Atlantan Yanni Hufnagel has made the lowly lemon his business. Before founding Lemon Perfect, a lemon beverage company, he was a collegiate basketball coach for the University of Nevada, Reno. A chance encounter led him to discover how many nutrition fanatics were starting their days with water with a squeeze of lemon for the potential dietary and wellness benefits.
He was sold on the product, but not the strategy. “Lemon water became a part of my morning routine, but it sucked,” he says. “You have to buy the lemons, cut them, and squeeze the juice. It’s bland, it’s horrifying. I had a moment where I was like, ‘Can we make this taste good?’”
Today, his eight-year-old company Lemon Perfect is valued at $200 million and has investors including Beyoncé behind it. They have sold over 120 million bottles of lemon water, which comes in flavors such as peach, lime, and sunshine tea. It has 10 calories and zero sugar, making it an attractive beverage in today’s health-conscious world.
“Lemon water is a great hydration boost, and it encourages people to drink more water. It’s a great source of vitamin C, which is an antioxidant that supports immune function, skin health, and digestion,” he says. There’s some evidence to back up Hufnagel’s claims: vitamin C has been shown to contribute to a healthy heart and aid in digestion, and people tend to drink more water when it tastes better, too.
Hufnagel moved his company to Atlanta in 2021, purely as a business decision, when the company first began working with Publix. “Atlanta is wonderful, but it’s more than just being around other beverage brands. It’s a great place for start-up culture and entrepreneurs. You can’t beat the cost of living, the climate, the culture, the talent, and of course the airport,” he says.
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