Our Alumni

We think fairtrade isn’t quite fair enough!

In the winter of 2008, we took a deep breath and went for it: quit our day jobs and transformed our vision into reality. Just like the Beatles, our business grew up in Hamburg’s St Pauli, a bohemian and vibrant area then and now. In our kitchen there, we juiced limes, brewed tea, crushed sugar, invited friends over and clinked glasses. When all those glasses were drained, and much fun had in the process, they were ready – Lemonaid & ChariTea.
As a result of capacity problems in our kitchen, and given that little help from seasoned professionals never hurts, since the summer of 2009 a small organic company in the south of Germany has taken over the role of filling the bottles. And they do it well.

Each bottle of Lemonaid and ChariTea contains only organic and Fair Trade ingredients. We pay higher prices for the raw ingredients and, in doing so, we support fair, dignified farming. With the Fairtrade premium, local farmers can afford to make improvements to their own living conditions and implement community projects within their area. Our drinks are all Fairtrade certified products. But we don’t just rely on international certificates and quality seals. We want to see for ourselves exactly where the ingredients come from and the hidden stories behind them. Every year, we travel to the farming regions to get to know the local farmers and their working conditions.

With every bottle that’s bought, Lemonaid aims to help people and communities to help themselves. Focusing on parts of the world frequently disadvantaged in the global economy, we want to support local initiatives which work to improve social, economic and ecological structures. This is why we support our charitable organisation with 5 pence from every bottle purchased. Since January 2010, we’ve raised more than £560,000; money which the organisation can now put to good use for a variety of development aid projects.