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Holiday Greetings from the desk of Dan....

Dear Readers,

Happy holidays to all yerba mate drinkers in the world. Ok, happy holidays to everyone in the world. 2004 is quickly approaching and 2003 will be behind us. It has been a good year for Aviva, and a memorable one at that. Just to recap a few highlights for us....
  • We received our first shipment of Wild harvest, organic yerba mate from Paraguay in May of '03.
  • As you read this, our partner in Paraguay has been working with a professional forester from the international certifying agency, SGS. We should have our certification for both the, Wild Harvest and the organic certification within the first quarter.
  • Yerba mate was featured in a Woman's World magazine article, bringing attention on a national level to this wonderful herb and to our company.
  • We improved the convenience and freshness of our tea bags, by changing to a sealed and re-sealable zip lock style bag.
With the support from you, our company as a whole has grown and increased prominence in the marketplace. I am encouraged to receive so many nice emails from all of you touting the high quality of Aviva products. It feels good to work hard and be rewarded by the people who make your business run, you the customer. In keeping with what we know best— quality, we are adding a new category to Aviva. It is called our Natural Products Area (NPA). My business partner has been in the fine woodworking business for over 26 years, mainly manufacturing outdoor and indoor lights made from Oak, Cedar and metal. They have a group in his company that is given creative latitude to explore individual ideas and custom work. Every month, I will add a new item that is both unique and useful and will add warmth and years of enjoyment to your home, just like yerba mate. If you would like to see more about his company, please visit www.idahowood.com

We received a new shipment of traditional drinking vessels and bombillas from Argentina. We have also reworked our gift box section to reflect three tiers of gift boxes, regular, fancy and premium. As promised, we introduced our brewing station. This is a nice gift pack that includes a plastic brewing cone, 1/2# of yerba mate, and a brewing station. Great for mate, tea or coffee. Very simple to use......place the cone on top of the box in the precut hole, place your yerba in a filter and place in the cone, then put your favorite cup under the brew cone and pour water over the mate. No more spills on the counter top.

The internet giveth and the internet taketh away. For the last four and a half years, we have been in the top five when someone types in the keyword "yerba mate". On November 16th, Google, the most widely used search portal on the internet, implemented what has been called the Florida update. In short, this was a drastic change in their search algorithm. Unfortunately, this move took our company from the top five to no where to be found. So for those of you who thought we disappeared, we did, just on Google. Behind the scenes, we are alive and prospering, thanks to you. Our internet man of the hour, Josh, has been working to get us back in the ranking, but until then here is our domain for those who would like to bookmark us.... www.yerba-mate.com. This change Google made hurt many business all over the world, especially internet based businesses. People woke up and their orders went to 0. I feel very fortunate because we have a solid wholesale business that sells to coffee and tea houses, grocery stores and GNC and nutrition stores across the country and Canada. With that in mind, my goal for the next year is to convince businesses in your neighborhood to carry our product for your convenience. The next time you visit your local health foods store, take your empty bag of Aviva with you and say that you want them to carry quality mate with no sticks and stems!

In closing, I would like to thank all of you who have made my year by giving us your business. You not only make it possible for us to live in a beautiful location here in Northern Idaho, but your help provide employment, a good wage, and housing to 55 people at our ranch in Paraguay. With the economy in shambles in South America, this new yerba mate venture provides them with security and hope. Wishing you all safe travels and a wonderful new year. Love your spouse, kiss your children, be an asset to the world and be healthy.


Sincerely,

Dan Garcia
Founder, Aviva Ltd.
www.yerba-mate.com

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