Launched by Alex Freire and Gabriel Rochael, the Xeque Mate Bebidas is a blend of rum, mate, guarana, and lemon offered in 355-centimetre aluminium can. Initially sold in glass bottles, the decision to switch to aluminium cans was traditionally associated with beverage companies using the metal to lower waste creation and also increasing consumption in public areas.
The firm operates out of a 2,000 m2 factory with 90 staff and a 300,000-litre monthly production capacity. The novelty quickly travelled to parties in So Paulo, where it arrived eight months ago and already has 100 points of sale, including street vendor carts in the streets, and Belo Horizonte, which already has 300 points of distribution of the drink pre-carnival.
It was first sold by the partners in glass bottles made at a friend's brewery. Then, after spending R$ 100,000, they set up a 100 m2 facility and purchased the aluminium canning equipment. The two friends started the company in 2016 when they were engineering students at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG).
Recycling aluminium cans results in 95 per cent energy savings over producing the same quantity of metal from scratch. Compared to other package types, aluminium cans have a greater recycling rate and contain more recycled material. Because they are robust, stackable, and lightweight, marketers can package and ship more beverages with less waste.
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