Country Time LegalAde

Country Time lemonade has been a long-time supporter of kids’ lemonade stands through its partnership with Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. Lemonade stands build solid life skills for kids and are an integral part of American summers. So when Kraft Heinz Country Time brand employees began to see stories about lemonade stands being shut down for legal reasons, they thought it had to be an urban myth. After looking into it and seeing even more instances, they realized these weren’t myths – these were real stories. A very real response seemed the best way to shine a light on the issue. To see kids discouraged from this rite of passage compelled the brand to speak up and take a stand.

Country Time decided to set up a “Legal-Ade” team to straighten out lemonade stand-related permits and fines. Any child fined for running a lemonade stand without a permit could have his or her parent apply for reimbursement. To apply, a parent simply needed to upload the image of their child’s permit or fine along with a description of what the lemonade stand meant to their child, in his or her own words. The submission would be reviewed by the Legal-Ade team and if it complied with the terms, the family would receive the exact amount to cover the permit or fine, up to $300.00.

Inspired by this movement to change our laws, Country Time ran with this and provided kids with tools, such as legislative status and contact information, to help them get their state law changed. A website was set up to handle all aspects of the Country Time brand Legal-Ade program - www.countrytimelegalade.com – was a hit, as was the movement that led to actual changes in the laws. Nearly 100,000 people visited the website to learn more about the program.