Meet the Maker: BYRÉ

This week we spoke to Renee Brown, founder of BYRÉ. Renee is a qualified nutritionist, health coach and mother, and her matcha and adaptogenic elixirs are made in New Zealand for the small daily rituals that hold a day together.


1. Tell us about your days. What does a week look like between BYRÉ, family and everything in between?
It's busy, but I do love it that way. I wouldn't say any week is the same. It’s very much a mixture of wellness and self-care, which has always been a huge priority for me, especially when so busy, mum life and making sure the kids are happy, healthy and have our time and attention, and then there’s BYRÉ, which can be anywhere from content creation, packing orders, creating new products, dreaming up our next event. It’s all go, but it’s so much fun.

2. BYRÉ began with years of experimenting in your own kitchen, long before it was a brand. What were you making back then, and when did it start to feel like something you wanted to share?
Yes, that’s correct. I was making HVM, our matcha elixir, in my kitchen to build my body, mind and energy back postpartum. I wasn’t feeling my best and was incredibly sleep deprived, and I knew I needed something that would help me feel more like myself again. That’s how I fell in love with adaptogens. They had such a profound impact on my energy and mood. I started blending them with matcha, raw cashews, ginger and maca, essentially the original HVM recipe and I drank it for years before it became our cult matcha elixir. I knew I had to share it. It was truly helping me build back my inner resilience and made me feel stronger, more balanced, energised and clear-headed. Eventually, my husband and I decided to go for it and turn this into something bigger. And that’s how BYRÉ was born.

3. You tested hundreds of ingredients before landing on these blends. How did you know when you'd got it right?
I had the base recipe right from the start, as I knew the high doses of adaptogens that we wanted to have in the elixir. From there, it was a matter of finding the highest-quality ingredients to add to the elixir, which took a huge amount of time. No ginger tastes the same, some are bitter, some are sweet, some are smooth. It always takes so much longer than you think to get the perfect, balanced elixir, and we test it so many times before we’re happy. But once you get it right, you just know it’s perfect.


4. Abbe, our co-owner and Head of Brand, has been drinking High Vibe Matcha since your early days — iced, in the afternoon. Do you have a favourite way you've seen people make it their own?
It’s definitely super popular iced with oat milk or my staple cashew milk, but it really can be made any way you like. Some people love it with just hot water and nothing else, while others have it creamy and hot. It’s really up to you and what you’re craving each day.

5. Your jars are made to stay out on the bench rather than live in a cupboard. Where does your own ritual happen at home? Tell us about that corner — what's in it, what time of day it belongs to.
A really big part of BYRÉ is that it’s so beautiful you want to leave it out to remind you of your rituals, your practice, and the things that make you feel your best. I have a little corner in our kitchen with my favourite mug, flowers, crystals, plants, our frother, elixirs, Pure matcha, my favourite Manuka honey. It’s all there, ready for each day, to come back to my rituals, which I do 2–3 times a day to stay feeling my best.

6. What do your daily rituals look like? We'd love to hear the ones people might not expect.
I’m a bit of a creature of habit, but at the same time, I have a big list of the things I do each day to feel my absolute best. Because I am so busy, if I don’t do these things, I really notice it in my body and my mind, how I feel and how I show up. So, they are my non-negotiables. I love to bookend my day. I find that’s the best way to fit everything in and really build this beautiful start and end to my day. The morning is for lemon water, movement, my red light mask while I meditate, matcha and then my morning pages. Some days I crave a longer routine and I’ll add a sauna while I dry body brush and read. I also love fasting and will often do this in the morning if my body needs a reset. The evenings are when I slow down. I always make my After Dark Coco as soon as the kids are in bed. It’s the signal to my body that it’s time to slow down. I dim the lights, sometimes read, watch a show or do a little work, which I actually love doing at night when the house is quiet. I then have a super dark shower to calm my nervous system before bed, always before 10pm. I might add in another red light mask with legs up the wall, some more journalling if it’s been a crazy busy day, or I’ll keep it super simple and prioritise a really early bedtime if that’s what my body is needing. I’m always tuning in, listening and tweaking my practices to come back into alignment.

7. Any advice for creating a ritual that actually sticks?
Make it beautiful, make it delicious, make it fun, make it feel like a reward. Habit-stack it around other practices you’re already doing and build the ritual. It takes time to build something new, so I always say: let go of the resistance and really lean into the process of building the habit and the ritual. 

Quickfire

The story behind the name… Our beautiful designer came up with it. We were actually going to go with ByRenee, and then she came up with BYRÉ — a shortened version that still plays off By Renee.

Matcha in the morning, or afternoon… Both. I love a morning Pure hot with Manuka honey, marine collagen and cashew milk, and then an iced HVM in the afternoon for that incredible energy boost that helps me move through the second half of the day.

How you take your After Dark Coco… I love it made with boiling water and a tiny splash of oat, coconut or cashew milk. 

The cup you always reach for… HVM

A ritual you'd recommend to anyone… Journalling. It’s a game changer and the best way to clear your thoughts, boost your creativity, move through things, get clear on things, write down your goals, your dreams, your manifestations. 

Best place for
Dinner… Lukes Kitchen Kuaotunu (Kuaotunu is my happy place ) and we love going here every year over summer with the family. 
Coffee… At home, my husband makes me a delicious long black with a tiny splash of milk and its perfection on a sunny day. 
A wander… The beach. I love the sound of the ocean and grew up with it, and now live by the beach, so this is definitely my favourite place to wander.

What are you
Listening to… Always a podcast. I’m currently loving The Bossticks 
Reading… The Alter Ego Effect – it's this month's BYRÉ Book Club Read and it’s amazing. 
Watching… I love a good tv show or movie to wind-down. We’ve just finished The Clarkson Farm and I loved it. 
Making…. Cold pressed green juice and beauty Bircher bowls, or a million snack plates for the kids.