Saint James Iced Tea is entering the functional beverage aisle with Saint James Yerba Mate, a certified organic, non-GMO line launching into Kroger and Albertsons banners nationwide and targeting more than 7,500 retail doors by year-end 2026. The move marks the brand's first product line outside its core ready-to-drink iced tea portfolio and signals a deliberate push into the premium functional energy segment, where yerba mate has emerged as the fastest-growing subcategory within better-for-you beverages.
The three-SKU lineup — Mango Passionfruit, Raspberry Lemon, and Strawberry Tangerine — is formulated at 150mg of natural caffeine, 20–25 calories, and just 3–4g of sugar per 16 oz resealable aluminum bottle. Yerba mate leaves are ethically sourced in South America, and each bottle delivers a trifecta of caffeine, polyphenols, and theobromine — the same naturally occurring stimulant compound found in cacao — positioning the product squarely against conventional energy drinks and competing mate brands in the better-for-you set. The 12-pack retails for $39.99 online and is available now on Amazon and SaintJamesIcedTea.com ahead of the retail door expansion.
Distribution Momentum
The yerba mate launch lands at a pivotal moment for the brand's shelf footprint. In August 2026, Saint James Iced Tea reported 164% year-over-year growth and crossed 25,000 total retail doors across the U.S. and Canada. Earlier this month, the brand entered the club channel with a Costco-exclusive variety pack featuring its Red Raspberry and Classic Mango black teas — a high-velocity proving ground for emerging beverage brands looking to build trial at scale. A concurrent nationwide partnership with Just Salad, covering all 120 locations in the U.S., extends brand reach into the fast-casual foodservice channel, adding an off-shelf sampling touchpoint that complements traditional grocery planogram placement.
For Kroger and Albertsons buyers, the yerba mate SKUs arrive with a ready-made velocity story: the parent brand's triple-digit growth rate and an existing scan-data footprint across grocery, natural/specialty, and now club channels reduces the slotting risk typically associated with a category extension from a sub-$1 billion brand. The recyclable, resealable aluminum bottle format — redesigned in green and chrome for the new line — also differentiates the product in a glass- and can-dominated set.
Celebrity Campaign and Retail Support
To drive trial velocity at the shelf level, Saint James is activating its first multi-celebrity national marketing campaign, featuring NHL star Jack Hughes, former NFL wide receiver and media personality Victor Cruz, and entrepreneur Isabela Rangel Grutman. The 360-degree campaign, shot by photographer Yulia Gorbachenko with set design by Nicholas Des Jardin, extends through out-of-home placements, consumer sampling programs, and a college ambassador initiative into fall 2026. For category managers, above-the-line investment of this scale from an emerging brand typically correlates with stronger pull-through at retail and lower reliance on TPR-driven velocity in the first 90 days on shelf.
"Our consumers already turn to Saint James as part of their daily routine, so creating a more functional option was the next logical step," said Brenden Cohen, co-founder and co-CEO of Saint James Iced Tea. "Saint James Yerba Mate delivers the same quality and taste our customers expect from us, now with a more substantial amount of natural caffeine."
Backed by John M. Ferolito, co-founder of AriZona Iced Tea, Saint James carries institutional credibility in the RTD tea aisle that few emerging brands can claim. As category managers at conventional grocery and mass accounts evaluate planogram resets heading into 2027, the brand's growth trajectory, club-channel validation, and now a functional energy extension position it as a serious challenger in the better-for-you beverage segment — and a brand worth tracking in the functional and energy drink category reset cycle.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
