Xeque Mate is an alcoholic beverage made from (yerba) mate, rum, guaraná, and lemon. Started in 2015 in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, the company had to go through some tough changes in its logistics and distribution format during the pandemic — mainly, changing its focus from barell sales to bars to can sales made directly to customers.
Because of this change, in 2022 the company decided to go through a rebrand, in order to make its can more appealing on supermarket shelves and in the carts of street vendors. The change coincided with the reopening, and helped the company go through a remarkable growth, becoming the “unofficial official drink” of 2023’s and 2024’s Carnaval.