Today we’d like to introduce you to Gomeh Saias and Zachary.
Gomeh started drinking matcha when he was the lead project manager at a real estate tech start-up in order to keep up with the demanding start-up workload while avoiding the anxiety that follows a coffee overload. Within a couple of weeks, the whole office was making matcha lattes and teas. It’s funny how a company’s culture could be affected by sharing something as simple as a common morning routine.
In the meantime, Zach was working for his family’s company, which focuses mostly on the distribution of goods through online sales. After transitioning out of the start-up life, Gomeh and Zach walked through the South Beach markets when small businesses were selling their handcrafted goods, family recipes, and eco-conscious clothing. They connected with the vendors and the seed was planted: launching a brand and company that positively affected others and left an imprint in the right direction. From there, it was a natural progression to build on matcha’s growing popularity on the west coast by bringing it to sunny Florida with a solid business plan to match a larger goal.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
As close friends, it was difficult at first to pave and navigate a path as business partners. We know each other well and yet, we could sometimes find ourselves in a position where we need to put our friendship aside. That could get uncomfortable and, initially, it did.
Please tell us about Itomatcha.
We are a matcha specialty brand that is set on introducing a healthy alternative to coffee with a familiar bitterness but a completely different nutritional and taste profile. Our organic matcha comes straight from Uji, Kyoto – the same place matcha has been made for 300+ years. Most people wait until they go to a coffee shop to have a matcha. It’s intimidating to do something new such as making matcha lattes from scratch. Rightfully so! Matcha ceremonies usually require specific tools to get the most out of your matcha in terms of taste, texture, and aroma – so our goal is to make it a little less intimidating by showing people how to make matcha with the simple fork and coffee mug.
What we find is that, after a couple of weeks, our customers feel the difference in their morning routine and are comfortable enough to use the whisks, bowls, and all!
We still consider ourselves to be a small company with big plans to show the world how versatile matcha can be and share stories of its positive effect on mood, organ health, skin/hair health, and productivity!
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Nothing! It’s not the sexy answer because people want to learn from your mistakes, but every mistake we’ve made has become a building block of our success. So make mistakes that you can learn and build from!
Pricing:
- A month supply of matcha starting at only $24.99
- Secret Offer for Miami locals who DM us “Matcha Bar Kit” during corona epidemic for $39.99
Contact Info:
- Website: www.itomatcha.com
- Email: sales@itomatcha.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/itomatcha
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/itomatcha
Image Credit:
@belferphotography – Sarah Belfer
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