Kraus’s history dates back to 1894, when Francis Kraus, a young Austrian, restless and adventurous in spirit, emigrated with his friends to Buenos Aires. There he married Ulda Spalding and setup with his family in the territory of Misiones. They had eight children, of whom Francisco José, the eldest, started growing his first yerba mate plants at the age of 13. At 21, Francisco José got married and together with his wife they bought their own land. They had five children, of whom Juan Angel and Roman joined and continued with the company at a young age. They bought more land to plant tea and yerba mate; they collected the best seeds from the tea and Yerba mate from the neighboring plantations and then used these to build tree nurseries. The inseparable brothers prepared the soil and planted the seeds with their own hands. They sold their crops to cooperatives and companies in the area, and later on they built their own kilns; thus becoming a small yet independent industry.

Roman loves animals and working in the field with the crops; whereas his brother, Juan Angel, loves machines and he is a born inventor—he has created a drying system that Kraus uses for the production of yerba mate and tea. After college, Juan Angel’s children, Gino, Milton and Romina, joined the family business and have contributed to the efforts of their ingenious parents and grandparents ever since. This new generation became the driving force behind the consolidation into the market and new approach of “Kraus” for its organically certified teas and yerba mate.