Meet Caroline Howard, Co-Founder of Walker Brothers
Love at first sip.
We are very happy to introduce Oxonian, Caroline Howard, Strategy & Ops, Co-Founder of Walker Brothers, a Nashville-based craft kombucha brand that brews both non-alcoholic and hard kombucha. Learn more about Caroline’s journey from Oxford to co-founding Walker Brothers, a craft beverage brand.
What did you study at Oxford?
I was a member of Queen’s College and matriculated in Fall 2019. I completed an MBA from Said Business School, graduating with Distinction
What is your most important takeaway from time at Oxford?
I co-led the Oxford Seed Fund during my MBA. This was an incredible opportunity to not only experience investing firsthand, but to also engage and work with founders within the Oxford entrepreneurial ecosystem. This experience gave me the confidence to pursue the founder path post-MBA.
What is the story behind the company that you founded?
Walker Brothers is a Nashville-based craft kombucha brand that brews both non-alcoholic and hard kombucha.
Brothers Sam and Luke Walker started the company with a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) inherited from their aunt and a desire to develop a better-for-you craft beverage that creates space for moments of connection while also being conducive to a healthy lifestyle.
For customers, our product often replaces soda or other sugar and additive-filled beverages that, when consumed regularly, contribute to poor health. For retailers, our product brings a new customer to the kombucha set – one that prioritizes flavor, while also wanting to feel good about what they are drinking.
It was love at first sip when Sam and Luke (longtime family friends) introduced me to the project in 2018 – then in its infancy. Between my experience with high-growth companies and a passion for propelling innovative ideas, I felt I could offer a unique business perspective for the brotherly duo and joined the company first as a hands-on investor. In 2020, I joined full-time as a co-founder, responsible for providing strategic leadership for the business, working hand-in-hand with other members of the management team to establish long-range goals for the company, and coordinating cross-functionally to see those goals accomplished.
What is the problem the company is solving?
Consumers increasingly seek beverages that are both low in sugar and carbs while also being functional, flavorful, and made with real ingredients. Today’s beverage cooler has precious few options that tick all of those boxes. Walker Brothers does. Today’s beverages tend to compromise flavor for function or vice-versa. Walker Brothers makes functional beverages that are so delicious, you don’t have to believe they’re good for you to drink the whole can.
What is innovative about your approach?
Walker Brothers kombucha contains probiotics and is produced with real, organic ingredients (no “natural flavors”, Stevia, or other sugar substitutes) using a craft brewing process. This results in a beverage that is light, flavorful, and functional.
Did you always think you would be an entrepreneur?
Though I knew very few entrepreneurs growing up, when I look back across my work experiences it’s easy to connect the dots! Even as early as high school, I’ve always been attracted to start-up environments – I quit my job at Barnes & Noble to be the first employee at a newly-opened local gift shop. Since then, at nearly every fork of my professional life I have opted for the more entrepreneurial path.
What are the biggest struggles you have experienced as a founder?
I find that the most challenging aspect of being an entrepreneur, either as a founder or as a first employee within a start-up, is that it becomes very easy to have the business define your identity. As you can imagine, tying your self-worth to business outcomes is a dangerous path to walk, and, unfortunately, without taking intentional steps, it can be hard to avoid.
Psychologically, I find that centering on the truths of what my Christian faith says about who I am to be an incredibly helpful reset when I find myself wandering down the “work = worth” path. On a more practical level, I do my best to avoid talking about my work on the weekends and focus on cultivating hobbies that bring me joy - like skiing and hiking.
Most rewarding accomplishment to date as a founder?
We launched in Tennessee and Georgia Whole Foods stores in August of 2022. This was a multi-year sales process and marked our non-alc product’s first placement at a major chain retailer. Earning that placement took major work from every part of the team. It’s incredibly rewarding to see our product on the shelf when I go grocery shopping.
Why is the Oxford Angel Fund excited about this investment?
We are excited about the market opportunity and the traction that Walker Brothers is gaining in the craft beverage space, including the launch of its non-alc product at Whole Foods, in The Fresh Market nationally, Sprouts regionally, and Bristol Farms in Southern California. The US Non-Alcoholic Kombucha market value is projected at $2.8B for 2024, according to Statista, and Grand View Research estimates that Hard Kombucha is growing at 42% CAGR globally (2020 - 2026).
Walker Brothers
A craft beverage brand.
Founders: Caroline Howard, Sam Walker, Luke Walker
Founded: 2018, sold first can in October 2019
Stage: Seed 2022
Walker Brothers is a Nashville-based craft kombucha brand that brews both non-alcoholic and hard kombucha. Walker Brothers kombucha is tart, but never vinegary and always packed with flavor.