Mateína, the Canadian yerba mate maker backed by podcaster and health influencer Andrew Huberman, is looking to bring more on-the-go convenience to the energizing tea segment with the online launch of a new line of powdered Yerba Sticks this month online.
According to CEO and co-founder Nicolas Beaupré, powdered yerba mate had been a format the company was interested in developing for several years, but the brand wanted to wait until it was firmly settled in the U.S. market before launching the new line.
The Yerba Sticks are available in Lemon Lime and Orange Mandarin flavors. Each stick contains zero sugar, 100 mg of caffeine and a blend of sea salt, potassium and magnesium for hydration and workouts. They are also certified organic, non-GMO and are lightly sweetened with stevia. The line is currently available on Mateína’s website for $24.90 per 15-pack.
“This product is perfectly aligned with everything else that we’re doing; low sugar, minimal ingredient count,” Beaupré said. “This is something I’m super, super proud of, like we’ve really achieved creating something that is extremely close to the ready-to-drinks.”
The company is promoting the Yerba Sticks as a “first of its kind” product for the yerba mate set, and Beaupré said that while lighter-weight powders are ideal for ecommerce, which will be the initial focus for the line, he hopes to launch the Yerba Sticks into brick-and-mortar retail in the future, citing the format’s on-the-go benefits (ideal for travel and outdoors use occasions) and the customizability it offers consumers, citing some individual preferences for lower caffeine content.
Mateína launched its RTD yerba mate line in Canada in 2019, but has only just made an extension into the U.S. market this year.
In January, Mateína announced it had secured investment from Dr. Andrew Huberman, host of the Huberman Lab podcast – one of the top subscribed podcasts on Apple and Spotify – in conjunction with investment firm Tiny, which acquired a majority stake in the brand.
That same month, the company made its first steps into the U.S. market via DTC sales. According to Beaupré, within three days of launching in the U.S. its online sales matched a full month of sales in Canada – including a footprint of 2,500 doors in the country and its ecommerce business. Huberman, he added, was a key reason for that burst of consumer interest.
“He’s definitely very, very influential, and people are looking and listening to him for advice,” Beaupré said. “We were very, very blessed, and got a large amount of new customers on day one. It became over 51% of our sales.”
Beaupré added that the brand is now seeing, in particular, a large demand from consumers in California, Florida, New York and Texas. While initial plans were to focus solely on ecommerce for an extended period as it did in Canada, the surge in demand led Mateína to launch into retail in May. The brick-and-mortar rollout began with Erewhon stores in Southern California where Beaupré said its RTD yerba mates are selling around eight cans per SKU, per store, each week.
After Erewhon, Mateína added several independent accounts and health food restaurant chain SunLife Organics. The brand is currently distributed by DSD house HiTouch Libations in Southern California and has added more distributors in Central and Northern California.
Looking ahead, Beaupré said there’s more innovation to come after the Yerba Sticks launch, with zero sugar becoming a key trait the brand wants to build around. New flavors to the core RTD line are expected to launch by the end of Q1 2025. In the meantime, continuing to grow the U.S. door count is at the top of mind for Mateína.
“We’re slowly gearing up towards submissions to retailers and definitely looking at who do we want to partner with,” he said. “We’re going to execute the retail strategy for 2025, but we’re definitely seeing a lot of demand from a lot of people that will never necessarily order a beverage online by the 12-packs.”