| Tell us about your company: |
| Yari Energy is a canned, yerba mate beverage based in Los Angeles. Built by myself, a solo founder. Yari leads with authenticity—it is real yerba mate, zero sugar, naturally caffeinated, and no artificial ingredients at all. Truly a better for you drink overall. We just completed our first pilot batch and are currently in soft launch across LA. |
| What inspired you to start your business? |
| Yari Energy LLC is a Yerba Mate Beverage business. We pride ourselves in making a one of a kind RTD Yerba Mate, that is made with zero sugar, no artificial ingredients, and highest quality Yerba Mate. I started working on this business in 2025, but the idea came to me at the end of 2024. It was my first year studying at UCSB, and I noticed an underlying epidemic at my college campus. Caffeine consumption. Specifically in the form of energy drinks. I had never seen more caffeine consumed in one space in my life. One brand in particular stuck out to me—Yerba Madre (by Guayaki). This drink brand seemed to be one of the most popular on campus. Everywhere you go you would see one of their iconic yellow cans. I was actually already a avid Yerba Mate drinker, after being introduced to it 2022. I loved Yerba Mate, but the traditional way. In a gourd, with a bombilla. When I saw how popular this brand was I decided to go ahead and give it a try. First thing that came to mind was: “Wow, this is really good”. Second thing that came to mind was: “But this taste nothing like Yerba Mate, and has A LOT of sugar (28g per can to be exact)”. That was that. After that I of course fell victim to the caffeine epidemic going on at my school and continued drinking it. After all it was really good. Until I began to feel uncomfortable with the amount of sugar I was putting in my body daily. That is when the idea sparked to make a new Yerba Mate beverage—one that was zero sugar, better for you, and still tasted amazing. I knew I was not the only one who felt this way, and that there was a real gap in that market for a drink of this kind. The rest is history, as they say. I started to google “how to start a beverage brand”, and lo and behold it has brought me to where I am at today. Just launched Yari Energy back here in my hometown (SFV) and trying to scale the brand. |
| What are your proudest achievements so far? |
| Honestly, my proudest achievement so far has been successfully launching the brand. It took a lot of hard work. We experienced many obstacles that set us back a few months, but in the end, after months of R&D, and operations Yari Energy is finally live and available DTC in the US. Close second–getting into our first retail store was really cool also. |
| What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs: |
| This question is difficult for me to answer, because I consider myself to still be an aspiring entrepreneur. But if I had to give one piece of advice to anyone trying to pursue any kind of endeavor, is to just go for it. Just start. The hardest part to any endeavor is starting. If you can get past that, then the rest will come with time and experience. Or at least that is what I tell myself, as I continue to navigate this journey learning as I go. One quote I really like is, “I rather die knowing that I tried, than die asking myself what could have been”. |
| Please share a memory or thought about your alma mater: |
| So many beautiful memories I have of UCSB. Although I didn’t finish my studies at UCSB, I consider my time there as some of the best in my life. I made a lot of great friends and built a lot of great memories that will last a lifetime. Too many great memories to choose from. Running alongside the beach every day, eating at the amazing restaurants in IV (Cucas was the best!), all nighters at the library during finals week (maybe I don’t miss this one that much haha), and just everything that was my day-to-day life living in Santa Barbara. Of course, none of that would have been special if was not for the amazing community of people that makes up UCSB. I miss it every day. |
