05/19/2026
Yesterday we were questioned by 1 person about the cost of our fresh squeezed lemonades ($8–$11 for specialty with candy toppers), and I wanted to put a little perspective out there for those who may not realize everything that goes into operating a small family business like SIP’N POUR.
Behind every lemonade is far more than just lemons,sugar and ice.
We purchase cups, lids, straws, stickers, gloves, lemons, limes, oranges, sugar, flavorings, equipment, and countless other supplies to operate every event.
We only use Poland Spring water (5 gallon jugs), which is expensive to purchase and have delivered, but we believe quality matters.
Our employees all make the same $20/hour whether we are busy or standing around waiting for customers. Depending on the event, payroll alone can run $60–$80+ per hour, and our staff also shares tips.
We carry commercial insurance on both our truck and trailer, along with general liability insurance to protect ourselves, our customers, and the organizations we work with.
We also pay vendor fees that can range anywhere from $50 to over $1,500 per event.
In every community we work in, we are required to carry food licenses and operating permits (hawker/peddler permits), which allow us to legally serve the public. Those costs can range from $25–$300 per town.
One thing we are especially proud of is supporting youth and high school sports organizations. In most cases, we donate back 10% of our sales — and sometimes even more. In just about 5 months of operating during lemonade season, we’ve donated over $8,000 back to youth and high school sports programs.
The cost of products and fuel has skyrocketed, yet we have not raised our prices from where they were at the end of last season — and we don’t plan to.
We also regularly give free lemonades to event hosts and organizers as a thank you for having us.
And something most people will never know:When a kid’s card declines ( happens more then you would think), we tell our staff to never embarrass them. We hand them the drink anyway and tell them they’re all set.
I spend countless hours in between my full time job cleaning the trailer, picking up supplies, getting things ready for our events and through it all I have never taken a dime in payment I invest it back into the company which is why we now have a second trailer we are currently building out to get it operational sooner than later!
Did I have to make this post because of one person? No.
But sometimes people only see the price on the menu and not everything behind it.
We are incredibly grateful for every single person who supports our small family business, and we promise we will continue serving quality products while giving back to the communities that support us.
As always I don’t ever want a family to walk by my trailer and not get themselves or family a lemonade because they can’t afford it. You come talk to me privately and I will make sure you are taken care of!
The last thing I will say is I have seen lower quality (powered mix) lemonades starting at $12 for a cup that’s smaller than our 32oz cups.
-SIP’N POUR
