What company owns Guayakí?
Guayaki is a California-based company founded in 1996 by Alex Pryor and David Karr to bring yerba mate from South America to North America. It sells organic beverages including bottled drinks, cans, shots, tea bags and loose leaf. The majority of revenue comes from ready-to-drink canned beverages.
Guayaki sources mate leaves and sugar from South America. Packaging is made in the US and other ingredients come from North America and globally. All co-manufacturing partners are in California where products are bottled or packaged before distribution across the US, Canada and Chile.
The mate plant is native to parts of South America. Its leaves have properties similar to caffeinated plants and can be steeped to make a tea-like infusion.
Guayaki earned a B Impact assessment score of 84.7, higher than the median score of 50.9 for ordinary businesses. As a mission-driven company, it aims to connect customer purchases to support farming communities in South America.
The company has committed to initiatives like building an electric distribution fleet and restoring 200,000 acres of rainforest. Its headquarters is in Sebastopol, California and its CEO is Stefan Kozak.
Who distributes guayaki yerba mate?
Guayaki Yerba Mate is the biggest mate company in the United States. Guayaki was founded in 1996 by two friends, Alex Pryor and David Karr with the goal to spread yerba mate to many people in the US while protecting the environment. They were later joined by three others. The name Guayaki comes from the Indigenous Aché people of Paraguay who are ancestral consumers of mate plant. Guayaki works with them to conserve rainforest habitat and harvest mate herb.
Guayaki is also committed to fair trade and environmental conservation making it a socially responsible choice. Through Market Driven Restoration model Guayaki demonstrates that a for-profit company can drive environmental and social change while protecting rainforests. Shade grown organic mate supports the rainforest ecosystem instead of destroying it through commercial agriculture. Partnering with indigenous landowners creates market based system for sustaining rainforest.
In addition, Guayaki introduced sparkling mate drinks to stimulate energy, focus and clarity. Available in Classic Gold, Cranberry Pomegranate and Grapefruit Ginger flavors, these organic, fair trade drinks provide lightly carbonated energy boost.