![]() by driving customer awareness of yerba mate. Like many natural products vendors, the company spent its first few years of business growing slowly as it built out its supply chain and created a market for its products in the U.S. Since going live on NetSuite in January 2008, Guayaki has grown revenue five-fold, doubled headcount to 55 full-time employees and tripled SKUs to 30 core retail items. According to Mann, yerba mate combines “the strength of coffee, the health benefits of tea and the euphoria of chocolate.” But both he and his fellow company founders also stress the cultural aspect of yerba mate drinking, with the beverage being a symbol of hospitality and friendship across South America. The company’s name is a reference to the South American Aché Guayakí rainforest people whose traditions include sipping yerba mate from a gourd with a bombilla, a special type of drinking straw, to improve their physical and mental well-being. “We want to be strongly profitable so we can invest in our social and environmental mission.” “We are a hybrid organization,” said Mann. At present, Guayaki estimates it is about one-third of the way towards achieving that goal. Supporting a fast-growing, profitable business on NetSuite is helping Guayaki get closer to its stated 2020 goal of using revenue to protect and steward 200,000 acres of South American Atlantic rainforest and create more than 1,000 living wage jobs. In this way, they are building a sustainable income and a diverse rainforest habitat that helps regulate climate and provide home for thousands of species.Ī social enterprise grantee of (opens in new tab), the corporate citizenship arm of NetSuite, Guayaki runs its business on NetSuite, including its accounting, financial reporting, sales, inventory and order management, and manufacturing. Like an annuity, farmers can harvest year after year by simply pruning the trees and then drying and selling the caffeinated leaves. ![]() “We’re helping those communities to generate revenue and continue to live in the traditional way.”Ĭultivating yerba mate within rainforests allows farmers to generate revenue from the forest as a service instead of having to cut it down to generate income. “These family farms have the most to lose if we can’t keep the rainforests viable,” said Chris Mann, CEO and Chairman of the Gourd at Guayaki. Guayaki operates a for-profit, market-driven restoration business model, sourcing its yerba mate from the leaves of holly trees grown in the shade of rainforests by nine small farmer communities in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. The national drink of Argentina, Paraguay, Southern Brazil and Uruguay, yerba mate is made from the leaves of the South American rainforest holly tree and can be cultivated in full-sun in manmade plantations or more sustainably, in its natural habitat in the shade of rain forests. Yerba mate can have effects on various medicines, supplements and health conditions.Take five college friends, a strong appreciation of yerba mate, a naturally caffeinated South American beverage, and a desire to make a difference in the world and you have the seeds for Guayaki (opens in new tab), a natural products provider and a social enterprise.įounded in 1996, Guayaki, with headquarters in Sebastopol, Calif., has grown quickly into a leading vendor of certified organic, fairly traded and sustainable yerba mate products and beverages across the U.S. These include:Ĭheck with your health care provider before you try this type of tea or any herbal product. The caffeine in yerba mate can cause side effects. Also, people who are pregnant may want to check with a health care provider before drinking yerba mate. This risk may go up more if you also smoke cigarettes or regularly drink alcohol. The higher risk is linked with drinking about 1 to 2 liters, or 4 to 8 cups, of yerba mate a day. This includes cancer of the mouth, throat and lungs. Some studies suggest that people who drink large amounts of yerba mate for a long time may have a higher risk of some types of cancer. But more research is needed to confirm these links. ![]() Some studies suggest that the tea may have helpful effects on cholesterol, weight loss, the heart, swelling called inflammation and cancer risk. A daily cup of tea made with three grams of yerba mate leaves may be safe for up to 12 weeks. Drinking yerba mate isn't linked to health problems in most adults. ![]()
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