December Yaupon: Dark Roast Yaupon Nitro Cold Brew
- KLS
- 22 hours ago
- 12 min read
For the 248th feature of our "Together Talks" campaign, we collaborated with December Yaupon and Co-Founder, Ian McClusky. Sip December for energy that lifts the creative spirit. Sip extraordinary. REAL Energy for creative spirits. December makes Yaupon Nitro Cold Brew in Austin with premium Regenerative Organic Certified® shade-grown Texas Yaupon.
"Together Talks" feature 248: December Yaupon presented by KLS - Your Trusted Shipping Solutions In The USA
What separates you from your competition? What have been the biggest challenges? Goals for upcoming year + Next phase of the company?
What have you learned since becoming an entrepreneur? What aspect of entrepreneurship do you appreciate the most? Share a decision that you made that was detrimental? What is your why?
Story of how it was created?
I originally heard about yaupon from my mom—like most good things in life.
After years and years of drinking coffee, her doctor encouraged her to cut back and look for alternatives for health reasons. So she started researching different options and eventually discovered yaupon.
At the time—this was around 2017—there were very few yaupon products on the market, and the ones that did exist were extremely expensive.
We both really enjoyed it. We found it satisfying, flavorful, and energizing, but it wasn’t affordable enough to become part of our everyday routine. So we would occasionally buy some, but it remained more of an occasional treat.
Years later, coming out of the COVID pandemic, I started hosting dinner parties with friends focused around supporting local farmers. We were sourcing local produce, local meat, and creating these really community-oriented meals.
At the same time, we wanted to offer guests something to drink beyond just alcohol.
We experimented with coffee from Hawaii and tea from South Carolina, but it was the yaupon that got people genuinely excited. For many guests, it was their first time trying it, and people really connected with both the roasty flavor profile and the health benefits.
That’s when our friends started encouraging us to sell it.
So we began doing local markets, and from there the business snowballed. Eventually, we opened a café in Seattle in 2024.
Then, in 2025, we hit a major pivot point that ultimately brought us to Texas.
Our primary supplier at the time—a farmer in Florida—lost his farm during a divorce, which suddenly forced us to reevaluate the future of the business and our supply chain.
At that point, we had to decide how we wanted to move forward. We realized that if we truly wanted to scale yaupon and make it accessible to as many people as possible, we needed to launch a canned beverage.
That decision connected us with our current suppliers in Texas, and ultimately led us to move to Austin in October 2025 to launch the canned product full time.
What separates you from your competition?
What makes yaupon so special is that it offers the refreshing, cooling feeling people associate with tea while also delivering the rich, satisfying, roasty flavor profile people typically crave from coffee.
It fills a space that, frankly, nothing else has really occupied before.
Yerba mate comes close, which is part of the reason the category has exploded in popularity. In fact, earlier this year, yerba mate became the number one natural-based energy drink category in the country.
People are increasingly gravitating toward beverages that feel both refreshing and satisfying at the same time.
However, one of the biggest complaints consumers have about traditional yerba mate drinks is that they tend to be extremely sweet, either loaded with sugar or packed with artificial sweeteners. That’s often because yerba mate naturally has a very grassy, green flavor profile that companies try to mask for the American palate.
Yaupon is different because it naturally has that smooth, roasted flavor without requiring heavy sweetening.
As of our launch, we are the first dark-roasted yaupon nitro cold brew available in a ready-to-drink format.
That’s why we’re seeing such strong traction and adoption early on. It checks a lot of boxes for what modern consumers are looking for in a natural energy beverage: flavor, functionality, low sweetness, and a more balanced energy experience.
What have been the biggest challenges?
In the early days, one of the biggest challenges was simply education.
We spent a lot of time figuring out how to explain yaupon to people and how to position it in a way that felt accessible. We experimented with different scripts, comparisons, and ways of introducing the product.
Fortunately, the rise of yerba mate over the last few years has dramatically helped consumer awareness around natural caffeinated botanicals. Because people are now more familiar with categories like yerba mate, it’s become much easier to explain what yaupon is and why it matters.
That increased awareness is one of the reasons we felt confident moving into consumer packaged goods and launching a ready-to-drink product.
Now, though, the challenges are different.
Today, the biggest challenge is scaling production while financing growth at the same time.
Because this is still a relatively new category, it can be difficult for outside investors or banks to accurately estimate the market opportunity. We have our own forecasts and research, but investors still have to trust those projections to some degree.
In order to scale from small-batch production into true national distribution, we need the right financial partners behind us.
That’s why we’re currently meeting with investors—particularly Austin-based investors who understand the beverage industry and can appreciate the long-term potential of creating an entirely new category.
We already have several meetings scheduled in June, and we’re really looking for the right strategic partner: someone who genuinely wants to help build and shape this category alongside us.
Goals for upcoming year + Next phase of the company?
Over the next 12 months, our roadmap is very clear.
This summer is entirely focused on our Austin launch campaign. We’ll be doing public events, activations, retail outreach, and expanding into as many Austin-area retail stores as possible.
Right now, we’re staying hyper-focused on Austin first.
Then, in the fall, we’ll launch our first shelf-stable product. Our current canned beverage still requires refrigeration, but the new shelf-stable product will allow us to expand into direct-to-consumer sales and distribute outside of a regional hub much more efficiently.
The timing is intentional because we want that product available ahead of the holiday season so we can drive e-commerce sales online.
Then, by early next year, the goal is to begin national distribution for both the canned beverage and the shelf-stable product.
Ideally, by this time next year, we want to be operating at a national distribution level.
Beyond that, the bigger strategic question becomes whether we pursue vertical integration—controlling everything from harvesting and production through retail—or whether we pursue an acquisition or equity partnership that would allow us to scale much more rapidly.
We also see strong export potential internationally based on the research we’ve done so far.
A lot of those decisions will ultimately depend on broader macroeconomic conditions over the next 12 to 24 months, including inflation, interest rates, and the overall investment environment.
There’s still a lot of uncertainty in the market right now, so we’re paying very close attention to those larger economic factors as we plan our next phase of growth.
What were your concerns to transition to starting your own business?
I originally enrolled in a highly ranked business school, but after my first quarter I switched majors and moved into environmental science instead. I ended up earning my bachelor’s degree in environmental science and went directly into renewable energy around 2015, which was an incredibly fast-growing industry at the time.
I started in solar energy storage and gradually moved deeper into the technology itself.
Over time, I went from systems engineering and design into power electronics, then battery technology, and eventually into advanced nanomaterials for lithium-ion batteries.
In my most recent corporate role before this business, I joined a startup as one of the first non-technical employees—around employee number 12 or 13.
At the time, the company had raised roughly $5 million. By the time I left in 2024 as Head of Product, we had scaled to roughly 400 employees and raised over a billion dollars to commercialize what became the leading silicon anode material for lithium-ion batteries.
Alongside that career, I always had side projects—most of them related to food, beverages, or agriculture.
I worked on hydroponic farming concepts in California. I ran an event company in San Francisco focused on dinners and music events. Even in college, my student job involved organizing tastings, talks, and panels for the Food and Agribusiness Institute at the business school.
So this interest in food and beverage has really been a consistent thread throughout my life.
As of April, this is the first time I’ve worked for myself full time.
Part of what pushed me toward this transition was that, after spending a decade in renewables, I felt I had already contributed meaningfully to that industry. At the same time, the sector had become increasingly volatile and unpredictable.
The other major factor was recognizing that we’re living through a moment of enormous economic and cultural change. Despite all the risks, there’s also tremendous opportunity right now.
We had been waiting for the right moment to fully commit to this idea, and we genuinely felt that this was it.
Now, ultimately, it comes down to execution.
What have you learned since becoming an entrepreneur?
Some of my summer jobs during college involved sales, and honestly, becoming a founder has reminded me how much entrepreneurship is fundamentally about communication and sales.
As a founder—especially on the CEO side of the equation—most of what I do every day is sales in one form or another.
Yes, there are backend operations and logistics, but the real work is consistently communicating the mission, the product, and the story clearly to people.
Whether I’m offering someone a simple product sample or pitching an investor, my goal is never to force a “yes.”
My goal is simply to communicate authentically and clearly what we’re building and why it matters.
I trust that if the product and story are strong enough, they’ll naturally resonate with the right people.
That mindset has been really important for preventing burnout as well. It keeps me focused on clarity and connection rather than constantly chasing validation.
A lot of the operational and product-management skills I use today came from my previous career in product leadership. Product managers are essentially entrepreneurs inside organizations—you’re forecasting, coordinating teams, communicating vision, managing priorities, and constantly advocating for resources.
That background has been extremely valuable.
One area where I’m still actively growing, though, is finance and accounting—especially within consumer packaged goods.
Cash flow management is absolutely critical in CPG, and it’s one of the biggest reasons strong brands with great products still fail. Overlooked costs, weak cash flow planning, or operational inefficiencies can destroy an otherwise excellent company.
That’s something I now pay extremely close attention to every single day.
What aspect of entrepreneurship do you appreciate the most?
For me, there are really two major things I appreciate most.
The first is finding people who genuinely connect with the mission and story behind what we’re building.
Because yaupon is still relatively niche, the number of people who deeply understand and resonate with the vision is smaller than it would be for a more established category. When we post job openings, we might receive hundreds of applications, but only a handful of people truly connect with the deeper mission behind the brand.
Building relationships with those people has been incredibly rewarding.
Whether it’s our designer, photographer, social media manager, or my business partner, there’s a real sense of shared purpose and creativity behind the company.
The second thing I love is the product development itself.
I genuinely enjoy working with herbs, flavors, and beverage formulation. That creative process is one of the reasons I got into this business in the first place.
Interestingly, when we decided to launch the canned beverage, a lot of industry experts advised us to work with outside flavor houses and formulation consultants.
We tried that—and honestly, it was largely a waste of time and money.
At the end of the day, we realized that because we deeply understood the core ingredient and the flavor profile we wanted to achieve, our own internal recipe development process produced much better results.
That experience taught me an important lesson about entrepreneurship: there’s a balance between seeking outside expertise and trusting your own instincts.
My biggest advice to founders is this: don’t outsource the part of the business you are most passionate about.
Share a decision that you made that was detrimental?
One of the biggest challenges we faced wasn’t necessarily anyone’s fault, but I do think I could have prepared better.
Ironically, supply chain management was a huge part of my previous corporate career, so in hindsight I probably should have known better.
When we first began working with yaupon in Seattle, we partnered closely with a single farmer in Florida. Together, we developed a highly specialized roasting and grinding process that became central to our café experience.
Then, unexpectedly, that farm shut down.
Because our process was so specialized, we weren’t in a position to quickly replace that supplier with another farm. Training and developing a new production partner would have taken months.
That left us with two choices: either abandon our signature product entirely and transition into a more standard café model, or pivot the company toward a more scalable packaged beverage format.
In many ways, I’m grateful the situation forced us to evolve because it pushed us toward where we are today.
But if I had built stronger contingency planning and supplier diversification earlier, the transition would have been much smoother.
Now, we’ve completely changed our approach. We work with multiple suppliers, formalized supply agreements, and structured our operations to ensure we never face that level of vulnerability again.
What is your why?
At its core, this business became much more than a weekend dinner-party project because my partner and I saw firsthand how positively yaupon impacted the people around us.
Especially in places like Seattle, where coffee culture is so deeply ingrained, many people struggle with the side effects of their daily caffeine routines but feel like they don’t have satisfying alternatives.
We’ve had countless friends, customers, and family members tell us how much yaupon has improved their routines and overall well-being.
Some people connect with it because of digestive or gut-health benefits. Others appreciate the smoother energy experience or reduced anxiety compared to coffee.
The specifics vary from person to person, but the common thread is that we’ve watched people we genuinely care about benefit from this product.
That’s what keeps me motivated.
At the end of the day, if something we’re building meaningfully improves the quality of life for people we care about, then all the work, stress, and effort becomes worth it.
Do you have a moment that brings you the most joy?
There are really two moments that stand out to me.
The first was our very first formal yaupon tasting with friends and family.
We created a menu, served different preparations, and introduced people to the product in a thoughtful way. Seeing people become genuinely excited and supportive during that experience is still something I draw motivation from today.
The second major moment was the day we launched our canned beverages in stores.
Seeing those very first purchase orders come through was incredibly meaningful.
At that point, we had successfully found a production partner, registered the business, convinced retailers to carry a product they had never even heard of before, and finally watched customers begin buying it off shelves.
Seeing those first cans actually moving was an incredibly exciting moment.
Of course, in the grand scheme of things, it’s still just the very beginning of the journey—but it felt like an important milestone and validation of everything we had worked toward.
Who are we for?
When we think about the broader energy-drink market—including coffee, tea, and traditional energy drinks—most brands tend to fall into a few predictable categories.
Some focus heavily on performance optimization and productivity. Others lean into exclusivity and luxury aesthetics. Then there are brands centered entirely around party culture or entertainment.
What we realized is that very few brands are speaking directly to creative people.
There’s an entire emerging generation of solopreneurs, creators, artists, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and independent thinkers building lives around creativity and self-expression.
That’s who we’re building for.
We’re not selling this product as something that changes who you are or “optimizes” you into becoming someone else. We see yaupon as a companion for people who want to create, express themselves, and think differently.
That philosophy also shapes how we approach partnerships, distribution, and community-building.
We’re intentionally looking to work with communities and subcultures that are often overlooked or underrepresented—groups that don’t typically receive major sponsorships or corporate attention.
We want to support people who are authentically building and expressing themselves, because that’s what yaupon represents to us as well.
Piece of Advice
One thing I’ve learned is that moments where people ask for guidance or mentorship are often incredibly valuable learning experiences in return.
Some of my biggest realizations have actually happened while I was trying to help someone else.
I’ve had students from my university reach out asking for advice about careers in renewable energy or entrepreneurship, and during those conversations, I’ve often found myself gaining unexpected clarity about my own career and business decisions.
Teaching forces you to articulate what you truly believe and understand.
Because of that, I’ve learned to stay open to those conversations and to recognize that mentorship and learning always flow both ways.
Those moments continue to inspire me, keep me motivated, and remind me why building community matters so much.
Community Callout
CatSpring Yaupon - Abianne Falla She’s an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation and has been working with yaupon for nearly 15 years. She was instrumental in helping achieve regenerative organic certification for the category, which is an enormous accomplishment.
She’s been advocating for yaupon long before most people even knew what it was, and she has an incredible depth of knowledge about the plant, its history, and its cultural significance.
Any chance I get to shout her out, I do.
In Closing
KLS wants to thank December Yaupon and Co-Founder, Ian McClusky., for today's "Together Talks" feature. Follow along for their journey with their social handles below!