Today we’d like to introduce you to Jerry Grammont.
Hi Jerry, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
In 2018 I had to shut down my AI tech startup due to bad publicity around AI. I decided to take a sabbatical with the family back home in Haiti for 3 weeks during the winter break and new year. I took the family to visit areas in Haïti that are normally not accessible due to security reasons. We want to the most beautiful waterfall called Basin Bleue in Jacmel Haiti.
Unfortunately, we did not bring enough water for the trek back. We wound up drinking Mabi for the 1st time. At that moment I told my mother my next plans to develop this beverage in the state. Today we are in 11 airports, 1 stadium, and over 300 stores.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have been many struggles along the way. In our very 1st production, we lost 95% of the production due to an unsanitary production facility. We got accepted into Whole Foods, then they went through the pandemic, and the team that accepted us for the southern region states wind up either leaving or let go and was ultimately told we had to reapply. Lastly funding for small businesses/startups was also a challenge in the beginning.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Cassava Brands Inc?
Mabï Tea’s story began over 200 years ago with Mauby, an indigenous drink derived from the bark of the Mauby tree that was consumed by pirates, slaves, and people of limited means as a refreshing and cooling beverage against the hot tropical sun.
In the late 1990s, Dr. Marie Roberte Laurent, a Naturopathic doctor, identified a better way to health and wellness using natural, native medicine and started her own tea and oil company called Belzeb. In 2018, Erica and Jerry had the opportunity to drink Mauby for the first time during a family vacation to Haiti and decided to share the ancient Caribbean recipe with everyone through their Ready to Drink, Mabï Artisanal Tea Blends.
Mabï Artisanal Tea uses the tea blends procured by Dr. Marie Roberte Laurent along with mauby bark and fruits to create its signature cold brew herbal teas. The Mabï Tea company is built on the cornerstones of Purpose, People, and Product, with a focus on promoting a healthy mind and body, being a servant leader company, and crafting native-influenced natural beverages packed with functional properties to boost the immune system, energize the mind, and hydrate the body.
Mabï Artisanal Tea also strives to be a black-owned business that creates economic opportunities and empowers local communities, such as their partnership with a women-led cooperative from the mountains of Haiti. Their beverages are low in sugar but full of healthy benefits and packed with the taste of the Caribbean, with raw ingredients grown and harvested from the Caribbean mountains in Haiti and cold brewed with filtered water to preserve all their nutrients and flavors.
Mabï Artisanal Tea’s mission is to produce wellness, ready-to-drink cold brew herbal tea rich in functional properties and a celebration of the senses and good health. One of the biggest problems is the devastating number of people suffering from diseases due to the overconsumption of sugary and unhealthy beverages, I’m very proud that we provide a product that was designed from the ground up with a focus on a healthy lifestyle.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the COVID-19 crisis?
When we originally launched we had a plan that completely changed because of the covid 19 crisis. If it wasn’t for our team pivoting that very moment we may have not been able to sustain and grow to where we are today.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.mabitea.com.
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mabi.tea/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRealMabiTea/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mabi-artisanal-tea
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaJAIsykyGq4M70SGOMIGYg
