Q: How did you come up with this idea?

A: Well, first of all, I grew up in the restaurant and catering industry so I have always been around food and beverage products. Also, I had been developing food and beverage products for a few years before I got the idea for True Lemon®. But the idea for True Lemon ® itself was one of those "Ah-ha" moments. My father and I are both lemon lovers and one day we were at a restaurant waiting for another bowl of lemons to be brought to the table, when I thought to myself that fresh lemon taste should be more convenient. I wanted that fresh lemon taste to be as easy as opening up a packet of sugar. I spent three years working on True Lemon® to make sure the taste was just right and we introduced it to our first store in Baltimore in September 2003.

Q: What were the greatest hurdles in
developing True Lemon®?

A: I felt that True Lemon® had to be as close to a fresh squeezed lemon as possible, both in taste; and also providing the health benefits of lemons such as being all-natural, zero calories, zero grams of carbs and providing Vitamin C.

To be as close to a fresh squeezed lemon as possible, I had to use fresh lemon oil and fresh lemon juice - not extracts of flavors; and the lemon oil had to be cold pressed. In other words, I couldn't tamper with the oil and juice whatsoever. The problem is that lemon oil and juice that is untampered is very volatile and will begin to quickly go bad, so we had to develop a number of methods to capture and maintain all the subtleties of the whole lemon. That was a very complex process and required adapting new methods of crystallizing and blending.

Also, True Lemon® is competing for shelf space and consumer attention in a market that is dominated by huge corporations with huge budgets. It's really tough to take a new product and bring it into grocery stores. A lot of people told me and my team that it couldn't be done, but this coming July, less than two years from when we first started, True Lemon® will be in over 10,000 grocery stores. That's huge for us.

Q: As you just said, Grand Brands is almost two years old now. When you look back, on the last two years, what makes you most proud?

A: On a personal level, I am most proud of following through with a vision despite all the naysayers and gigantic hurdles. I am really proud of our team who has worked incredibly hard to help make this vision a reality. But most of all, I am proud of the fact that we have created a product that so many people are so enthusiastic about because it really helps them to live and eat better. When I read the results of one of our recent customer surveys and 72 percent of our customers said that because of True LemonT, they are drinking more water, well, that's so amazing to me. Also, I never imagined that True Lemon® would become such a popular salt replacement.

Q: What comes next for Grand Brands?

A: True Lemon ® in a shaker bottle for cooking, baking and seasoning is our next product and should be available by September. We are also coming out with True Lime®! We have quite a few other ideas in development right now which are all food products that are designed to maximize taste, health, convenience, and value.

Q: When you created True Lemon ®, did you have any idea it would have so many fans?

A: I had a hunch, but as I said, I am thrilled to see how many different ways True Lemon® is used by our customers!

Q: How many packets a day of True Lemon® do you use?

A: I use three to five packets each day, mostly in water, but I do try many of the suggestions we get!