Small Batch Fermented Food Brands Worth Knowing

Sinto Gourmet was founded in Atlanta by Susan Hwang, a Korean-American food entrepreneur who grew up eating kimchi and wanted to create something that bridged the two great fermented cabbage traditions. Their Kraut-Chi is exactly what it sounds like, a hybrid of kimchi and sauerkraut fermented using traditional lacto-fermentation methods. The result is tangier than kimchi, funkier than kraut, and genuinely interesting as a condiment.

Olive My Pickle operates out of Jacksonville, Florida and has been making raw, lacto-fermented vegetables since 2010. Their range covers sauerkraut, kimchi, pickled vegetables, and pickle juice shots, all unpasteurized and packed with live cultures. They ship nationwide with refrigerated packaging, and their variety packs are one of the best ways to explore the fermented vegetable category without committing to a case of something you might not love.

Oregon Brine Works makes kvass, a lacto-fermented beet beverage with Eastern European roots, alongside traditional dill pickles and fermented vegetables from their production facility in the Pacific Northwest. Their small-batch approach means seasonal availability and genuine variation batch to batch. Kvass is one of the most underappreciated fermented beverages, and Oregon Brine Works makes some of the best available through DTC channels.

Started in Brooklyn in 2014, Bushwick Kitchen built their early reputation on spiced honeys before expanding into fermented hot sauces, including their Weak Knees Gochujang Sriracha, which uses fermented gochujang as the base. Gochujang is a traditional Korean fermented chili paste with a depth of flavor that fresh-pepper hot sauces simply cannot match. Bushwick Kitchen brings it into a format that works on everything from eggs to noodles.

Britt's Fermented Foods is a Pacific Northwest company making sauerkraut and fermented vegetable products using small-batch, traditionally fermented methods. Their Crimson Caraway Kraut and Golden Kraut are standout products, made with whole, raw ingredients and fermented using wild cultures without starter cultures or shortcuts. They ship refrigerated and their products are reliably live on arrival.

Marukome was founded in Nagano, Japan in 1854 and has been making miso, one of Japan's most fundamental fermented ingredients, for over 170 years. Their US operation brings organic miso paste and miso soup products to North American kitchens through DTC channels, alongside their innovative miso soup dispensers. Miso is among the most versatile fermented ingredients in the pantry: good for soup, marinades, glazes, and salad dressing.