[Abi Auer | Banner] Annie Eubanks, junior undeclared major, drinks one of MatéBros’ energy drinks after working out at the Lancers Athletic Performance Center.
After graduating from California Baptist University, Alex Anunciation, entrepreneurship alumnus, has been growing his natural energy drink company, MatéBros, which is taking off in sales with the aid of his business partner, Sam Mikulak, a Team USA Olympic gymnast.
Anunciation’s energy drink promotes an active lifestyle through boosting the immune system to keep athletes healthy and focused both inside and outside of the gym. He has combined his love for business with his love for South American yerba mate tea to create a healthy, natural energy beverage that supports “Awakening the Vibe” with five all-natural ingredients.
Anunciation’s dream began its journey to becoming a reality when he experimented with different mixtures of the yerba mate tea with other ingredients in order to find the most flavorful blend. He then invited his friends Jordan Gaarenstroom and Mikulak, who had competed in gymnastics with him growing up, to try the tea before practice. After drinking it, Gaarenstroom and Mikulak said they had the best practice ever and agreed to help Anunciation start a business.
“For us it was an instant connection and an instant result, and from that day forward, we prepared the product every day before practice,” Gaarenstroom said. “Sam and myself became huge consumers of it.”
Gaarenstroom and Mikulak are not the only ones who have fallen in love with the product and joined the business. Other famous athletes like Kacy Catanzaro, the first female to complete the final course of American Ninja Warrior; Chris Brooks, captain of the U.S. men’s Olympic gymnastics team; and Gustavo Menezes, American racing driver, have all become advocates for the product and drink it on a regular basis before their practices and competitions.
“My vision for MatéBros in my eyes is providing resources for a healthy lifestyle, whether that’s in our brand, whether that’s in our product, whether that’s in the words we speak to someone else,” Anunciation said. “My vision really is to evoke positivity in others through the company I created, through our product and through our brand.”
Dr. Natalie Winter, interim associate dean of the Dr. Robert K. Jabs School of Business and associate professor of marketing, had Anunciation as a student and is impressed by what CBU students can achieve when they really put their minds to it.
“It’s a good reminder for any of our students that hard work and discipline and having a vision can lead to the realization of your dreams and your passions,” Winter said.
