I have had the pleasure of speaking to great groups of women entrepreneurs at various events through
Suite Escapes over the past couple of years. At a recent event, I met
Katie Mankoff, the “Chief Matcha Officer” of
Mantra Matcha. As a longtime matcha lover, I couldn’t help but wonder what would inspire an American woman to found an e-commerce platform that markets a pulverized green tea.
Our exclusive Q&A with Mantra Matcha’s founder answers those questions, below:
Alyssa: Why did you start Mantra Matcha?
Katie: Having been in the fitness industry for the last 7 years, health has been a top priority of mine. And as a mom of three girls, I always had a coffee on hand. Between work, parenting, and lot of caffeine, I still found myself exhausted. One day I was in Starbucks and noticed someone drinking an eye-catching venti green drink, which turned out to be matcha. I then learned Starbuck’s matcha is nothing more than sugar, genetically modified ingredients, and low-grade matcha green tea powder. Other matcha I found online was not much better. And the quality ones I did find, tasted almost like grass. This is when the idea my company was born.
Mantra Matcha is a unique specialty line of small-batch, Super Premium Ceremonial Matcha infused with flavorful, nutritionally-dense ingredients and superfoods including cinnamon, banana, cacao, strawberry, lemon, goji berry, and more. You’ve never tasted matcha like this before, guaranteed.
Our business is on a mission to spread positive energy, one sip at a time. We help our customers say peace out (hence the logo) to the crash, jitters, and anxiety associated with coffee and instead say hello to the crash-free, mood-boosting energy of plant based matcha tea.
Alyssa: What are the health benefits of matcha above and beyond other teas?
Katie: Matcha is a superfood powerhouse form of green tea loaded with a variety of health benefits. The process in which it’s harvested makes it the highest-grade powdered form of green tea on the planet. This process reserves an abundance of beneficial nutrients compared to traditional green tea, which is highly processed and stripped of most nutrients. Because matcha powder is consumed whole leaf, you ingest more nutrients than you would from steeping a teabag.
In fact, 1 cup of matcha is equivalent to 10 cups of traditional green tea! Plus, it’s known to have countless potential health benefits including restored vitality, increased metabolism, decreased stress levels, enhanced focus, and on overall feeling of wellbeing. It’s purely stress-free, positive energy.
Alyssa: Why do you believe the matcha market will continue to grow? Can Mantra Matcha be a leader in it?
Katie: Although matcha has been used for thousands of years, it is gaining mainstream popularity at a fast pace. Now more than ever, matcha is becoming a household name thanks to being a menu addition at Starbuck’s, Dunkin’, Erewhon, and more.
Mantra Matcha is positioned to be a DTC market leader based on a variety of factors. With thousands of happy customers already, combined with a comprehensive strategic 5-year plan, Mantra Matcha is laser-focused on leading the charge to mainstream penetration.
Alyssa: How can our readers most easily try and sample your product?
Katie: Restore, revive, and come alive with Mantra Matcha using code AJRMATCHA at https://mantramatcha.com/
for a very rare 40% off. All orders ship fast & free.
