Karma Drinks Foundation, the philanthropic arm of craft soda company Karma Drinks, has delivered $1 million in direct funding to cola nut growers and their communities in Sierra Leone.
Karma Drinks is known for its sodas made with natural ingredients, including Karma Cola, Gingerella, Lemmy Lemonade and Razza Raspberry Lemonade.
Since its inception, the foundation has contributed 1 per cent of revenue from every Karma Drinks product sold towards local initiatives in Sierra Leone.
These community-led programmes support education, clean water access, healthcare, environmental protection and economic opportunities for women.
“Our goal from day one was to build an ethical business that gives back to the people and places where our ingredients come from,” said Chris Morrison, co-founder of Karma Drinks.
Morrison added that while billions of cola beverages are produced globally, few contain real cola nuts.
“We wanted to change that by sourcing our cola nuts from Sierra Leone and paying growers a fair price,” he said.
Through the foundation’s efforts, Karma Drinks has funded education for more than 1200 children, built schools and bridges, provided clean drinking water, supported women entrepreneurs, and helped protect nearly 1200ha of rainforest.
Jonathan Harrison, CEO of Karma Drinks said the company plans to expand into convenience and grocery channels later this year.
“We’re focused on growing the business because every bottle sold helps us do more for the communities we work with,” he added.
