Kapiti Kitchen is the classic Kiwi artisan story. We're talking lemonade-stand-at-school-fair-turns-into-successful-business kind of tale. Founder Sue Graafland's range was conceived in 2005 when her boy's school in Wellington needed a beverage for a stall and her homemade recipe was right for the job. Made solely from lemons, sugar and water, it was the perfect thirst-quencher.
"It was a moment of madness that started the whole thing really." says Sue "I realised the tangy deliciousness we created at the fair was so much more refreshing than what was available and thought 'I could make a business out of that'."
Getting to market wasn't without its share of drama, including a lorry not being able to get up her driveway to deliver a tall pallet of bottles and the neighbours having to help carry them up by hand. But they made it, and the first batch of lemon cordial was made and sold in 2005.
"I was quite naive I guess, and just approached gourmet stores. Moore Wilson were the first to take two boxes of the Classic Lemon and a week later they wanted more," says Sue. And so it went from there.
They do all their own squeezing, blending, juicing and zesting. Everything is made from New Zealand fruit and there are no additives at all. Products are made in very small batches - literally a dozen at a time.
