Four years ago, childhood friends Nico Estrella and Juan Giraldo put a modern twist on a centuries-old “wellness tea” from Ecuador creating Waku (means “together) a deliciously replenishing herbal tea with prebiotic powers and gut-health benefits. Now, they are proud to announce a brand relaunch that will take place on Tuesday, April 12th, and includes new recipe formulations, limited-edition flavors, and the ability for anyone to become an investor in the company… for as little as $100.

“After getting the feedback from hundreds of customers, we’ve been working tirelessly for the past year to make Waku even better, focusing on bringing the sugars to 0g while keeping the delicious, all-natural taste,” explains Estrella.

Raised with an entrepreneurial spirit passed down from their parents, Estella and Giraldo took notice of the 62 million Americans diagnosed each year with digestive health disorders and wanted to do something about it.  Having grown up in Ecuador with some of the world’s best natural ingredients, both men immediately thought of the “horchata lojana” recipe they grew up drinking daily for its gut-health benefits and great taste.

Based in Boston, ingredients are responsibly sourced from Ecuadorian farmers in a region of the Andes Mountains that include a powerful botanical blend that has anti-inflammatory properties and digestive benefits. Combined, they help to prevent inflammation and create a balance between a person’s gut and overall body wellbeing.

In the past year, the Waku team has worked closely with food scientists and nutritionists to develop a new recipe formulation that reduces the number of added sugars to zero; adds a sweeter taste using natural monk fruit, and maximizes gut-health benefits by adding 6g of prebiotic fiber per bottle.  All beverages are caffeine-free, non-GMO, vegan, keto-friendly, and gluten-free with no artificial flavorings or concentrates.

Waku will reintroduce customer favorites while offering limited seasonal flavors throughout 2022.  Beverages retail for $39.99 for a 12-bottle case and $29.99 per case for monthly subscriptions which can be purchased at livewaku.com.

Additionally, Waku has partnered with Republic, an investment crowdfunding platform that allows easy access to anyone wanting to invest in private companies.  For as little as $100, a person can become an “investor” in Waku through April 30, 2022.

A disruptor in the $7 billion dollar ‘ready to drink’ tea industry, Waku is one of the first bottled teas to bring gut-health benefits to a category that hasn’t seen much innovation in recent years. The brand’s revenue traction has grown 9X since year one and they have built a strong fan base with 40% of their online revenue coming from repeat customers.

“We are very excited about our partnership with Republic since it enables us to welcome Waku fans, customers, and anyone wanting to join our mission to replenish the world with the home-grown flavors of Ecuador, as investors,” explains Giraldo.  “Together, we can now share in the future wins of Waku.”

Waku will host a virtual Tea Party on Friday, April 15th at 2:00 pm PST and announce the release of its newest flavor. The public is invited to join via Zoom and win free cases of Waku, t-shirts, hoodies, and hats.  Additionally, Estrella and Giraldo will be featured on QVC with Waku on April 27, 2022.

For more information on Waku beverages or investment opportunities, please visit www.livewaku.com.

 

SOURCE: Waku