In this exclusive interview, we explore the remarkable journey of Eric Gower, the mastermind behind Breakaway Matcha. From his early days of Zen Buddhism to his extensive sojourn in Japan, Eric's path is as unique as it is inspiring. Dive into the story of how a deep appreciation for Japanese culture and a passion for the culinary arts led to the birth of a premium matcha brand. Unravel the threads of entrepreneurship, commitment to quality, and a philosophy that transcends conventional business norms. Join us as we steep in the insights and experiences of a man who turned his love for matcha into a thriving enterprise.
Eric Gower: Sure, it's quite a broad journey, but let's dive in. My relationship with Zen Buddhism began when I was around 18, and it's been a significant part of my life ever since—I'm on the cusp of 62 now. The desire to communicate with a Japanese Buddhist teacher, whose English was quite limited, propelled me into learning Japanese. This educational pursuit led me to UC Berkeley, where I obtained a degree in modern Japanese literature.
What do you do with such a degree? Well, I ventured to Japan, aiming to stay a year, and it unfolded into an 18-year adventure. During this time, I immersed myself in the local food and beverage culture and even wrote a Japanese cookbook, 'Eric's Kitchen.' Though I hadn’t planned a career in food, my passion led me to write 'The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen' and 'The Breakaway Cook,' which spiraled into a food column for the San Francisco Chronicle.
Back in California, the challenge of finding quality matcha that wasn’t overly sweetened like those 550-calorie lattes at Starbucks led me to source it directly from Japan. Sharing with chef friends sparked a demand that turned into Breakaway Matcha in 2010. It's been a fulfilling 13 years. I love the direct customer interaction and have no interest in rapid scaling or venture capital. I've found happiness in my work-life balance, with a short walk separating my home and office in a beautiful old art deco building, and I believe when you find happiness, you stick with it.
Eric Gower: Yeah, back then I wasn't sure. I knew it was going to be direct to consumers. So I set up a website that anybody could order from and basically I just started writing because that's kind of what I do. I wrote, I don't know, probably 30 or 40 blog posts, not expecting very many people to read it, but Google picks up on this stuff and if you're writing about very specific topics, it tends to be more effective than writing about general topics. So I was writing about artisanal matcha and how it's affected me in really good ways. So, you know, people would find that and read it and check out the site and people would start ordering. At the time I thought that it would be at least partially a wholesale business.
So I did reach out to a couple of restaurants that I thought would appreciate it. And there's so many similarities between wine and matcha. And so my first thought was, wow, the sommeliers would really like this, just the wine geeks, because it gives them one more thing to kind of geek out on. They can taste it and really talk about the terroir of it. With me kind of helping them and leading them, they could have a whole new thing. And that kind of was true. It did work. So we immediately got into all four of the three Michelin star restaurants in California.
Because the tea really is good. We've taken a very different approach than most matcha people. Most matcha vendors are kind of in a race to the bottom. So they themselves aren't really, I think, prepared for tasting some of these higher end matcha because they are expensive, and most people drink it with milk, which kind of ruins it if you're tasting at a higher level. Let's say, as I said before, if you add enough milk and sugar to something, everything tastes good. But if you taste it with water, only a lot of the lower quality matcha really is unpalatable. It's bitter, it's astringent. It has a weird color. It's just not very pleasant.
So I was trying to get away from the whole idea of adding things to it in the same way that if you have a really good wine, you really don't want to make a sangria out of it. You don't want to add oranges and bubbly water or anything to it that isn't just the wine. So that was my whole approach. It is harder to make this kind of matcha because you only use the youngest leaves. So a lot of matcha companies have three harvests per year. We only do one, and we only take the newest growth. And so when you prepare tea with these baby leaves, it tastes a lot different than if you use the more mature leaves. So that was kind of our whole thing.
We didn't want to be the people who offered just the matcha latte type matcha at the lowest price, because if you get into a race to the bottom, you might win, which would be terrible, or you might lose. You probably lose, because there are always people who are willing to do things cheaper than you are or to cut corners or whatever it is just to make your margin. But I just kind of stepped out of that whole game and created kind of a new category, really, that I dubbed hyper premium matcha. It didn't really exist in 2010. It still doesn't exist, actually. There's one guy in New York who kind of does it, but most of it is what I call culinary-grade matcha, which is intended to use other ingredients with it.
Eric Gower: It might seem unconventional, but we haven't relied heavily on traditional marketing tactics. Our approach has been to provide exceptional customer care, which in itself has become our most effective form of marketing. Treating people well, acknowledging their intelligence and sensitivity, that's what resonates. Most of our new customers have experienced Breakaway Matcha through a friend who's shared it with them, and that personal introduction is incredibly powerful.
Occasionally, people discover us through the content I write, like our newsletters, and decide to explore our offerings. We've experimented with ads a few times, more out of curiosity than necessity, but they weren't particularly successful. Our social media presence is modest; we're not constantly active on platforms like Facebook or Instagram, and we don't engage with TikTok at all. Rapid growth has never been our priority.
Our growth rate has been organic and steady, sometimes even reaching up to 100% annually in the early years, driven by the sheer quality of our product and the enthusiasm of our customers, who effectively became brand ambassadors. These 'super fans' would share our matcha with friends, sparking a natural interest and expanding our community.
What is 'enough' is a big question for us. We've been content with a steady 20% growth year over year, even during the pandemic when we saw a surge due to increased online shopping. Post-COVID, we've adjusted to a slower pace, and we're comfortable with that. For us, it's not about relentless expansion but finding that balance where improvement and contentment coexist. That sense of 'enoughness' has been key to our approach.
Eric Gower: Yeah, so 75% of people who buy once buy again. So that's really high. As far as I understand it, for most beverage companies, it's between like five and 15%. It's simple, though. Simplicity isn't simple. It's hard to be simple. But I really think that if you have a great product, which we do, I know we do, and we treat customers well, that's it. That is the solution. If you don't mind reasonable growth at a reasonable rate, and you don't have shareholders to satisfy, you don't have venture capitalists to satisfy who aren't happy with that rate of growth. Right. They want a higher rate of growth.
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Eric Gower: I continue to write and produce content, and we've just brought on a brilliant young photographer and videographer. We plan to add a lot more visual content to the site in the next year. It's something we've needed for a long time because, even though we have a beautiful and very visual product, our site has been quite text-oriented until now. However, we do have good photography on the site. In today’s environment, there's a growing demand for more visual content. But again, it really comes back to the question of what is enough. There are 8 billion people on the planet, and 99.9% of them have never heard of us. And that’s okay. It really is.
Eric Gower: That’s a really good question. Those initial years were tough; I didn’t take a salary, funneling all earnings back into the business. It's all about reinvestment—better packaging, keys, website upgrades, and more. This is expensive, and it took about four to five years before I could pay myself. But I had to push through, knowing it was a long-term investment.
It’s a bit like pushing a train. In the beginning, it’s all uphill, and you’re pushing with all your might. But once you push hard enough and it starts to level, you reach a point where it begins to coast a bit. That’s when the business starts to sustain itself, even just a little, and you can feel the shift.
Being an entrepreneur is demanding. You’ve got to really want it. I was fortunate to have other income from my writing and cooking classes. Living in Marin County, north of San Francisco, isn’t cheap, and I had a new baby daughter at the time. I needed it to work, and thankfully, it did. There's a degree of faith involved, believing you're on the right path.
One of the upsides of not taking venture capital is that I've been able to make decisions without external pressures, focusing on what feels right rather than on immediate profits. That freedom has been crucial in shaping the business and maintaining its integrity.
Eric Gower: Actually, we haven't really had major issues in that area. The business of Japanese tea farming hasn’t changed much over the years. It's quite an old and stable industry, with only minimal technological changes. They're essentially using the same methods they did back in the year 1500.
Our logistics are pretty straightforward. It's a simple phone call to get the tea ground and shipped. When I place an order, say, for ten kilos of this and twenty kilos of that, they immediately start processing it. Once it's ready, it's on a plane and soon arrives at our office. The turnaround time from grinding to our customers enjoying the tea is incredibly fast, about a week. So, we don't really face big inventory challenges.
Of course, we pay attention to our packaging needs. We source UV-proof black violet glass from Germany, which is exceptional for storing matcha. It’s the best method we've found. We keep a close watch on our packaging supplies, including labeling and other necessities.
We also have other products like shaker bottles for our cold brew matcha, and a small electric frothing tool that we've designed and get manufactured in China. We monitor these supplies as well, but overall, the business isn't bogged down by complex logistics, which is something I'm quite pleased about.
Eric Gower: It's been good, we've seen a growth of about 11% this year, which is perfectly fine for us. It's enough.
Looking ahead, we're planning to bring out a lot more visual content. We're also excited about a couple of new products in the pipeline, including something called hojicha. It’s a fantastic product, made from the stems left after harvesting the baby leaves for matcha. These stems are toasted, creating a toasty and delicious, caffeine-free powder. This is great for those who want to enjoy tea at night or can't handle caffeine. We've got the original hojicha right now, and we’re working on an organic version and a reserve version.
We're collaborating with local ceramicists too, to create beautiful pottery for drinking our teas. This is really satisfying for us, and we're looking to add more ceramicists to our lineup. I'm hoping for another year of fun. I thoroughly enjoy what I do, and it’s crucial to like your work. We spend a lot of time and energy on it.
I have an amazing team that I absolutely adore. We’ve made our office a kind of sanctuary, where we’re kind to each other, surrounded by good food and great matcha. We focus on keeping everyone in a good mood, with good music and a nice environment. I'm really happy about that and looking forward to the future.
Eric Gower: Yeah, the key thing is you have to have a lot of love for what you're doing. If you're just picking an industry because it seems to be growing and there’s demand, you're almost bound to fail. You need real skin in the game, not just being a logistical person making deals. If you have love for your product and it solves a need of yours, you’ll be driven daily because you're essentially solving your own problem. This personal connection, having skin in the game, is crucial.
Sure, there are people incredibly talented at making businesses successful without this connection, but they're the exception. For most, especially first-time entrepreneurs, it's vital to show that what you're doing has benefited your own life. If it has helped you, the chances are good it will help others too.
