If the global events of the last few years have collectively taught us anything, it’s that life is in a constant state of change. While this uncertainty can be both exciting and uncomfortable, with the right values and community to support one another, change can usher in a tremendous opportunity to grow, succeed, and leave a positive impact on the world.
At Guayakí Yerba Mate, 2022 represented another year of exciting and positive change. We continued to grow our team and expand our leadership capacity while also securing additional funding from our investors who continue to believe in and share our mission. With these changes, we worked toward implementing new strategies that will take our company and our valued ecosystem of stakeholders – from our customers and employees to our suppliers, partners, and investors – into our regenerative future.
One of the highlights I am most proud of is our continued high sourcing standards and certifications that ensure our products are made with the quality and care our customers expect. Our Operations team has continued to maintain the highest sourcing standards amidst ongoing macroeconomic and supply chain challenges through the support, growth, and development of pioneering new certifications like Regenerative Organic Certified®, and through the ongoing support of our long-term suppliers and partners who share our regenerative values by becoming Fair for Life-certified or Regenerative Organic Certified® themselves.
In 2022, working on the ground with our yerba mate producers, harvesters, and processors, our South America team developed the world’s first shade-grown yerba mate standard, exported the first ever Regenerative Organic Certified® yerba mate for use in Guayakí products and applied for even more to be audited and certified in 2023, continued to support our long-time partners in the Aché Kue Tuvy Indigenous community, and helped protect the important ecosystems upon which we depend, through agroforestry, biodiversity curtains, planting native, rare, and endangered trees, and more.
Building on the theme of change, when it comes to sustainability and regeneration, the external business landscape and stakeholder expectations are constantly evolving with new metrics and reporting standards, mainstream companies setting ambitious goals, and unexpected collaborations forming to solve systemic challenges. But we remain committed. We humbly recognize that there are always going to be some areas we need to improve when it comes to our impact and aspiration to be a regenerative business. Reflection and partnership are part of what it means to be regenerative and I am excited about the progress we continue to make. To keep pace with the changing landscape and to hold ourselves accountable, we are updating and embedding our Impact and Regeneration Strategy in 2023 with measurable, time-bound goals aligned with industry standards, based on our material issues, stakeholder feedback, and Guayakí’s unique position to support the regenerative business movement.
We look forward to 2023 and beyond, to embrace the inevitable change that comes, and to continue to build upon the strong foundation of our organization as we seek to hold onto our values and support one another in delivering what we believe will be a bright and regenerative future for all.
On behalf of all of us at Guayakí Yerba Mate, thank you for joining us on this journey.
