Guayusa (pronounced gwhy-yoo-sa) is a holly tree that grows in the rainforests of Ecuador. Its leaves, which contain caffeine, are harvested and brewed like tea, producing a mild stimulating effect.
Conor Meehan, founder of NU Infusions, got his first taste of guayusa tea back in 2019. He loved the flavour and the energy boost it gave him with none of the usual caffeine jitters.
This introduction to guayusa was to prove significant. The crop is not widely known about or available in Europe, and Meehan began mulling over the possibilities of building a business around it aimed at the Irish market and beyond.
He initially tested consumer reaction with guayusa tea but subsequently pivoted to a ready-to-drink product in order to appeal to a wider audience. At the end of 2024, Nu Infusions launched NU, its guayusa-based energy drink.
NU is a sparkling infusion that combines guayusa with fruit juice, herbs, and live cultures from water kefir grains. Each can has five calories, no added sugar and 115mg of caffeine.
“A flat white has about 136mg of caffeine and a cup of brewed coffee has about 90mg. NU sits in the middle. It’s also worth noting that the effect of guayusa is much calmer than coffee or synthetic energy drinks as it produces a much lower adrenaline spike,” Meehan says.
“NU is turning the energy drink concept on its head, from something synthetic and filled with sugar to something 100 per cent natural that nourishes the gut, supports sustainable agriculture and provides a focused kind of energy.
“Indigenous cultures have been drinking guayusa for centuries,” Meehan adds. “Each morning before sunrise, they gather to drink an infusion while recounting their dreams from the night before and using those insights to plan the day of work ahead.
“Recent studies have shown that guayusa’s unique combination of caffeine and antioxidants provides a quieter and more focused kind of energy boost. In consumer terms, this meets a growing need among those looking for a lift without the side effects.”
`Strategic change’
Meehan originally studied philosophy and sociology at Trinity College. From there, he went to the University of Bergen to complete a Master’s in System Dynamics.
“This masters programme is aimed at those interested in learning how to initiate strategic change in organisations,” says Meehan, who worked as a senior associate with professional services firm, Gerson Lehrman, before joining Innovation Lab Northern Ireland.
Prior to setting up NU Infusions, Meehan was working as a freelance consultant in systems dynamics with clients in the private and public sectors.
“I had spent roughly 10 years applying systems thinking concepts in many different contexts, from NGOs dealing with sustainability issues, to governments dealing with public policy, to private businesses dealing with strategy and supply chain issues,” Meehan says.
“However, I always felt that my impact was a bit abstract and hard to trace, and this was a big part of what drew me to start NU. We have a clear and tangible mission, and I love that.”
NU (which is internet slang for reimagining traditions in a modern way) is made in partnership with the King of Kefir water kefir brewery in Co Louth. Water kefir is a fermented drink made with live cultures that support gut health.
To date, just over €50,000 has been invested in the company between personal funds and a loan from MicroFinance Ireland.
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown local enterprise office has also supported the business with mentoring and online trading vouchers. NU is available in a number of SuperValu stores and independent retailers and retails at around €3.55 per can.
“I have found the support ecosystem really strong for Irish food brands trying to get off the ground,” Meehan says.
“We did the SuperValu Food Academy programme, which not only gave us a retail outlet to reach customers, but also helped us meet all the milestones needed to serve major retailers.
“We’ve also tapped into the Dublin Food Chain, which has provided a lot of guidance and support,” adds Meehan who has his sights firmly set on building NU into an international drinks brand.
`Worth sharing’
“I chose to bootstrap the business until we had a solid brand concept and core product, and that has allowed me to take my time to develop something that is truly worth sharing, before we really start to expand,” says Meehan, who adds that the next step for NU Infusions is to raise around €100,000.
This investment will be used to ramp up marketing, hire some help and prepare for the reintroduction of the company’s guayusa tea to what’s become a much more receptive market for herbal teas in recent years. Also on the way is a guayusa-based energy boost powder that comes in single sachet servings and can be added to water bottles.
“There are very few guayusa products in Europe at this point, so I would say matcha brands and natural energy drink brands are our closest competitors. That’s because they offer a similar USP: natural energy without the jitters,” Meehan says.
“We plan to compete by offering a more premium product that is truly natural and going a step further by using natural ingredients in their most basic form without preservatives, emulsifiers or flavourings.
“There is also a social responsibility dimension to what we’re doing, as we believe that more and more consumers want to use their spending power to support the larger missions that they care about.
“In our case, that’s helping to prevent deforestation in the Amazon as well as supporting indigenous land rights. The guayusa industry supports many small farmers in Ecuador while providing a much-needed alternative to the monocrop agriculture that is driving the majority of deforestation in the Amazon today.”
