Latest news with #Yerba
San Francisco Chronicle
06-08-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Why S.F. residents say the city is finally undergoing a major vibe shift
Fewer homeless encampments and trash-strewn sidewalks. Busier restaurants and retail shops. A new mayor who hits the streets almost daily to chat with residents and business owners. These are just some of the reasons why San Franciscans say they now feel optimistic about the city's future despite years of negative news about empty downtown offices, widespread public drug use, rampant stolen-goods sales and other serious concerns. Residents' bullish attitudes about the city and Mayor Daniel Lurie were captured in a Chronicle poll last month. The survey found that public sentiment had improved dramatically: 57% of respondents viewed the quality of life in San Francisco favorably in July compared to 39% who felt the same one year earlier. And 48% said they expect conditions to get better in the coming years, a nine-point improvement from last year. The Chronicle interviewed more than a dozen people who participated in the poll, as well as other experts and community leaders who did not. The picture that emerged was a hopeful one: Across San Francisco, there's a sense that the city's recovery from the pandemic is finally gaining momentum. Crime is down, tourism is up and voters are feeling good about their decision to replace former Mayor London Breed with Lurie, a political novice. North Beach resident Miki Pryor said she believes Lurie is 'out on the street a whole lot more' than his predecessor. Pryor, who took the Chronicle poll, said she has spotted Lurie several times at places like Yerba Buena Gardens and the Ferry Building. Lurie's frequent social media posts have also reached Pryor, 81, who cited a video the mayor shared on Instagram in which he provided updates about how he was trying to improve chaos-ridden Sixth Street. Not everyone is feeling the positive shift. In troubled parts of the Tenderloin, South of Market and Mission districts, residents are fed up with persistent drug scenes, homelessness and illegal vending. Downtown San Francisco, the city's economic engine, remains far from its pre-pandemic vibrancy. Still, most voters think the city is in a better place than it was last summer. Daniel Matsumoto, another poll respondent, is among them. He lives near the border between the Tenderloin and Union Square, and he said cleanliness in the area has 'definitely improved' over the past six months. Matsumoto, 51, said he still sees traces of the city's open-air drug markets or people experiencing mental health issues and homelessness every day when he walks to his job at the main branch of the San Francisco Public Library. Some hotspots — including the intersection of Howard and Sixth streets — that were previously overrun with encampments and trash are much more walkable, Matsumoto added. It's not hard to find data to bolster the case that San Francisco has improved from the lows of the pandemic. Reported crimes have fallen in every category, with property crime down 25% over the first half of the year. Car break-ins hit a 22-year low in 2024 and have continued to fall. The crime drop began when Breed was mayor, a fact she campaigned on unsuccessfully in the race she lost to Lurie. Moscone Center will host 34 events this year — nine more than last year — and is expected to see a nearly 70% year-over-year uptick in hotel room nights linked to conventions, but it's still below pre-pandemic levels. Rents in June surged more than anywhere else in the country as job growth in the artificial intelligence industry bolsters the apartment market. The Ferry Building reported its best first quarter on record for foot traffic this year. At Oracle Park, the San Francisco Giants are seeing their highest average attendance since 2018. Union Square recently welcomed the country's second Nintendo store, and Pop Mart, the Chinese toy company behind the viral Labubu doll craze, is expected to open on a struggling stretch of Powell Street. 'We really turned a corner in the last year or beginning of this year, maybe coinciding with our new mayor, who's bringing excellent energy and ideas and focus on downtown,' said Karin Flood, owner of the historic Flood Building next to the cable car turnaround on Powell Street. 'He's on Instagram all the time with positive messages about what's happening downtown and the steps he's taking to address the safety and quality of life downtown.' That optimism is less pronounced just west of Union Square. In the Tenderloin, residents and business owners noticed a 'slight improvement' in street homelessness and drug scenes after Lurie took office in January, said Randy Shaw, executive director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic. But conditions have deteriorated since then, Shaw said. 'I've never heard more pessimism from business owners in the Tenderloin than I've heard in recent weeks, because people just feel like there's nothing positive moving forward,' Shaw said. 'There's a feeling that the Tenderloin is being left behind in the San Francisco comeback.' Merchants and residents around 16th and Mission streets share those sentiments since the area has been grappling with an influx of drug users and unpermitted vending. Lurie responded by surging police enforcement and community ambassadors to the area, but progress has been inconsistent. Though the city overall has seen some encouraging signs, plenty of challenges remain. Office vacancies have fallen but are still historically high. Market street has more abandoned storefronts than occupied ones between Fifth and the Embarcadero, a path heavily traveled by tourists. The city's largest mall, the San Francisco Centre at Market and Fifth streets, is mostly empty. BART and Muni ridership is trending upward, but both transit agencies are staring down giant budget shortfalls. City Hall is also expected to face a large deficit next year. Yet for now a majority of voters are happy about where the city is headed — and satisfied that Lurie is in charge. He had a remarkable 73% approval rating in the Chronicle poll, a high mark that University of San Francisco public affairs professor Patrick Murphy said is linked to residents' views of the city in general. The public attitudes about San Francisco and Lurie are likely being shaped just as much by residents' daily experiences as they are by the information they receive from other sources such as media reports, social media posts and commentary from other people, Murphy said. 'Part of it might be a little bit of (personal) experience,' he said. 'A lot more of it has to do with perception.' Another factor in Lurie's favor is that voters clearly grew weary of Breed, who residents blamed for the downturn during the pandemic and its worsening drug crisis. 'If Mother Theresa was in charge during the pandemic in San Francisco, she would have lost that election,' Murphy said. Poll respondent Leslie Carol Roberts of Pacific Heights described feeling 'very optimistic about the city' because of what she feels is its reemerging restaurant and shopping scene, including along Valencia Street, which struggled in recent years. 'People are at brunch. People are in the shops,' said Roberts, who's lived in the city since 1989. 'An indicator of the health of the city is whether you can touch down in any of its neighborhoods and find that it is fluid and active.' San Francisco restaurants seem to be doing better than last summer, said Laurie Thomas, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association. 'Are we raking in money? No. But I do think it's heading in the right financial direction,' Thomas said. 'There is a perception that things are getting better from a safety perspective, which has been our members' No. 1 concern in our poll we do every year.' Lurie has pushed the narrative that San Francisco is bouncing back on his watch. An heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, he has spent heavily to promote the city's public image — and his own — since taking office. By the end of June, his self-funded campaign account paid $350,000 to political advisers and public relations firms who advised him on messaging, according to recent disclosures. Lurie has said his 'entire team shares an unwavering commitment to San Francisco's success.' One of his advisers previously told the Chronicle he was honored to help 'share the story of San Francisco's comeback.' When he signed his first city budget in July, Lurie ticked off a list of bright spots that put the city in a flattering light. 'There's a shift in how people are feeling,' Lurie said. 'More San Franciscans today believe the city is headed in the right direction. More believe their quality of life is improving. This is what we are all working for, and it's why I know our best days aren't just ahead of us — they're starting right now.'
Arabian Business
27-05-2025
- Business
- Arabian Business
Dubai startup positions yerba maté as matcha rival in wellness beverage boom
A Dubai-based media executive has launched a startup targeting yerba maté as the region's next premium wellness beverage, aiming to replicate the global success of matcha tea amid an unprecedented boom in health-conscious consumer spending. Raji Tarabay, a senior manager at Publicis Media Group, founded his company, Yerba, in early 2025 after identifying an untapped opportunity in Dubai's competitive wellness market for the traditional South American drink, which has strong cultural connections to Lebanese and Druze communities. 'We're looking at a market that doesn't have any actionable ground or drive to it,' Tarabay told Arabian Business. 'There's a giant gap in the market with actual yerba maté products that have any branding behind them.' The timing aligns with explosive growth in the global wellness economy, which reached a record $6.3 trillion in 2023, accounting for 6.03 per cent of global GDP according to the Global Wellness Institute. The sector is projected to approach $9.0 trillion by 2028, with food, fitness and mental wellness among the fastest-growing categories. Yerba maté, a caffeinated herbal tea made by steeping dried leaves of the yerba maté plant in hot water, has long been popular in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil. Traditionally consumed from a hollowed gourd through a metal straw called a bombilla, it contains caffeine comparable to coffee but without the jitteriness some experience, due to the presence of theobromine – also found in chocolate. The beverage has remained largely confined to South American expat communities and certain Middle Eastern demographics, primarily Lebanese and Syrian consumers whose cultural connection to maté came via immigrants who settled in South America before returning to the Levant. What began as a side hustle for Tarabay and his business partner Bassel Malaeb has quickly evolved into a structured operation with seven employees. The founders are currently running the business as a direct-to-consumer e-commerce model but plan to expand distribution channels soon. 'We're running the business like a corporation, even though it's a startup,' Tarabay explained. 'It's just incredible to see right now. Yerba can scale to operate with 1,000 sales or 20,000 sales, and it would operate the same exact way.' Market positioning and health benefits The company's business strategy hinges on positioning yerba maté as a premium wellness product with significant health benefits, rather than simply a cultural curiosity. 'People are out there injecting themselves with all of these drugs to suppress their appetite and lose weight,' Tarabay said, referencing the popularity of GLP-1 receptor agonists like Ozempic and Wegovy. 'Something that they don't know about is that yerba maté contains aspects of GLP-1. It also has thermogenic properties, anti-inflammatory properties and reduces bloating.' This wellness-focused positioning mirrors the successful marketing strategy that propelled matcha from a traditional Japanese tea ceremony component to a global wellness phenomenon. Dubai has embraced such trends enthusiastically, with the city now hosting 'matcha raves' – alcohol-free, daytime parties where attendees sip matcha-based beverages while socialising. Yerba's strategy aligns with other successful functional beverages like kombucha, which has seen explosive growth globally over the past few years. The fermented tea beverage market was valued at $1.67 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach $7.05 billion by 2027, driven by consumer interest in gut health and probiotic benefits. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated these wellness trends, with 41.6 per cent of individuals in the Middle East and North Africa reporting increased consumption of fruits and vegetables during the pandemic, while 48.8 per cent reduced fast-food intake, indicating a shift towards healthier eating habits. Wellness tourism, another booming sector growing at 16.6 per cent annually, was valued at $651 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $1.4 trillion by 2027. This reflects a growing consumer desire to integrate health-focused experiences into every aspect of their lives, including travel and social activities. Unexpected market penetration Market research and early sales data have revealed surprising consumer demographics, according to Tarabay. 'We didn't expect a certain audience to be very attentive to our product and brand, which was the local community,' he said. 'We see that the local communities are coming back time and time again.' Perhaps more significant for the business model, Yerba has achieved its early growth without formal marketing campaigns. 'Key influencers are trying out yerba by themselves, through their customer journeys,' he added, indicating that planned influencer marketing initiatives could accelerate growth further. Expansion strategy The company has ambitious plans for scaling operations across multiple dimensions. 'We are heading regional. That is the goal,' Tarabay confirmed. 'In terms of expansion, we're actually going to be growing our product lines very soon. We're doubling down on awareness and access for Yerba, it's going to be more accessible in different aggregators and different marketplaces.' While specific platforms remain undisclosed until partnerships are finalised, this multi-channel approach suggests a shift from pure direct-to-consumer to a more diversified distribution strategy. The company draws inspiration from global market developments, with Tarabay noting that in January 2024, popular neuroscientist and Huberman Lab podcast host Dr. Andrew Huberman partnered with Canadian investment firm Tiny to acquire a majority stake in Mateína, a Canadian yerba maté beverage company. This high-profile partnership coincided with Mateína's U.S. market debut and included the development of a sugar-free, non-smoked yerba maté beverage, potentially signalling growing mainstream interest in the product category. Yerba's market positioning balances authenticity with accessibility, recognising both the South American origins and Middle Eastern adoption of maté. 'Our branding is about honouring tradition, but with a modern twist,' Tarabay explained. 'We do believe that it is a great South American product.' This carefully calibrated approach aims to appeal to wellness-focused consumers seeking authenticity while making the product accessible to those unfamiliar with maté culture. Operational challenges However, building a new product category presents significant challenges, particularly in consumer education and securing reliable supply chains for premium yerba maté. 'Even when we were looking around and trying to find the suppliers, it was quite difficult to even find anyone that does this certain product,' Tarabay revealed, highlighting supply chain development as a critical business function. As Dubai's wellness market continues to mature, with consumers increasingly seeking functional beverages that deliver both health benefits and social cachet, Tarabay believes Yerba appears well-positioned to capitalise on emerging trends in a sector that shows no signs of slowing down. 'We genuinely hope that we're going to be achieving the numbers that we are seeing right now when it comes to matcha and kombucha parties,' said Tarabay, with the quiet confidence of an entrepreneur who has identified a genuine market opportunity. 'It does have a great addition to your health, to your lifestyle, and to the community as a whole.'
