About Planta
Plant powered, low sugar and as refreshing as it is stimulating. Planta where Aotearoa New Zealand botanicals meet ancient South American superfood, a match made in heaven.
Planta is a Sparkling Yerba Mate beverage made in New Zealand. Unlike similar products available globally, Planta is the purest and most authentic product with a whopping 33% of the product being brewed Yerba Mate. Most others come in between 1.5-10% Yerba Mate. They wanted their product to be Yerba Mate not just by name but by nature.
Co-founders Isaac and Catharina originally created Planta to serve our customers at their beachside Mexican restaurant. Customers would bemoan the lack of interesting non alcoholic drinks that they could have while enjoying a burrito. Known for its palette cleansing astringency, Yerba Mate would be the perfect base for a unique and healthy drink that could be enjoyed anytime by almost anyone.
Planta comes in 3 distinct flavours. The owners were careful to make each version unique in terms of taste and sensation.
- Lime and Kawakawa (Floral) The flagship offering. The perfect fusion of the exotic and the familiar. They even snuck in a little Elderflower to boost the floral notes.
- Passionfruit and Nectarine (Fruity) Do you have a passion for fruit? Good news, Planta does too! They’ve taken the world’s most aptly named fruit and combined it with peaches’ smooth skinned cousin to create a summery fruity explosion.
- Blood Orange and Hibiscus (Citrusy and Astringent) Tart, tangy and terrific! For citrus fans and those looking for something truly unique, Planta’s Blood Orange and Hibiscus will answer your call. More fun than water, less sugar than juice, Planta’s the healthy and revitalising drink you never knew you needed.
Sustainability and Ethics
From the outset the co-founders were looking at how Planta could address the various environmental issues the world faces.
We choose aluminium cans over glass,
Isaac, co-founder, Planta
We choose a paper stock for our labels that had no plastic lamination,
We use unbleached shipper boxes with minimal printing,
We looked at using as many local ingredients as possible to reduce the overall impact on the
environment.
Yerba Mate Cultivation itself is a valuable tool in rainforest preservation. The shade-grown agroforestry system in which it is typically grown provides livelihoods for local communities, while protecting the native rainforest ecosystem. The vast majority of Yerba Mate is grown on the Atlantic seaboard of South America. This area (including the Amazon basin) is under significant pressure from deforestation.
Industry Impact
After running a beachside Mexican restaurant for many years the co-founders noticed a distinct trend among their customers. They were moving away from alcoholic drinks and liked to have the option of ‘sober’ and healthy beverages to consume while eating their burritos. Concurrently they also noticed a growing global awareness of the ‘superfood’ qualities of Yerba Mate.
They analysed the way in which non-alcoholic beverage trends reach New Zealand and how the market responds. The key indicator market is the West Coast of the United States. Things that explode in popularity there generally take 5-7 years to arrive in New Zealand. It was clear that there was a growing desire for more functional beverages – reaffirming that Yerba mate is a truly unique product. MBIE published a comprehensive study of New Zealand’s non-alcoholic beverage industry. The revealed the fastest growing beverage sector in the world is carbonated ready to drink tea-based beverages (which includes Kombucha).
We feel we have helped create a new functional beverage category. No fancy food technology, no marketing BS or pseudo science.
Co-founders, Planta
Other functional beverages promise to improve your looks, mental health, gut health and overall performance as a human. They rely on complex formulations using new or relatively new ingredients without any real history of widespread consumption. Planta on the other hand relies simply on a tea that has nourished and sustained generations of people throughout South America and beyond.
You can visit Planta on stand SU11 at Naturally Good 2025.