Uruguay, Montevideo, TEOFILO COLLAZO 2623
Matebom began with an Italian immigrant, Giuseppe Capozzoli, who arrived in Uruguay at 14 and became interested in mate. In his early twenties he was already making silver and gold bombillas; over the years he added mate production, expanded, and founded Matebom. The company is now led by his children, Angela and Arturo. He retired but left a guiding principle: "You cannot give a customer something you know is wrong. What you deliver will be in contact with the person all day." Matebom works with gourds harvested once a year by small producers in Rivera and has a team of 10 people skilled in every step of the process. Some of its mates reached Cristiano Ronaldo, Darwin Núñez and Lucas Torreira, but most are distributed to Uruguayans who value a good mate. Matebom is the first Uruguayan factory of mates and bombillas, and after 50 years it remains a family business.