There’s a consumer beverage that is slowly gaining a following across the globe. But there’s just one big catch: it’s a product would normally be considered as unfit for human consumption.

The product is Kombucha tea. It is now a a $34 million industry, according to the Wall Street Journal. Add to that a currently strong growth trend from health buffs who are snapping it up and you’ve got a totally new (from our perspective) product that should whet the appetites of aspiring entrepreneurs.

Until you realize what Kombucha tea is: black tea, sugar and fruit flavoring… into which you dunk a colony of fungus and bacteria that ferment the liquid. The result? A tea drink where you can see molds floating on the surface, which smells like garbage (ugh!), and tastes like spoiled fruit juice (which it is).

So what are the tricks for selling the unsellable? In the case of this strange product, here are three tips:

1. Go for the health buffs. No surprises here, but it should be clear why this is the preferred route. What you are actually doing is hitting the “educated” market, or the kind of market that is willing to learn about new products that tie in with their lifestyles.

2. Up your margins. You’ll have a very small market, so in order to survive you’ll have to squeeze as much as you can from the existing market. The bonus? High prices for health beverages have the psychological effect of convincing the market that these must be the real thing after all. Credibility increases with price point.

3. Limit your channels. If you have a unique, interesting product, people will go out of their way to hunt you down. So take advantage of that: you need not spend too much to create a wide distribution network, and the limited availability can make your product feel like an exclusive item. Be prepared to sell in bulk to eager buyers though.

Eventually, if you manage expectations just right, your health buff buyers can become your product champions. In which case don’t hesitate to reward those who enthusiastically spread the word about your product. In so doing, these product champions may eventually expand your potential market beyond just the health buffs alone.

Who knows? Done right, there’s even a chance that a moldy, smelly product like Kombucha tea would become a mainstream beverage!