Startup Hero in the picture: Lars and David about Mojo Maté

Team UPALMERE! is proud of the Almere based start-up Mojo Maté of childhood friends Lars van Kranenburg (26) and David Damman (26). Their colorful natural maté drinks are now available in all Albert Heijns and the To Go stores in the Netherlands and Belgium.

The friends discovered maté two years ago, while backpacking through South America. Where there is a coffee culture in Europe, in Argentina and Brazil mainly yerba maté tea is drunk. The popularity of maté has also been growing in Europe for a while, due to the unique taste and natural boost you get from it. Mojo Maté wants to continue this trend in our country as well.

The adventure begins after discovering maté while backpacking in Argentina. The boys get inspired and decide to take some mate with them to the Netherlands. After a period of experimentation, they develop the recipe for their maté drinks. In March 2022, they will fill the first drinks by hand at a local craft brewery in Zaandam. Here, supported by friends, they work in the factory for days on end. From 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., each bottle is passed through the machine, labeled and shelled, one by one. Each Mojo Maté passes through someone's hands at least 5 times before they end up in a box. After a hard day's work, they have 3,000 bottles, ready for sale. With a cooler bag over their shoulder, they stepped into trendy restaurants in the Randstad. Soon the ball starts rolling. The collaboration with Albert Heijn is therefore an important milestone for the startup, with which they want to introduce the whole of the Netherlands to their maté. 

UPALMERE! has supported the company from the start and is very proud that it has been able to scale so quickly in such a short time. Want to know more about Mojo Mate? Take a look at their website: www.mojomate.nl and take some bottles with you when you go shopping. We love it!