Saving the world – WITH LEMONADE
Who doesn't think now and then about how much sense their own job makes. Whether there might be an alternative. Or whether one could at least get more involved in one's free time. And wonders how this is actually done by people who have given their lives a new direction. A look behind the scenes of beverage manufacturer Lemonaid.
Sri Lanka - for Lemonaid, the island state is something like the cradle of the company. When founder Paul Bethke came to the country for the first time at the age of 16, he was looking for an alternative way of life to that which seemed prescribed to him at home. What he found were people who also dealt with questions of meaning - and often lived in great poverty. An experience that has had a decisive influence on Bethke's future life: After studying economics (»to understand economic interrelationships and dependencies«), he began as a development aid worker at the German Society for International Cooperation. His first station ... Sri Lanka.
There he saw what happened to the money donated by large companies and organizations: mostly too little. »There is often no connection to the projects«, says Paul Bethke. »Many also don't know exactly where the money is going or treat it carelessly. With self-generated money and precise knowledge of the local situation, this would work better, he thought. The idea for Lemonaid was born. The model: With the sale of lemonades (Lemonaid) and iced teas (Charitea), produced by the company itself, charitable projects in the countries of origin of the raw materials are supported. This is done with a fixed share of the sales proceeds of each bottle, even if no profit is made.
Bethke called his old school friend Jakob Berndt, who worked at the Hamburg agency Jung von Matt as a planner, to get him excited about his project - and ran open doors. Berndt, a critical and free spirit, had often asked himself »how meaningful it is what I am doing here right now« and was looking for a way to advance social change.
More than 10 years have passed since founding the company, and the first attempts to make refreshing lemonades and iced teas in Berndt's shared kitchen are almost legendary. Lemonaid and Charitea are now successful companies that have been able to generate over 3 million euros for 30 different social projects - from primary school in Paraguay to vocational training in Sri Lanka to the installation of solar lights in a South African village.
In addition, the ingredients for the now eight lemonade and iced tea varieties come exclusively from organic cultivation and Fairtrade plantations. In this way, the company supports small farmers’ cooperatives in the countries where the raw materials are grown, in addition to the fixed amount donated.
The founders visit the projects regularly to get an idea of the life of the local farmers. And many of the now almost 100 employees also go on these trips - although they have to take holiday and pay part of the travel costs themselves. The enthusiasm for the cause and the inner conviction are great throughout the company.
But how can you get involved if you don't have the possibility (or the energy) to found a company that is completely focused on a good cause? Or at least to work in such a company. Do you perhaps have to get this impulse from your parents or at least feel it yourself at an early age? Possible. But it doesn't really matter for the cause. For even Lemonaid founder Bethke, of whom one might assume that his standards for his fellow human beings are particularly high, stresses that the big picture always consists of many small parts: »Smiling at the bus driver in the morning and at the neighbour in the evening is just as important for a peaceful and friendly society.« Or, speaking with Lemonaid: Drinking helps, smiling too.
written by
KIRSTEN LENZ