Exploring Life & Business with Rosie Goldwasser of More Than Matcha

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rosie Goldwasser.

Hi Rosie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have always known I wanted to create something – growing up, I started a running list of ‘inventions’ and just knew one day one of those ideas turn into a reality. But I ended up in the corporate world building digital customer experiences. I had always been obsessed with the psychology of the customer mindset and why we make certain decisions, so this felt like the perfect role to start but I knew it was never forever.

The job required early mornings and late nights, and I first turned to coffee to keep me going. But after the endless loop of anxiety spikes, sleeping problems, and afternoon crashes, I knew there had to be a better solution. The next day I made the switch to matcha and here we are 6 years later and I have never turned back.

But bringing in my background in customer experience, I realized finding high-quality matcha was harder than it should’ve been. Cafés cut corners, and at-home options lacked consistency or a brand you could actually connect with. That’s when I realized: matcha deserved more.

I started building More Than Matcha in 2023, launched in 2024, and made 6 figures and sold matcha in all 50 states within my first year (all while still at my full 9-5 corporate job).

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Our ‘struggles’ have fortunately always come about through times of unexpected growth, so here are a few growing pains from our first year and a half:

Our launch event was initially at a small outdoor venue, not anticipating many attendees. But a few days prior to the event, we got featured in a newsletter that led to 300 additional RSVPs. So in two days, we found a different venue, an official food vendor, and 3 more baristas to help make it work.

Post launch sales were steadily low, until they weren’t. A post went viral and we immediately sold out of all inventory. So we went on preorder, ordered more, and immediately sold out of the preorder inventory before the new stock even got here! This happened 4 times back to back until we settled down a bit but inventory was and still is impossible to predict. And since we have a product that must stay fresh, we never want to over order.

As you know, we’re big fans of More Than Matcha. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
More Than Matcha is a premium matcha brand built around the belief that matcha is more than a drink, it’s a ritual that deserves to be romanticized. At our core, we specialize in providing high-quality Japanese matcha paired with thoughtfully curated tools and experiences that turn a simple drink into the best part of your morning.

Every piece of our brand is intentionally designed to help upgrade this daily routine in a way that feels inspiring, achievable, and personal. We empower our customers to be their own barista since the perfect matcha isn’t from a café, it is created by you at home. And More Than Matcha feels like you are bringing favorite café home.

We are constantly finding ways to not just deliver a product, but exceed customer expectations. Every order is delivered with a collectible, seasonal recipe card that changes every month and always pairs perfectly with our matcha powder. But it’s not just a recipe, these are our version of ‘punch cards’ – collect 12 recipes & receive a free 40g matcha refill!

Above all, we are especially proud of the community we have built in under two years. We recently launched a matcha bar to collaborate with brands and host more events, and have since been a part of over 25 incredible activations in LA and NYC. These have allowed us to meet our community IRL, expand to new audiences, and pop up in places we never could have imagined. And this is all just the start!!

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
If I were to summarize my younger self into one word, I was (and still am) curious. I had to try EVERYTHING our of pure curiosity to understand what it was like. Basketball, baseball, soccer, cheer, gymnastics, horseback riding, dancing, singing, acting, tennis, swim – Yup I tried it all. My friends parents would call me the ‘question master’ since I would always have so many questions about the simplest of things, just wanting to learn more. I’ve always been proud of my curiosity, and will never stop asking questions…

Pricing:

• Our 40g matcha jar is $42 for a one-time purchase, and $36 for subscribers (that’s a $1.80 latte in girl math btw). Our subscription is completely customizable.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://morethanmatcha.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morethan.matcha/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morethanmatcha.co
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/more-than-matcha/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@morethan.matcha

Image Credits
SJ Spreng, Emma Leventer