Matcha lovers of Milwaukee, meet the newest player in the game, Daily Tonic. Launched this September, founder Jennifer Amador and co-owner Mia Amador are on a mission to build a matcha brand focused on movement, social experiences, and community – with pop-ups and local collaborations already underway.
We talked with Jennifer to get the inside scoop on what inspired the brand, building a Latina- and woman-owned business in Milwaukee, and the story behind her cardboard sign that reads “NEED MONEY FOR MATCHA.”
Let’s get into it!
How did Daily Tonic get its start? What is your background?
Daily Tonic really started from something I felt was missing for myself. I’m someone who is always doing Pilates, yoga, going to the gym, and trying to be mindful about what I’m consuming, but I struggled to find matcha in Milwaukee that was high quality, tasted good, and still offered lighter, wellness-focused options.
Mia and I have also been matcha drinkers for years, so eventually it became, “Why don’t we create what we’re looking for?” That’s where Daily Tonic’s wellness lane came from too. We’re incorporating things like protein, collagen peptides, and eventually more functional add-ons as we continue to grow. We wanted wellness to feel like a natural part of the menu rather than an afterthought.
How long have you been in business? Have you faced any major challenges with growing your business or any triumph stories?
We officially launched Daily Tonic in September 2026, so we’re still very new.
One of the biggest challenges has simply been getting the brand in front of people and finding the right collaborations as a new business. When you’re starting out, people don’t know who you are yet, so you really have to prove yourself.
At the same time, that has made the positive feedback feel even more rewarding. Hearing people tell us that it’s the best matcha they’ve had, or watching someone who normally doesn’t even like matcha enjoy one of our drinks, has been a huge win for us. It’s reassuring to see something that originally only existed in our heads connect with people in real life.
What is Daily Tonic, and why did you feel it would be a good fit in Milwaukee? Why did you feel Milwaukee was a good place to start your business?
Daily Tonic is a wellness brand, with matcha being the first lane we’re introducing.
Right now, people are getting to know us through our matcha bar, pop-ups, and collaborations, but the vision for Daily Tonic has always extended beyond the drink itself. As we grow, we see the brand expanding into different areas of wellness, movement, social experiences, and community – all still living under the Daily Tonic world.
We’re being intentional about introducing those pieces gradually rather than trying to launch everything at once. Matcha is our starting point because it’s something Mia and I genuinely love and have been drinking for years, but it was never intended to be the limit of the brand.
Mia and I were both born and raised in Milwaukee, so building it here was important to us. Milwaukee has such strong communities within fitness, wellness, food, and culture, but there’s still a lot of opportunity to bring those worlds together in new ways. We want Daily Tonic to eventually be one of those brands that gives people a reason to get out, experience something, and connect with each other.
What’s the mission behind Daily Tonic?
The mission behind Daily Tonic is to build wellness into something people genuinely want to be part of.
For us, wellness doesn’t have to feel overly serious or limited to one thing. It can be your morning matcha, movement, taking care of yourself, meeting your friends, or having a social experience that still aligns with the way you want to live.
We want Daily Tonic to exist at the intersection of wellness, culture, and community. Matcha is where we’re starting, but over time people will see us create more experiences and different extensions of the brand that bring those things together.
Ultimately, we want Daily Tonic to become part of people’s lifestyle rather than simply somewhere they go to buy a drink.
What is it like being a small business in MKE? If you’re a woman, minority, or LGBTQ+ owned business, please feel free to touch on your experiences as an entrepreneur in that space as well.
Being a Latina- and women-owned company in Milwaukee has been really rewarding, especially because this is the city Mia and I grew up in.
Even though Daily Tonic is still in its beginning stages, we’ve approached it from day one as something we’re building for the long term. It isn’t a side project for either of us. We’re building the foundation for the company we ultimately want Daily Tonic to become, and that means being very intentional about the brand, the partnerships we take on, the customer experience, and how we grow.
Building Daily Tonic has come with its own learning curve. Every business is different, and we’ve had to figure out what works for our vision, from the experience we create to how we grow. The exciting part is getting to build something that feels entirely our own.
Milwaukee has been a great place to begin because there is a real culture of supporting local brands and collaborating with one another. A lot of our early growth has come from forming relationships with other businesses and communities throughout the city.
What do you like about being in Milwaukee?
I personally really love Milwaukee. It still has that feeling where community matters and people genuinely want to see local brands succeed.
There are so many different pockets of the city – wellness, fitness, food, art, culture – and I think there’s a lot of opportunity for those communities to overlap more. That’s something we would love for Daily Tonic to be part of.
What’s your favorite part about what you’re doing?
Definitely the feedback.
There’s something surreal about watching people experience something that, not that long ago, was literally just an idea in my head. When somebody comes back for another drink, tells their friend about us, or tells us it’s some of the best matcha they’ve had, it makes all of the work behind the scenes feel worth it.
I also really love watching the brand start to take on a life of its own. Seeing people post their drinks, recognize Daily Tonic, or get excited about what we’re doing is probably my favorite part.
What can people expect when going to a Daily Tonic pop-up?
High-quality matcha, clean ingredients, and a menu that feels a little different from what they may be used to.
We keep our menu intentional and rotate flavors rather than trying to offer everything at once. People can expect thoughtfully made drinks that highlight the quality of our matcha, often with a wellness component like protein or collagen peptides.
We also want every pop-up to still feel like Daily Tonic, regardless of where we’re set up. The experience and branding matter just as much to us as the drink itself.
Anything else we should know about your business or anything you’d like to mention? Any favorite stories?
One of the funniest things Mia and I do is actually go around Milwaukee with a cardboard sign that says “NEED MONEY FOR MATCHA.” It started as a joke about how much we’ve invested into getting Daily Tonic off the ground, but we really do take it around the city. We take our matcha and the business seriously, but clearly we don’t take ourselves too seriously. It’s probably the most accurate representation of our personalities and what building Daily Tonic together looks like behind the scenes.