Interesting NY Times article portraying Runa’s two 26 year old founders; Tyler Gage and Dan MacCombie. Runa, “a start-up company peddling an obscure Amazonian leaf called guayusa” was created in 2008 and has grown steadily since with a little help from grants worth $500,000 and competition awards amounting to $70,000 in “goods and services.” Backed also by the Ecuadorian government; Runa “creates livelihoods for indigenous farmers in the Amazon” and no doubt for Ecuardor as a whole. The company is hoping to surpass the $1 million mark in sales for 2012. I’ve never tried their teas but I wish them good luck! They’re facing stiff competition in the beverage market, but currently no one else sell Guayusa tea.
Link: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/10/a-brooklyn-tea-company-backed-by-a-socialist-president/