Lemon and Paeroa, or L&P, is the face of New Zealand’s soft drinks. But it wasn’t the first – not even in its own Waikato backyard.
Twenty years before the Kiwiana staple came to be, Waikato neighbours Te Aroha created Lemon and Te Aroha (L&T), which hit lips in 1887 using water from the Mount Te Aroha spring.
The fizz was discontinued in the 1970s after Oasis Industries bought them and their lemony Paeroa rivals but Richard Revell revitalised the drink in 2022 under Te Aroha Mineral Water.
The drink’s return made Te Aroha born-and-bred Matamata-Piako District Council mayor Ash Tanner happy, saying in a perfect, cost-free world he’d be keen to build a statue of the bottle rivalling the neighbour’s one.
He commended Revell for bringing back a beverage many hold fond memories of, saying “it’s an icon”.
“The coolest thing is having a drink with the town’s name on it, so it made it probably even more special as a little fellow,” Tanner said.
“It’s probably a good mixer with a bit of gin too, who knows.”
Revell says the “globally unique” naturally fizzy and mineral-filled spring water gives the drink a point of difference.
The refusal to use artificial sweeteners or chemical filtration further sets it apart, throwing in a few light-hearted jabs at the drink-next-door.
“It’s called Lemon and Auckland now, isn’t it?” Revell quipped, referencing the drink now produced in Auckland by Coca-Cola.
“Lemon and Paeroa used to be a great product and they used to use the Paeroa mineral water [but] now they manufacture their own water so it’s got no characteristics about it.
“The minerals in this water have been put together by nature. To get the carbonation it’s got to come from deep down in the mountain... we’ve stuck with the original natural flavours and use organic sugar.”
The drink contains just three core ingredients: Te Aroha water, lemon extract and organic sugar.
Business has grown “four- or five-fold” since relaunching, according to Revell, who says the drink is now stocked in stores and supermarkets from Whangārei to Wellington. He has just one other full-time staff member, relying on his daughters to help with social media and contractors for additional support.
“We’ve got our first export order going out to the UAE next month. My thing is once they taste it that’s when it’ll grow exponentially because it’s hard to describe a taste to somebody that hasn’t tried it,” Revell said.
“We’ve only just been allowed into [eight] Pak’nSaves probably four weeks ago. We’ve been in New Worlds for about one year and Four Squares for about 18 months. Obviously the first one was in Te Aroha.”
Price-wise, Revell said the range varies extremely, going from under $3 at certain supermarkets to as much as $9 in some cafes.
Revell was asked if he would consider alternative options such as zero sugar or alcoholic.
“We are a soft drink and soft drinks do have sugar. I know that the trend these days is to go with an artificial or natural sweetener, but it's not what we're about.
“Alcohol is not something we’re pursuing, however there is a local gin place that’s just started up and they have paired their gin with our sparkling water and our lemon... they’re both very nice.
“We are looking in the future doing a collab together more so than trying to take on mainstream RTDs so it’d be like a Christmas launch.”
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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