Small tea company relies on unlikely funding sources for growth
Runa is a small tea company selling guayusa tea from South America that has a unique approach to business and funding. The company was founded in 2008 by two Brown University undergraduates who came in contact with the guayusa plant, which has more caffeine and twice as many antioxidants as green tea and was not sold in the US at the time. At the center of the company is a social program called "social premium fund" to finance local development projects for some 1000 farmers in South America. Runa relied on business plan competitions for start-up capital, but has diversified its funding sources ever since. The company, which saw sales of $277,000 in 2011, is now supported by the US and Latin American government grants ($500,000), angel investors ($1.6 million) and even the investment arm of socialist government of Ecuador ($500,000). It expects sales to hit the $1 million mark this year.