“Having a drink in London Fields or Victoria Park is one of the East Londoner's favorite activities on a warm Sunday,” Lemonaid Founder, Julian Wariowioff, told BeverageDaily.
Dubbed the “picnic four-pack” by Wariowioff it “also makes a great gift when invited for dinner.”
The four-pack, exclusively sold at Selfridge’s for SRP of £29.99 ($40.93), contains four 11.8-ounce bottles of Our/London Vodka, ChariTea Mate, Blood Orange Lemonaid, and Lime Lemonaid.
Shared common interest
The collaboration between the three beverage companies arose out of their common ethical and health-conscious interests, according to Wariowioff.
“Our [Lemonaid’s] approach has always been to use only pure organic juices and whole-leaf tea sourced straight from small-scale farmers, to produce better-tasting beverages that give back to charity. All drinks are Fairtrade certified and every bottle sold supports social projects in the growing regions,” he said.
All three companies are united on label transparency and locally crafted products – both Lemonaid and Our/London vodka are located in London’s East Hackney community.
“The team behind Our/London shares a similar approach of challenging conventions, by bringing production back to a local level, with complete transparency and artisan distillery skills,” Wariowioff said.
Energy drinks and mate
One of the most unique components of the spirit and mixer four-pack is the bottle of ChariTea’s “fast-selling” mate, which according to Wariowioff, is rising in popularity in the UK as a healthier energy source.
“Mate iced teas have become insanely popular in Germany over the past years,” he said. “Berlin is now somewhat of a yerba mate melting pot in Europe, presumably with more people using mate as a mixer than energy drinks nowadays.”
Consumers drinking less but better
A Euromonitor report recently found that global alcohol consumption, especially among clear liquors like vodka, declined for the first time in 10 years. Wariowioff does not believe this is an issue because the type of vodka used in the four-pack is a craft spirit, which is in line with consumers’ shifting preferences toward artisanal alcohol.
“I personally think that a decline in spirits consumption is a good thing. Consumers more and more opt for more artisan, premium spirits and mixers to indulge into a few glasses of them, rather than getting drink on huge amounts of cheap booze,” Wariowioff said.
Common interests
Our/Vodka (Our/London Vodka): A global vodka made by local partners in cities around the world.
Lemonaid: Soft drinks made from Fairtrade ingredients, organically grown.
ChariTea: RTD tea using Fairtrade ingredients.