True To N.B. Roots, Beverage Company Uses Maple Syrup, Not Sugar In Signature Lemonade
SAINT JOHN — What started as a nice way to spend a Saturday has turned into a full-fledge craft beverage company for a Saint John entrepreneur.
Cinnamon Savoie is the founder of the CocoLemon Craft Beverage Company, which offers uncarbonated, non-alcoholic craft drinks sourcing New Brunswick ingredients.
The company is rooted in a side gig Savoie had back in 2018 selling her homemade lemonade at the winter market at Cedarcrest Gardens in Saint John.
“I was selling lemonade at Cedarcrest market in the middle of January and I was very surprised at how quickly it really took our in popularity, especially in the middle of January,” says Savoie. “In addition to selling lemonade in a traditional format, which is cold over ice, I also offered it heated served as a tea. But believe it not, the cold was a lot more popular than the warm version, which was pretty interesting to me.”
For Savoie, the little business was a way to spend Saturday doing what she loved, but when the season ended, she started getting inquiries from her customers.
“I had some of my regular customers ask, ‘why don’t you sell it out of the markets?’ she says. “I didn’t quite know if it would become a business or not.”
She decided to give it a shot after completing the Venture Validation program at Economic Development Of Greater Saint John. Through the 12-week program, she worked with mentors and created a business plan. When the program finished, she reached out to Canada’s Smartest Kitchen in Prince Edward Island, who helped her take her market formulation and convert it into a recipe that’s scalable and consumer safe.
By the time that the seven-month process was done, Covid-19 hit.
“At the point, I was scared because in New Brunswick there’s a fear of launching a business to begin with, then with Covid, I wasn’t sure what to do,” says Savoie. “I put it on the back burner for a few months.”
But after learning about the community support other craft beverage companies were receiving throughout the course of the pandemic, she decided to move ahead with her plans.
“I reached out to a couple of other people I know in the craft beverage industry and they were telling me that it’s changed and that Covid has actually helped their businesses a lot, they’ve had a ton of community support,” says Savoie. “After talking with them, I really felt encouraged to move forward with it.”
CocoLemon launched its first run of cans on January 1.
The company currently offers three products: Classic Lemonade, Blueberry Lemonade, and Cranberry Lemonade. Savoie says she sources as many of the ingredients as possible from New Brunswick. For example, CocoLemon uses New Brunswick maple syrup instead of regular sugar in its Classic Lemonade.
“One of the things that was really important to me is to be able to source as much as possible locally,” says Savoie. “With that, when I decided to create my classic lemonade, for example, I thought instead of using sugar … why not use maple syrup instead and give it a Maritime twist on a classic lemonade.”
For the blueberry and cranberry lemonades, CocoLemon uses juices from New Brunswick farms.
“That’s where the flavours all evolved from, what products I can source locally and how can I convert that into the beverages that I’m launching with,” says Savoie.
Lemons, however, are not grown natively in New Brunswick, so Savoie sources her lemon purree from a Moncton-based supplier.
“My first choice is always New Brunswick, and if I can’t find it then I will go outside of New Brunswick.”
CocoLemon beverages can be purchased at various retailers across southern New Brunswick. People can also buy different sample packs online for delivery.
“When we deliver it’s all contactless and we notify the client as soon as it’s been delivered,” says Savoie. “We make sure to text them to let them know it’s there so they can go and get it right away.”
Starting a business in the winter during a pandemic was a scary prospect, but since launching at the beginning of the month, Savoie says the reception to CocoLemon has been positive.
“A few retailers have sold out more than once, so in that respect, it’s been amazing,” she says. “I’ve had people tag me in posts on Facebook where they want to tell me how much they’re enjoying it, it’s been pretty overwhelming almost.”
Looking ahead to the rest of the year, Savoie plans to continue to grow CocoLemon’s retailers. She also plans to release some new, limited-time flavours.
“I’m planning my summer flavours already, so we’ll be able to release those around April or May,” says Savoie.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to attend events throughout the province if we’re able to in the summertime.”