• Cultural Adaptation: Juliana Montagner's fusion of Oriental tea production techniques with South American mate tradition demonstrates how innovation can respect and revitalize cultural traditions, creating products that gain recognition beyond geographical and cultural borders.

• Branding and Brand Identity: Juliana's creation of the Monjulli brand exemplifies the power of branding and brand identity in business development. The brand blends diverse cultural influences, strengthening its identity and market perception.

• Design Definition by Juliana Montagner: Juliana defines design as a process that transforms an idea into a tangible product or service. She emphasizes art as the ultimate expression of beauty and functionality, seeing design as a divine manifestation of art.

• Territorial Appreciation and Geographical Indication: Juliana emphasized the importance of territorial appreciation in mate production, referring to the geographical indication process. Inspired by European practices like the origin designation of Porto wine, this process helps preserve and promote the unique quality and characteristics of mate produced in Ilópolis and Vale do Taquari.

• Impact on Local Agriculture and Sustainability: She also stressed the positive impact of her practices on local agriculture, highlighting the importance of giving young people a perspective of permanence in the field with a higher added value to production. Valuing local producers and pursuing sustainable practices are fundamental in her work.

Dreamers and doers, welcome to Podbrand, a podcast about design, strategy, and innovation.

I'm Maurício Medeiros, a mentor, creative consultant in strategic design, and the author of the book "Árvore da Marca: Simplificando o Branding" ("The Brand Tree: Simplifying Branding").

In this episode, we'll delve into the fascinating universe of yerba mate tea and explore how this strategic innovation can rejuvenate a traditional sector.

We'll understand how tradition can coexist with innovation to create products that not only respect their cultural roots but also stimulate the global palate's interest.

Today, we'll talk with Juliana Montagner, an entrepreneur whose story is a testament to the pursuit of knowledge and cultural adaptation, with academic training in Brazil and Italy and international experience.

Juliana has transformed traditional yerba mate into award-winning products that now engage with the global tea market.

Juliana, you're very welcome here.

Good morning, Maurício, how are you?

Thank you very much for being here with me in front of such a select audience.

Juliana, I'm the one who's grateful for accepting the invitation.

Thank you for being here and sharing your experience and knowledge.

Surely, people will leave this episode as a better version of themselves.

Moving onto the topic, in the business environment, innovation is often fueled by adapting traditional methods to new contexts.

In the case of yerba mate tea, the fusion of ancient tea production practices from the East with the rich South American yerba mate tradition can result in a product that transcends physical and cultural boundaries.

So, I ask you, could you explain how you integrated ancient Eastern tea production techniques into the development of your yerba mate teas and which aspects of these techniques are most valuable for creating an unexpected flavor in your product?

Well, Maurício, it all started when I lived in Italy.

I had been there since 2006 to study for an MBA in management, but I always sought to understand the world of tea.

I already had this background in yerba mate, right, since my birth.

I was born in the city of yerba mate, right, which is Ilópolis, carrying in its name Ilex and Polis, where Ilex is the scientific name of yerba mate, Ilex paraguariensis.

So, when I started studying tea, I joined a school of sommeliers in Italy and later visited plantations in the East, participating in harvesting and tea production.

What really impressed me was the method of harvest.

When I got there, when I started studying the plant physiology of Camellia sinensis, I began to observe similarities with Ilex.

But there, I saw something that really blew my mind, when I saw them harvesting, because they harvest Camellia sinensis when it's just a few days old, only the young shoot, right, the young part of the plant that's 10, 15, 20 days old.

In traditional chimarrão yerba mate, we wait at least 24 months to harvest, 24 to 36 months.

So that was a watershed moment for me.

I thought, how can one culture harvest their plant in 15, 20 days and another waits 24 months?

Then I thought, wow, would it be possible to harvest the shoots of Ilex, adapt it to an ancient process and obtain a product?

From there, my brain started working overtime, and I began the quest for knowledge, the quest for adaptation, right, talking and consulting with tea experts, combined with what I observed in technical visits, right, in the East and even here in Brazil, in regions with Japanese communities, so I started perfecting and adapting a product to see if it was possible in the first place, because everything was a question, is it possible or not?

So until I understood that it was possible, there were years of product development, improvement, it was born one product, obviously not as it is today, it underwent improvements, I myself participated in the construction of the machinery to have the product I have today, right, so I had to get involved in the field, in planting and harvesting and management, something that's not my area, right, agronomy, so I had to delve into agronomy.

Diving into the mechanics of the machinery, which is also not my area, I really began to see interesting results, and to bring, as you mentioned, the aspect of flavor, because I really wanted a flavor that was, I won't say similar to tea, but very adaptable to the way of drinking it, which is how it's done in the East, and all around the world, in a cup or in those typical small cups of the Orientals. And here I'm going to take the opportunity to serve a cup of our award-winning green mate, live from Paris. So, to sum up for you, that's it.

Is it considered a green tea?

No, it's considered a yerba mate infusion, because tea, tea is Camellia sinensis, right? In Brazil, we can use the term tea, yerba mate tea, Anvisa allows it, but it's considered an infusion. So much so that in this award in Paris that I participated in, it's from the infusion category and the yerba mate segment, right? So that's how it's considered.

Teas, as far as I know, between black and green, it's the degree of oxidation of the tea that determines the intensity of flavor and texture, isn't it?

Talking about Camellia sinensis tea, it has many colors, right? We talk about green tea, black tea, white tea, yellow tea, red tea, and within Camellia sinensis tea we have fermented and non-fermented ones.

So green tea is a non-fermented, non-oxidized tea, and black tea goes through an oxidation process. Green tea undergoes a steam bath that exactly blocks the oxidation, the oxidative enzymes, and black tea is stimulated to undergo oxidation, which changes the color, flavor, and body of the product. So really, the process part was something I had to study and perfect a lot to deliver a tea with a greener coloration, a darker coloration, which is the typical characteristic of green and black teas, of Camellia. So I needed that reference to reach the best version of what I call green mate and black mate, right? To deliver to people, it's always a yerba mate flavor with the nuances of tea. I say it's the alliance between South American culture, right, through all the indigenous legacy we received, and adapted to a millenary culture of the East, which is super consolidated and which I have a lot of respect for, because it's a culture, it's very beautiful to see how they treat tea as a ceremony, right, as a ritual.

Certainly, tea is a global drink with a rich and diverse heritage, markets like China, Japan, and England have a long history and cultures deeply rooted in tea consumption.

The entry of a new competitor, like yerba mate, into these traditional markets presents an intriguing opportunity for cultural crossover, considering yerba mate's origin in the south of South America.

Considering the historical and cultural attachment to tea in these countries, what is your vision on the potential for acceptance and growth of yerba mate in these markets?

I always see it as complementary. Healthy beverages are gaining a lot of space, and this is also true, for example, for rooibos, an African tea without caffeine, which has gained considerable space in teas.

So, I see that there's always room when it comes to a plant with health benefits.

I don't see it as competition, I see it as something that adds a new possibility, a new flavor for a palate, for an audience that will be interested mainly in the beneficial properties, which today yerba mate is already scientifically studied and consolidated as a powerful antioxidant, it's rich in vitamins and minerals, yerba mate already has more than 140 active principles studied and consolidated.

So, bringing this to the population is bringing nutrition, bringing health.

So, I don't see it as competition, because it's a market segment that will certainly come to complement the range of natural beverages and bring more health to the population.

The flavor profile is a critical component in differentiating any beverage in the market.

Yerba mate has a unique profile, which can be a new territory for palates accustomed to Oriental teas or special coffees from the West.

How do you characterize the flavor profile of yerba mate tea compared to traditional teas and distinct special coffees, and how might this influence consumer acceptance of these enjoyable beverage options, as we call them?

Its flavor, Maurício, is quite peculiar, because it has the notes, I've had feedback from customers who are used to drinking green tea and didn't notice they were drinking yerba mate.

And there are people with a palate who say, no, this is yerba mate, I feel the yerba mate notes, in the background.

But really, it's something so new, so innovative, that sometimes the person's brain doesn't know which way to go, you know?

And regarding coffee, this issue you brought up about special coffees, people sometimes have their coffee moment of the day and their tea moment of the day.

So, they will have a new reference when it comes to tea or an infusion and must be very aware of its impact on health.

I really like to observe when I try a new product, to observe myself, what my body is saying when I drink that product, right? To be attentive to the properties, like, "this gave me more energy, this gave me a sense of relaxation."

Ah, it was diuretic, it had a diuretic action, so we have to be attentive to the signs.

So, I think the invitation, beyond the palate, is the perception of this on our health, this applies to any beverage, not just this tea, obviously, right?

But I think it has, and it really captures this identity of the special coffees you mentioned.

The Brazilian coffee market has grown a lot in recent years, the special coffees.

We had Colombia, we have Colombia, for example, that worked on this before Brazil and gained a considerable market share abroad for quality.

So becoming a special coffee, speaking of Brazilian products, and becoming a special yerba mate, I believe, can bring a valuation of the territory.

And this is another link I would like to make because today, for example, yerba mate of chimarrão, besides having a cultural drink limitation, right, the preparation in the gourd, the traditional method, ends up somewhat limiting global consumption.

And similarly, a value limitation, for example, I pay 60 times the kilo of the shoot compared to the kilo of the chimarrão leaf.

So, it's a valuation of the local producer.

Ilópolis is one, and our region of the Vale do Taquari, is characterized by family agriculture.

So there are many young people in rural properties.

So how important is it for me to give a perspective of staying in the field for these young people with a higher added value, right, and even with a more accessible harvesting method, right, it's a lighter harvest than the chimarrão yerba mate.

So, there's an entire economic impact at the regional level, right, and we are also seeking a geographical indication.

I was president of the Yerba Mate Producers Association from 2012 to 2016, where I initiated this process of geographical indication, which would be the denomination of origin, the DO, and indication of provenance, right, the IP, based on what is done in Europe, there the Porto wine was the first geographical indication the world had, right, we always mirror ourselves in what the world does best.

So the valuation of the territory, to say that this region has an altitude, a soil, climate, or terroir suitable to produce yerba mate.

So much so that Ilópolis already carries ILEX in its name.

So, this valuation of the territory of the producer and an economic perspective of valuation, this really made me understand a very large purpose of the project, right, a delivery to society.

This really made a lot of difference for me not to give up, because it's a 15-year study project, a challenging project, right, today there is already a patent for this product, because it was so innovative and it needed to be protected so that our region remained as the owner of this idea, so I had to worry about that too.

Today there is a patent in Brazil, the United States, and Argentina.

So it's a massive job, right, 15 years of dedication and hard work on an idea I wasn't sure would work, but when these consolidations started to happen, it gave me a lot of hope that I was on the right path.

The teas with this technique you applied, based on the yerba mate plant, are they sold in sachets or loose to make a denser infusion?

They are sold in both ways, I sell it in bulk and in this sachet that I chose to make in a pyramidal shape, I don't know if you can see here, it's made of fabric, here's a green mate, it's because the fabric in a pyramid shape, first because it fits more product, double the product, two grams instead of one gram which is the conventional sachet and above all the transparency of the fabric, because it allows the customer to see the product they are consuming, the traditional sachet is more opaque, so sometimes you look there and don't see clearly what you're consuming, a chamomile tea, you don't see a flower, here in Brazil, maybe it's a bit better, but here in Brazil we don't see a whole chamomile flower in a sachet, so this delivery in fabric, in a pyramid, I can show my customer and so will be the entire Monjolie line, the ones that are already packaged, for there to be this transparency, saying customer you are seeing what you are consuming.

Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and Paraná, which are states with a great mix of gaucho culture, then we have Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay too, but Paraguay I think is dedicated to drinking it as cold mate, which is tererê, isn't it?

These countries or regions I mentioned have a very similar cultural origin, with the Spanish as the forerunners of a distant immigration, where the indigenous people were present in these regions, and how this culture, which brought yerba mate tea to chimarrão and made it a ritual, became a popular product, especially in these regions, and what is the origin of chimarrão?

So it all starts with the indigenous people, as we talked about, we owe all the ancestry of mate to the indigenous people, who first discovered the plant, and it wasn't yet an infusion as we see today in the Porongo, initially the leaders, the shamans and chiefs chewed the leaf, always in this region of occurrence that you mentioned, in South America, which is the south of Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and it also reaches, it's the south of Brazil up to Mato Grosso do Sul there, and there are also records of yerba mate leaves that were buried in Chile, because they buried people with herbs, with belongings of the person, so there are also records in Chile.

So the Guarani and Kaingang Indians, mainly speaking of Rio Grande do Sul, they chewed the leaf, then they transformed it into an infusion, with the arrival of the Jesuits who evangelized these indigenous people, they first tried to extract the habit from them, to take the habit away because they thought it was a distraction, but they also observed that the Indians who drank chimarrão were the tribes that were healthier, that had fewer illnesses, and then they began to observe that it was something good.

And they began to perceive a commercial value, so much so that the exportation to Europe began, the so-called Green Gold Era, then the diffusion of the product at the European level started, and then the industries, anyway, there's the whole history of the mate route, Paraná as an icon in exportation, anyway, and today it's our drink, chimarrão, so let's say that from that whole period until the present moment it would have always been in the format of the gourd, let's say, but the origin of everything we owe to the indigenous people, they taught us the value of yerba mate, the beneficial properties it has, and all this ritualistic issue, what's behind the gourd, is preparing the ritual, it can be a chimarrão shared in family, with friends, it can be that chimarrão drunk alone, in a moment of reflection, in a moment of prayer, each person has their relationship, their identity with mate or with chimarrão, but it's a drink that goes beyond a simple infusion, for sure there is a whole mystique that surrounds the issue of mate.

A curiosity that all the people I know abroad and whom I introduce chimarrão to are amazed at the fact that we use a gourd, a bombilla and share the use with several people, how can people feel safe sharing a drink where the bombilla, which would be a straw from a soft drink, for example, shared with others, how does this ensure a certain cleanliness and protection.

Well, first of all, we usually share with people in our circle, people we know are healthy, who are well, for example, in Italy, when I did a fair, the couple told me, no, but I'm not going to share with my husband, she said, right, I said, but how come, a bit I believe it's a prejudice, a taboo, something like that, how can you not share with your own husband, right, but the idea is of the individual, so much so that in Uruguay, for example, people have their own gourd, so really it's something much more psychological, of mentality, of acceptance, right, of sharing, than of, it's more along those lines, in my understanding, right, and of course, trying to share with people we know, we are familiar with, right, the very fact that it has a high temperature, right, of metal, for example, for colds, some studies say that maybe it would not transmit due to the temperature that the bombilla, that the bombilla reaches, right, but this, I believe, is an individual choice and that we have to respect, if the person wants to have their own gourd, it's better to respect, right, these are issues, especially as you said, for people who have never seen this, it impacts a lot, right, so I think the choice of each one has to be respected, right, and it's our habit, but sharing among family and friends is something that brings us very close in the culture of southern Brazil, right, so having that moment for conversation, for dialogue, right, there are classic sayings, right, mate brings people together, unlike television or cell phone, right, where people are individually in their world, chimarrão has the purpose of congregating, right, and this is something that really makes a difference, pulling for a dialogue, eye to eye, a conviviality, so it has this side that is very positive, but always respecting, right, the choice of each one.

A curiosity, on one of my trips from Brazil to Asia, I made a connection in Istanbul, Turkey, and when I arrived in Asia, I realized that my suitcase had been opened and inspected, and I also observed that the three packages of yerba mate that I bought in Brazil with vacuum packaging, which are tablets, right, are compact blocks, they were perforated and tested to see if they were not drugs, because the format in a scanner is exactly the format of a block of a drug, cocaine, something like that, so after that trip, I downloaded a photo of the Pope drinking chimarrão and for any incident that may occur I say, look, this is the drink that the Pope savors, so I don't run the risk of it being interpreted as something illegal, but in fact it's a surprise for people.

Perfect your solution, let's say, because today we have big names of famous people, followers of mate, who literally save us, because I also when I lived in Italy, I took several kilos in my suitcase, and for you to have an idea, I went to the Ministry of Agriculture to get an authorization in English, a declaration that it was a typical Brazilian vegetable product, a drink, an infusion, always with that fear of being stopped, right, and being without chimarrão, which for me was something impossible.

Now we have today, besides Pope Francis, we have Gisele Bündchen, who is a great influencer also in this health part, right, who openly declares her consumption of chimarrão, we have soccer players, including, a lot, the German national team has many players who drink chimarrão, the successful Argentine national team, the last two, right, both with the habit of chimarrão behind the scenes, in pre-training, pre-game, because it is a energy drink, right, it gives us strength, which still links back to the indigenous people, right, this strength before going to war, before going into combat, before going into a dispute, how important it is to have a drink that brings us energy, vitamins, that is complete, right, and gives us that boost to face, or then early in the morning, as is my case, start with a good chimarrão and have energy for the whole day, so it's really cool and today we can use these resources, it's fantastic to see the whole world with an ever-increasing consumption of this incredible drink.

Yerba mate, chimarrão, contains caffeine, and if so, what is the proportion compared to coffee?

So, Maurício, yerba mate has caffeine, just like green tea has caffeine, we give different names, right, mateine, theine, or caffeine, but they are always the same substance.

What's the difference between coffee, yerba mate, and green tea?

Ilex and Camellia sinensis, they have polyphenols, antioxidants, this information, actually, I'm going to pass on to you, also chemistry is not my area, but I also had to study, I informed myself with a chemical engineer, I talked to him in Italy, he was the chemical engineer of the world of teas, who studied all the phytochemicals to be able to pass in the sommelier courses, so this information I'm passing to you is not mine, right, it's something I received.

So, these flavonoids that are present in yerba mate and green tea, they cause a slow release of caffeine, coffee creates a graph that peaks in caffeine release, which is why some people drink coffee and have a heart attack, right, so taking chimarrão and green tea the release will be a longer and lower curve, a slow release, so this is super important information because caffeine has this benefit of giving us energy, but with a more gradual release which is easier for the body to absorb, let's say.

The tasting of drinks, it's not just about the taste, it also involves all the senses, creating a complete experience, let's say, and that can vary widely between different drinks.

How do yerba mate tea and specialty coffee compare in the tasting process, you have training as a tea sommelier and this is not so usual, at least not so well-known, right, I would say that the wine sommelier is perhaps the most projected, right, in the common sense, so how does the tasting process work and how do you compare this experience between tea and coffee?

Well, you really need to study, right, and have a lot of practice, any sommelier of wine, olive oil, coffee, tea, all require a lot of practice, there's the theoretical side, right, and there's practice.

For example, in the world of tea, when I did this course, which was preparatory to be a tea sommelier, or tea trader, or tea taster, the basis of it was the same, right, then you chose which path you wanted to follow, there are professionals who evaluate the product you're buying, right, I didn't know about this figure, right, but it's very interesting, there are teas, for example, that reach up to 50,000 reais per kilo, so I as a retailer am buying this tea, but am I going to receive this tea?

So I hire the figure of the tea trader, the tea taster, to see, to give me the guarantee of what I'm buying and paying exactly what I wanted to buy and pay.

So, like, the most interesting thing for me, that caught my attention, is the sense of smell, because we are always associating the sommelier with taste, when in fact the tasting starts first with the sense of smell, so much so that we make the preparation and before drinking, we will smell the aroma of that leaf, the infusion of the leaf, I will smell its aroma and then I will taste it.

Why do we do this?

Because the sense of smell is the first to awaken the palate, it's like when we get home for lunchtime and smell the food in the air, you say, wow, what a wonderful smell and the taste buds start to be activated at that moment, right, so it's very interesting this aroma, right, this perception of the aroma.

And bringing it to the world of coffee, I believe it's the same thing in this same way, right, where you will notice the notes of the roasting, all this will present itself first, to then on the palate you detect which region of the tongue is being more activated at that moment, right, beginning, middle, and end.

And after you consumed, what they call aftertaste, right, in Italian I don't remember, in Portuguese how it's said, but it's the residual flavor, residual flavor, that's the word, it's what remains after you drank, so much so that we were encouraged to take a sip of water after tasting each tea, because the sweetness that remains after the tasting, if you drink water, this sweetness is an explosion in your mouth of sweet flavor.

And then there's a lot of comparison with chimarrão, the sweet bitterness of mate.

You know, in the past, this is something my father always tells me, the price of a arroba of yerba mate was paid by the flavor.

The sweeter it remained in the residual flavor, the higher was the value paid for the mate.

So, it's incredible, if you take a sip of chimarrão, or a sip of Camellia tea, or yerba mate tea, and then put a little sip of water in your mouth afterward, you will be surprised by the sweetness, the sweet explosion that will occur.

And these are the natural sugars, obviously, present in the leaf, right, so the experience is very rich, yes, it's very, very cool how much you notice the quality of the product and the coffee, for sure is like that, I believe you are also an expert in coffee, how you can sense these notes, almonds, and start to notice.

But all this, confirm for me, Maurício, but it's practice, right, you have to try several, detect your favorites, and learn to observe, to educate your palate to feel all these presences that a drink can provide you.

Certainly.

And it's interesting, I had an episode that was with an expert in coffees, and who has a special coffee, also with a different perspective, because she exports the roasted coffee, already roasted, and different from most coffees that are sold in sacks to be then roasted on site, right, due to the fact that it's recommended to be consumed shortly after roasting.

And she argues from her experience and studies that there's no need to consume it immediately right after roasting.

So, also, this experience is unusual, right, I would say that today we are closing this cycle between coffee and tea.

You mentioned some nutritional benefits, such as flavonoids, antioxidants.

How do you assess the nutritional values and health benefits, comparing yerba mate tea with classic teas, like green tea, for example?

This is a study that I am, like, super anxious about because it's in the oven, let's say.

All the studies that I told you about the basis of yerba mate are about yerba mate of chimarrão, because all scientific research today is based on yerba mate leaves processed with two years of plantation life.

So, that is a study already consolidated.

The study done with the young leaves, with the young leaves of yerba mate, is underway, because it may have more active principles, fewer active principles.

I am still waiting for that, I already have a research in progress.

I believe that in six to eight months we will have a result.

I have in Brazil, along with SENAI's innovation project, precisely this comparison.

Yerba mate sprouts, Camellia sprouts, consolidated green tea and yerba mate.

So, we will have a study of the three modalities to say where the yerba mate tea sprouts fit in this universe already known of Camellia sinensis and yerba mate with two years of harvest, right.

And there is also a study at the University of Turin, which was a partnership I made, a student came here to do this research too.

So, there are two studies underway so that soon we will have all, I will update you with all the information.

Excellent.

Has Embrapa provided technical, scientific support for your initiatives, especially the innovation, using yerba mate with the oriental tea technique?

Yes, Embrapa has a very interesting study, also based on yerba mate sprouts.

I'm talking about plantations, right.

Embrapa works from the field.

So, they have the study of the dense planting system, which is how it's done in the East, right, dense, because the proximity of planting of the plants is much smaller than in the conventional chimarrão system.

So, they already have a doctoral thesis in progress also about yerba mate planting in the dense system.

I discovered this recently, last year actually, but I already had a dense planting since 2015 in my plantations.

I did it in a more empirical way, without a scientific basis, right, just with the consultation from the East that I received, right.

So, there's a lot of novelty in the field coming up to provide support for the farmer, to enable them to plant with more confidence, right, and with a short-term economic return as well.

As a scholar of brands and the branding process, I became very curious, or at least it sparked a great curiosity in me.

The identity of a brand is often a reflection of the journey and the cultural influences behind a product.

In the case of the tea, Monjulli, we have a beverage that is, by nature, deeply rooted in Oriental tradition, with countries like China, Japan, and India being the historic producers of this culture.

However, yerba mate brings with it the spirit of the Gaucho culture, an essence of the south of South America, particularly from Argentina, Uruguay, and Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil.

Juliana Montagner, in turn, infuses this scenario with her Italian heritage.

The choice of the name Monjulli adds an additional layer of complexity, alluding to a French influence which, at first glance, may seem a curious choice for a product so diverse in its cultural origins.

Where did the name Monjulli come from to define the brand expression of your new product?

So, Maurício, Monjulli was born from the combination of my name and surname, Mon from Montagner and Julli from Juliana.

So, Montagner is of Venetian origin, my great-grandparents left Italy in 1886, arrived in Brazil, and immediately started working with yerba mate, which obviously had many native plants present there in Ilópolis and the region.

So, they started with the artisanal system, the old carijo, barbacoá, and that's how they produced yerba mate.

They didn't have their own brand, they sold the semi-finished product to other companies.

Then my father founded the company and I was six years old when the company started, so I actively participated, helped in the company as I could at that time, but I spent my entire childhood between the plantations and the budding industry.

So, I wanted, let's say, to put in the name of the brand, the brand Monjulli, a dedication to that legacy, the ancestry.

I owe everything I have to this origin.

My great-grandparents crossed an ocean, they went through immense, colossal difficulties, they left the homeland they loved, not by choice, but by necessity, and started a path from scratch.

They cleared a path, we always say, they opened a road through the Virgin Forest with a machete, that's how it was.

So, the work they went through for me to have reached where I have, to have what I have today, was very great.

So, dedicating this project of continuing a legacy with innovation is the way I have to thank them, to honor the ancestry I received, so, it became Monjulli.

And also this 'mon' is a bit French, right?

And 'julli', many people say Monjoulie, which would then be in French, it became, because the origin of the surname Montagner is actually in France, right?

Although the great-grandparents came from Veneto, but there are many Montagners in France.

So, in a way, it really returned home, right?

The name.

And it was beautiful, I think it's my story, it's what makes me continue, to move forward on a project that is full of challenges, right?

It was 15 years of work, as I said, of study, of research, of dedication, and that puts me on, you know when you see a light and say, this is the path, this is my purpose?

So, I dedicate it to them, it is to them that I dedicate.

It's very original.

Juliana, we have now reached the Quick Fire Round.

These are three quick questions that I ask all guests.

The first one, what are the virtues of a successful entrepreneur?

Persistence, discipline, and courage.

What differentiates dreamers from doers?

It's literally rolling up your sleeves and, regardless of the size of the challenge that presents itself each day, continuing to do the work.

Very well.

And the last question, what is design?

Design is what elevates an idea, a simple thought, to a realization, which can be a product or a service, elevated in art, in the highest power of art, which is beauty, which comes from God. To me, art is divine, it's what God provides us, living the beautiful, and design symbolizes the summary of all this.

Very well.

We now enter one of the most appreciated sections, which is the recommendation of literature.

Could you indicate which books or which book impacted your journey?

During my college years, I had a book, Maurício, that talked about branding, about enchantment, which is "Behind the Scenes at Disney."

How did Walt Disney make his brand such a powerhouse?

How did he place this brand, this enchantment in people's minds, in a way that sometimes they weren't even realizing, but he was working on it.

Enchanting the customer, I think it's extraordinary to bring that to the consumer, I think that's what sells, you know?

When a person is enchanted by your service, by your product.

That's also where I believe design plays a big part because it's enchantment in a way.

That book was impactful, as I told you, during my college years, and then there's "Rich Dad Poor Dad," which was also a classic, that made me think a bit differently, a bit outside the box, about ways to make money, about the perpetuity of businesses.

Remembering that I have a company, I come from a family background of succession, and so on.

And I think those are basically the ones that come to mind to recommend now.

Perfect, and to facilitate access for all who watch us, we provide the links to these books directly in the description.

Additionally, I invite you all to explore the book section on podbrand.design.

There we have curated a selection of over 220 books recommended by our guests.

Be sure to check it out.

The link is also in the description.

A curiosity, the family business you refer to is the Shimango yerba mate brand, isn't it?

Exactly.

And what is the origin of Ximango?

Chimango, well, in Rio Grande do Sul we have had, since ancient times, the Chimangos and the Maragatos, but at the time of the company's launch, there was an airplane in the United States named Ximango with an X, which was taking off for the first time.

So, that, and there's also a bird here in Rio Grande do Sul that is Chimango.

So, in fact, that airplane taking off in the same year the company was born, was what sealed the deal, so to speak, you know?

Let's take off together with this project, with this industry, right?

Anyway, a strong name here in Rio Grande do Sul, but it was this combination, a native bird, a plane taking off, the southern culture of Chimangos and Maragatos, that combination.

Perfect.

Going to the end, I bring the question from Bruno Scartozonni.

He is the founder of Story Talks, a consulting and mentoring company on storytelling, and who was recently on Pod Brandt.

And he formulated this question without having any idea that you would be our next guest.

The question, then.

Everyone tells themselves a story of their own life.

How has your story brought you to this point?

It's a journey of legacy, of continuity, right?

A traditional product, with the desire to make it a global product, isn't it?

And to continue the legacy received.

So, it would be tradition and innovation, right?

And the continuation of this legacy, which is part of my origin, my family roots.

Perfect.

And if you could ask a single question to our next guest, what would it be?

What do you recommend for entrepreneurs who are starting their career?

Excellent.

It will be asked of our next guest next week.

Well, Juliana, I am very happy that you shared your wisdom and experience with us.

Your contribution is essential to inspire people to reach their best version.

Thank you very much for engaging in our purpose.

Thank you, Maurício, for the invitation.

It's an honor to be here, to share a bit of my journey.

I also learned a lot from you and all the previous participants that I was able to see.

Congratulations on this bold brand that greatly enriches the lives of entrepreneurs, professionals.

I'm sure it inspires people immensely.

I appreciate the opportunity to be here very much.

Thank you.

The honor is all mine.

See you soon, Juliana.

I invite you to visit the website podbrand.design.

There you will find links to all episodes, book recommendations, like those Juliana gave us, and from other brilliant guests.

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The world needs more dreamers and doers who each day seek their best version.

Thank you for being here with us on Podbrand, the design podcast.