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Barron Trump’s new beverage company is receiving backlash on social media weeks before its official launch. Sollos Yerba Mate, a canned yerba mate brand, listed the 20-year-old as a director. It now faces accusations of cultural appropriation as it prepares for a May debut.
Barron Trump faces backlash amid new business venture
The company’s Instagram page was flooded with critical comments after teasing the upcoming product. Yerba mate, a traditional herbal tea originating in South America, is tied to Indigenous Guaraní and Paraguayan culture. The brand name “Sollos” is derived from the Spanish word “sol,” meaning sun.
According to its LinkedIn page, the company states: “Growing up in South Florida, our lifestyle was shaped by the opportunity to spend time outdoors year-round. That experience led us to create SOLLOS
™
, a beverage designed to complement life in the ‘Sunshine State.’”
Critics pointed out the contrast between the Trump family profiting from a Latin American product and the administration’s immigration policies targeting Latino communities. “Nice cultural appropriation…They don’t want Latinos in the U.S. but they want their products. Buy yerba from Latin American countries and do this beverage the natural way!” one Instagram user wrote.
Another commented: “Funny the name is Sollos… Spanish words. Given Daddy Cheeto’s policies, shouldn’t this be called ICE or WHITE or something??” One user focused on the drink’s cultural significance. They commented, “Oh wow, a family tied to anti-Latino rhetoric profiting off something deeply rooted in Indigenous (Guaraní), Paraguayan, and South American culture. Yeah… no! Yerba mate carries real history and survival, and shouldn’t be sold by the son of the man who loathes Latinos.”
The beverage company registration documents name Barron Trump as a director. Alongside Spencer Bernstein, Rudolfo Castello, Stephen Hall, and Valentino Gomez. Bernstein and Hall previously announced on LinkedIn that they had paused studies at Villanova University and the University of Notre Dame to focus on the venture with “a few close friends.”
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu for Mandatory.
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