Resilience in the Face of Challenges: An Interview with Philippe Trinh
We are living in a strange time, one that is tumultuous, destabilizing, and even frightening at times. And we are also isolated, meaning that many of us are focusing inward and evaluating our journeys through life and our goals and relationships while also thinking about our role in the world at large.
Philippe Illustration- by Ricki Proper
All of this is to say that this moment presents both challenges and opportunities for growth and positive change. Philippe Trinh, co-founder of Seek North kombucha, knows quite a bit about rising to the occasion and creating something new out of a difficult situation. In the interview below, Trinh discusses Seek North’s origin in the midst of his partner’s health problems, the many ways that an emphasis on personal wellness can create a more enriching life, and how the people and places we engage with make a difference in what we do. Trinh also underscores Seek North’s deep commitment to giving back to their community and the ways that they have oriented their mission toward contributions to collective wellbeing. Perhaps more than ever, we can all take a moment to reflect on how taking care of others is also taking care of ourselves.
What did you personally discover through experimenting with kombucha and other fermented foods?
I have been making and incorporating fermented foods in our diet for about 10 years, but we didn’t really dive into this fermented journey until Julian Lesser, my life partner, tested positive for neurological Lyme disease in 2017. During that time, in the midst of all the antibiotic treatments he was prescribed, we knew that we were stripping away all this really beneficial bacteria from his gut. He started having all sorts of stomach issues, and we knew that we needed to put these healthy and essential bacteria and probiotics back in somehow. We didn’t want to do it through pills since Julian was taking so many medications at the time, so we started eating and drinking more fermented foods.
While doing all our research about how to overcome Lyme disease, we also found that 70% of our immune tissue was in our gut. From that moment on we really looked at what we were consuming and what we were putting into our bodies. This meant cutting out sugar and processed foods, eliminating meat out of our diets, and focusing on plant-based foods, which also have a huge impact on your microbiome.
I had already been fermenting and experimenting with kombucha, but we weren't making enough to drink it daily. My initial brews were more of a kombucha tonic, so we began supplementing our kombucha intake from other brands. But in the end we didn't like the way store-bought kombucha made us feel. Some kombucha we tried contained 20-40 grams of sugar per serving, which was contrary to our goals of cutting out excess sugar.
We were buying so much fermented foods & drinks that we began to notice preservatives in fermented foods and shelf-stable (pasteurized) kombuchas, which were often diluted or contained added sugar. It was a big eye-opening moment to find that all kombuchas aren’t equal and that we had to be more careful and attentive. Too many of the commercial brews we tried were also too acidic, making it very hard for Julian to stomach, so I began to kick up my home brewing from half gallon brews to multiple 2 gallon brews. My kombucha evolved from a very vinegary tonic to something that was very flavorful and full of health benefits.
For us, we wanted to make kombucha with low sugar content with a super smooth flavor that we could drink daily. So I decided to take on the challenge to see if we could make it happen. As I did, we drank more and more kombucha and we both noticed a change. We had more energy, our skin seemed clearer, and it helped the digestive issues Julian was dealing with as a result of the the antibiotics he was taking. Julian began taking fewer over the counter digestive medicines, and we just felt lighter and healthier. So, of course, we wanted to share this amazing and healthy elixir with all our family and friends.
Julian, along with all of our close family & friends, became my obvious test subjects. I have to admit I wasn't the best kombucha maker in the beginning. But as I began using more exotic ingredients, testing different types of teas, tweaking optimal brewing times, and not following recipes, I was able to really shake things up. Most of the time I just pulled fresh herbs like mint, lavender, and flowers from our home garden, and I wanted to bring that aspect into our commercial brews as well. And that’s how Seek North began.
In 2018 we locked in an exclusive partnership to deliver Dean & DeLuca X Seek North kombucha in all their NYC stores. From 2018-2019 we delivered 2 dozen different mouth-watering kombucha flavors, and we soon became a constant best seller. In May of 2019, we noticed some changes with Dean & DeLuca and wanted to do something bigger, so we expanded our market to other retailers.
How does the resurgence in fermentation’s popularity align with your overarching focus on personal wellness?
Probiotic and microbiome research is exploding, and it’s absolutely amazing. We’re finding that your gut affects pretty much every system and function in your body, and it is even deeply related to your brain. The more we find out, the more it seems like diet, and the effect that diet has on your microbiome, is pretty much at the core of everything “wellness” can focus on: weight, nutrient availability, mental health, looking radiant with great skin.... and we’re still finding out the extent of its many benefits.
So I think fermentation is coming back because we’re really taking this to heart. There’s so much talk about bacteria and probiotics, and they’re added to everything now. But fermentation is also a little rebellious in the sense that you’re taking ownership of your own body into your own hands. You’re not just buying the next trendy thing on the shelf, but instead you’re letting nature do the work it’s always done, taking part in it, and using it to replenish and take care of your very literal center. It’s an amazing movement, and it gives us great joy to watch it pick up steam.
How has Kingston and The Hudson Valley helped shape your craft?
Living in the Hudson Valley for over 8 years it helped us to cultivate a huge affinity towards craft, trade, and bringing all things back to nature. Julian and I love the outdoors, so hiking and outdoor activities are basically woven into our DNA, and we want other people to experience that as well.
Our flavors have a slight wild crafted nature, so you'll find exotic and/or super ingredients like dried elderflower, fresh pressed ginger, and hibiscus flower petals. We love the way that kombucha makes us feel and we understand the correlation of how each ingredient can influence our overall mind, body, and health, so we really wanted to highlight that with our flavors.
Seek Immunity, for instance, uses elderflower. which has been known for its immune-boosting and seasonal allergy fighting properties. Seek Harmony incorporates fresh pressed ginger, which is truly a super-herb with so much research behind it—it’s pretty stunning to learn about everything this little root can do. Seek Clarity uses nootropic and antioxidant-dense fruits like blueberries and pomegranate for everything from heart health to mental clarity.
Living in the Hudson Valley, it’s amazingly easy to fall in love with nature. Mother Nature also has some downfalls, like Lyme disease, in some of these majestic places, and both the harm and beauty of it affected us deeply, so we wanted to shed light on it. We never thought it could happen to us. So we wanted to spread awareness about the disease and prevention, and we also wanted to give back.
To that end, Seek North donates a portion of our proceeds to Global Lyme Alliance. Our contributions will help to educate and raise awareness about Lyme disease while also touching the lives of those struggling with the disease.
In every aspect of our lives, both of us have always made it our mission to make a positive impact on our community at every level. We believe that one of the best and most sustainable ways to feel good ourselves is to give back to those around us.
We partner with nonprofits and other local organizations to give back to the community that has been so supportive to us. We donate our beverages to a variety of local institutions, such as the Wild Earth and the National Young Farmers Coalition, to ensure that the health benefits of kombucha are accessible to everybody.
In 2019, we partnered with the People’s Place Community Cafe in Kingston, New York. This unique, community-oriented cafe has no set price for any of its food or beverage items. The foundational mission is to provide good, healthy nourishment to all and to bring people together.
Especially during COVID, People’s Place has been a staple part of the Hudson Valley community, providing free meals to those in need during a time when so many are struggling. Our partnership with them has been deeply meaningful to us.
Together, we can help make a difference.
What do you want people to know about fermentation?
We forget that fermentation is not a new thing or a fad. It was one of the first food preparation techniques, so it’s been around for a very long time.
In truth, it’s the perfect example to show that when you take care of, respect, and support nature’s processes, nature will take care of you too because you’re a part of it. Ancient medicine has been saying this for thousands of years. Ayurvedic medicine has a primary focus on gut and digestive health, and this took place way before we even had a name for a probiotic or a microbiome.
By looking outward, falling in love with nature, tending to it, learning about it, and going outside and experiencing it, you’re really looking inward because you’re a part of this all. Sometimes you might see yourself as above it, but the truth is that you’re in it. That’s why we take the name Seek North, as a reference to the North star. You can look up and look to do better, and we should always strive...but while you look up, don’t forget where you came from. If you can remember that while you reach for your constant, you’re going to be healthy and unstoppable.
We try daily to remind ourselves of this, and this is how Julian bounced back, how we’re now becoming more successful and able to give back.
Can you describe your fermentation process for kombucha?
Julian and I are traditionalists at heart, so we brew kombucha authentically. We use all organic teas and organic ingredients with no dilution to our product and without the use of artificial sweeteners, colors, or synthetic flavors. This means our kombucha is 100% certified organic, which makes our kombucha a premium and healthy drink.
Our kombucha is raw, which means we don't pasteurize or kill off any beneficial bacteria or yeast content from our kombucha. I like to homebrew, so wanted to keep our commercial processes very similar to my home brews. All our R&D for flavors is actually done in Kingston, NY.
Seek North kombucha is a mixture of green and black tea. Black tea is full of polyphenols, which are great antioxidants, but it also promotes healthy scoby growth (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast)- kombucha’s "mother". Green tea has a nice light viscosity in weight compared to black tea, so when you mix the two together it creates a mild tea that can complement even the most subtle flavors like jasmine or rose petals.
We ferment our kombucha for about 2 weeks before we go into a second fermentation process where we add exotic herbs and/or fruits. We don't filter our kombucha, which means you'll see some nice yeast sediment on the bottom of our product. That is a key indication of something that is not pasteurized or processed.
We keep a very close eye on every ingredient and every step in the whole process in order to make sure we’re producing something we’re really proud of.
How has the pandemic shaped your business, and have you had to make any changes in response to these times?
In February we were doing so well. We were peaking with distribution in over a few hundred stores...but of course all that changed when Covid hit. By April we had lost a huge portion of our clients, including coffee shops, gyms, offices like Netflix and Equinox, and small retailers and provisions. Everything seemed to come to an almost complete halt, and we had to adjust and switch gears quickly. We began supporting local farms and online delivery services like Field Goods and Off the Muck. We even kicked off a program to deliver kombucha for free in Central Hudson valley (see -here-) to help supplement sales. Like most small businesses, we have to do what we can so we can make it out of this stronger.
We're just really lucky to have friends, family and loyal supporters during all of this. No matter how crazy things get, we always have our community and the stability and support that provides. Nothing can be more important than that.
We hope that this conversation inspires you to make the most of the time, and to not only surmount your obstacles but also to reflect on improving your life and the lives of the people around you. Health and community are two of the most important things in our lives. When we cultivate both of those, the rest is much more likely to fall into place.