TOS Feature: Pucker Up Lemonade
Founder of Pucker Up Lemonade, Karneisha Christian-Stewart (courtesy image)
Compton-based, Pucker Up Lemonade Company handcrafts over sixty different flavors of lemonade, iced tea, and infused waters that you’ll get to try at this year’s 2022 Taste of Soul Festival coming on October 15th.
Founded in 2011, Karneisha Christian-Stewart started this business initially as a fundraiser for her kid’s school. Using an old family recipe, the sweet treat was a familial hit that’s now become a community favorite.
“My dad worked in lawn service and tree cutting, so he was always coming home with these big bags of lemons,” Christian-Stewart said in an interview with LAS. “And the moment he walked through the door with them, I knew it meant I needed to get in the kitchen and wash those lemons for his lemonade.”
Karneisha never assumed her father-daughter bonding would later branch into her very own business. After her first vendor booth, the entrepreneur realized how much people were drawn to her father’s special lemonade recipes.
“We started doing small community events, and then maybe four years ago we were introduced to Taste of Soul. We had our first little stint in the VIP tent, and then I asked to come back as a vendor the next year and got approved,” said Karneisha.
Since their debut at Taste of Soul, Pucker Up Lemonade has taken on more corporate clients, such as Direct TV, Google, and Amazon. However, the Taste of Soul Family Festival still holds as one of Pucker Up Lemonade’s premiere events.
During the event, Pucker Up Lemonade will be selling their various flavors of lemonade, as well as their iced tea and teamonade (their special version of an Arnold Palmer).
Besides selling their delicious drinks, Karneisha is looking forward to Taste of Soul being “a big family reunion.”
“It’s always about the community for us,” she said. “So, for this not to have happened for two years, we’re ready for a big reunion. It’ll be like a big party! I think we started [TOS] as The Little Engine That Could with very very meager beginnings. As a Black woman-led business, it’s not always easy to access the same capital that our white counterparts do.”
She continued, “So for us to be able to be where we are now based off our connection with the community, we’re kind of like a poster child for what can be done when you have faith. The community has really received us, grown with us, and acted as our cheerleaders. It’s heartwarming to have this kind of support.”
Pucker Up Lemonade can be found on Instagram @puckeruplemonadeco.
Taste of Soul IS BACK! Make sure to schedule your calendar for this amazing annual experience, and get to know and support some amazing, local, Black-owned businesses.
