Made with the finest organic ingredients and uplifting botanicals, Piqi is a fermented, non-dairy sparkling water kefir that contains billions of live cultures to help you feel great from the inside out. Traditionally fermented in small batches, our drinks are bursting with naturally occurring probiotics, antioxidants, vitamins, enzymes and amino acids. Never heat treated or pasteurised, PiQi water kefirs are naturally lively, raw and refreshing.

PiQi was born out of a simple idea to help people look after their gut-health on a plant-based diet.

“We love ‘living’ foods and the benefits they provide to our bodies and minds. After all, over 80% of our immune system resides in the gut and so we better look after it. A plant-based compassionate lifestyle has been a big part of our lives and we wanted to share it with our customers. If you’re curious, and we hope you are, check out our blog for all things gut-health, vegan and wellbeing. We hope that you're out there living your purpose and sharing what you love with the world. We’re excited to have you here!”

What is water Kefir?

Water kefir is a raw probiotic sparkling beverage, traditionally fermented using water kefir grains, which are not grains at all but a SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast), sugar and water. Kefir SCOBY is unique in its composition and resembles “grains”, hence the name kefir grains. 

During the fermentation process sugar levels decrease as some of the sugar gets metabolised while gut-friendly cultures increase, resulting in a delicious, slightly sweet and tart sparkling beverage. Water kefir naturally contains live probiotic cultures, beneficial enzymes, amino acids, vitamins and minerals; though, the nutrition of the finished beverage varies with ingredients used and chosen brewing method.