The co-founder of Babe Beverages, Vinnie Pavan, hosted a pop-up sample station outside of Breaker’s Market, sampling the company’s newly launched flavor to students on Feb. 7. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., students gathered to taste the new flavor: blueberry açaí. Offered in both forms of kombucha and yerba mate, the beverages offer a lower sugar boost of energy for students compared to its competitors.
According to the Babe website, the company started in a small San Diego tasting room in 2007. This is where they perfected their brews and picked the flavors to distribute. Pavan said Babe was inspired by his idea to create a healthier soda.
“My daughter is all about the freaking sodas and I was like, ‘Dude, I want to start a healthy beverage company,’ so I started Babe,” Pavan said.
Pavan’s passion for the brand was obvious as he passed out samples and informed students about his company.
Sadie Ferderer, a third-year biology major, went to the pop-up event and got a chance to speak with Pavan.
“I have always loved Babe kombucha and I rave about it all the time, so when I heard about the buy one get one free sale, I knew I had to go,” Ferderer said. “After talking to him about the drinks, it was so evident he has such a big heart for the company.”
Determined to create a functional and nutritious beverage, Pavan takes a hands-on approach. He described himself as a “company guinea pig” because he takes blood samples frequently to keep track of Babe’s effects on the body. He said he uses himself as a test subject to make sure that Babe’s drinks promote long-lasting energy without any health risks or sugar spikes.
Emma Vaughn, a third-year psychology major, spoke to Pavan during her yerba mate purchase and felt connected to his mission.
“It was so crazy because I literally tell everybody about how low the sugar is in Babe yerbs [yerba mate], so when I was hearing him talk about how he tests his own blood for sugar responses, my mind was blown away,” Vaughn said. “The fact he is willing to do that just to make sure college students like us can have a healthy yerb, makes me want to buy Babe for the rest of my life.”
Pavan said that he had been traveling to 12 campuses that sell Babe Beverages, including the University of California San Diego and the University of California Irvine, to share his heart and mission behind it all.
He said he reaches out to colleges in Southern California that sell his product to organize a visit.
“Young adults that want to substitute their intake of caffeine for a healthy option – that is my mission and target market,” Pavan said. “No more Red Bull, no more Monster, let’s give these people a good option, and so bringing it to colleges just makes sense.”
Guayakí, which is Babe’s top yerba mate competitor brand at PLNU, has an average sugar content of around 27 grams of added sugar per serving. Babe’s yerba mate cuts it down to 14 grams of added sugar per serving.
According to Pavan, all of Babe’s drinks combined have outsold all Guayakí products at many universities. With the flavors strawberry and coconut, pineapple and mint, and yerba POG (passion fruit orange and guava) already becoming popular on campus, the new blueberry açaí flavor brings more flavor diversity to PLNU students.
Babe Beverages’ new blueberry açaí flavor in yerba mate and kombucha can be purchased via student ID or card at Point Break, Bobby B’s Coffee Company or Breaker’s Market.
Tessa Balc