Lemonaid

Lemonaid is a German soft drink brand from Hamburg. Lemonaid Beverages, based in Hamburg-St. Pauli, was founded in 2009 by Paul Bethke and Jakob Berndt as a social business, and in May 2026 it changed its legal form to a stock corporation. It also makes the ChariTea iced teas and teas under the same roof.

Products and principle

• Organic, fair-trade certified lemonades in flavours such as lime, passion fruit, blood orange and ginger
• ChariTea iced teas and loose teas
• Almost all products are vegan

For every bottle sold, 5 cents go to the non-profit Lemonaid & ChariTea e.V., which funds social projects in the countries where the ingredients grow, for example in Sri Lanka, Mexico and South Africa. In 2016 the company won the Deutscher Gründerpreis.

Background

The idea came from founder Paul Bethke during his work as a development aid worker in Sri Lanka. The drinks first spread through bars, organic shops and festivals in Germany and are now also sold in cities such as Paris, London and Copenhagen. Since 2018 Berndt has no longer been part of the company.