How De La Calle Was Born:
The Story of Alex & Rafa

Every great brand has an origin story. Ours starts with a family recipe — and a chance meeting that turned it into something bigger.

Rafael Martín del Campo - known to everyone as Rafa - was born in Querétaro, outside of Mexico City, and grew up learning to make Tepache from his abuela. It wasn't a business plan; it was simply how his family celebrated, gathered, and passed down tradition. That early education stuck with him. Rafa went on to study culinary arts and food science technology, building a deep, formal expertise in fermentation on top of the knowledge his grandmother had given him. By the time he was working professionally in food and beverage, Rafa carried both sides of that fermentation: the technical and the personal, the tradition and the innovation.

Alex Matthews met Rafa through friends and colleagues while spending time in Mexico City, drawn there by his own passion for food, architecture, travel, and design. Alex had recently tasted Tepache for the first time at a produce market — handed a cup by a vendor — and was struck by how unfamiliar it was to him despite how deeply rooted it already was in the everyday life of the city, with hundreds of variations served at tepacherias and street stalls throughout Mexico City. That curiosity is what brought Alex and Rafa together. Rafa had the lifelong relationship with Tepache; Alex had the conviction that more people outside Mexico needed the chance to experience it.

Together, Alex and Rafa spent time studying every version of Tepache they could find. Their goal wasn't to replicate a single recipe but to understand the full range of what Tepache could be - and then to develop a large-scale fermentation process that preserved its authentic character while making it shelf-stable and accessible. The result: a lineup of organic, fizzy, low-calorie Tepache beverages that honor the tradition while celebrating bold, modern flavors.

In January 2021, De La Calle launched nationwide at Whole Foods, with a team that had grown quickly and a community of fans as passionate as the founders themselves.

THE MISSION: "To gather people in celebration of the flavors and festivities of Mexican street food culture." That's the mission as Rafa and Alex have always stated it. A can of De La Calle isn't just a beverage — it's an invitation. To the streets. To adventure. To the table.