Jordan Laio, who grew up in Seal Beach’s College Park West, now owns the Van Nuys-based organic food company Brassica and Brine. It sells unique sauerkraut and kimchi, which are available in Long Beach for the first time at Lazy Acres on Bellflower Boulevard.
Jordan attended Los Alamitos High School, then graduated from UC Santa Cruz. He spent time traveling and working on organic farms and found a passion for the flavors and health benefits of sauerkraut fermentation. After a short apprenticeship at Berkeley, CA-based Cultured Pickle Shop, Jordan moved back to Southern California to start his own company.
Brassica and Brine started on a shoestring budget, selling in two small farmers markets in Los Angeles in the beginning of 2012. Since then, it has expanded to distributing to stores from Santa Barbara to Orange County and a handful outside of California. The products are also for sale through its website at brassicaandbrine.com. “Sauerkraut doesn’t usually get much attention,” Jordan said, “but that’s because there are different types of sauerkraut.”
The raw, organic, locally sourced sauerkraut that Brassica and Brine is bringing to market has historically not been available at supermarkets.
It is part of a new wave of health foods known as “probiotics”—literally, living foods. The sauerkraut is packed with beneficial bacteria that are known to improve digestion and immune function.
“The flavor profile of Brassica and Brine’s products is also quite unique,” Jordan said.
“It is common to hear it described at “the best sauerkraut I’ve ever tasted” at farmers markets. Each batch is aged more than a month, compared to the industry standard, which is two to three weeks,” Jordan said.
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