Fort Worth Entrepreneur Making Things a Little Sweeter with Lisa’s Lemonade
Lemonade was a family favorite in Lisa Freeney’s home. Yet, as a single mother of a son diagnosed with ADHD who cannot consume sugar and preservatives, Freeney understands the importance of a healthy diet for her family. She hoped to find a product suitable for her family’s needs but the market failed to provide one. And so, Freeney decided to come up with her own recipe. The result? Lisa’s Lemonade.
Launched only just last month, Lisa’s Lemonade has already made quite the splash in the organic food market. With frozen lemonade mixes from carrot ginger to strawberry lemonade, the company offers a unique, organic, and sugar-free take on the American classic drink. Most of her products are sold out on the company’s website.
With her son as the first client, Freeney knew she had to come up with a beverage that was healthy without compromising on taste. It took years to develop the right balance. Freeney described the process as challenging: “My file with failed recipes is packed, dog-eared and now filled with so many great memories of ‘No, not that one!’ with puckered faces and half-finished glasses of lemonade down the drain.” After much trial and error, she discovered the right recipe. As she stated, “Eventually, the perfect recipe emerged and after an almost year’s search for just the right organic sweetener manufacturer, I found them as well. So I’ve done the work, you just sit back and enjoy the flavor. Deal?”
The company maintains that its products are made without pesticides and with organic ingredients, including the sweeteners such as Stevia, erythritol, and a dash of agave. Lisa’s Lemonade is on track to securing the USDA Organic Certification soon.
Speaking at the Entrepreneur Summit in Fort Worth earlier this week, Freeney said, “I had a real passion for this. It was not just to make a product but also to make a difference.”
Did you know Freeney’s trial and error process, even the failed recipes, is considered research and development, and is therefore eligible for the R&D Tax Credit? If you are conducting similar experiments, you could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and receive up to 14% on your expenses. To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today.
Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE credits as well as CPE credits for CPA’s. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.
