Brand Story

Pronounced "lee-luh-naa", it is a combination of Native American and French terms meaning "delight of life". Leelanau is a lake, peninsula, county as well as brand of iced tea and lemonades!

This little paragraph to the right captures a lot. Living here in the little finger of Michigan, we are surrounded by cherry orchards that blossom every spring with beautiful white flowers. And every summer we are blessed with the most delicious fruit God ever created. Some years we see a bountiful harvest while other years a late frost that can really hurt. Rain or shine, cherries are pretty big around here and for good reason why we are deemed the Cherry Capital of the World...there are truly that many!

I founded Leelanau after 10 years of brewing my own cherry iced tea at home using a $35 brewer from Bed Bath & Beyond. At the time I was drinking entirely too much pop (soda for anyone not from the midwest) and wanted to replace my habit with something more healthy. It was an immediate family favorite which seeded a dream to hopefully someday share with others.

Several years later, with a little extra time on my hands in the spring of 2020 I founded Leelanau Bottling Company. I will never forget that first summer, thousands of miles logged, meeting new people, delivering tea, getting yelled at by the Pepsi delivery gal for taking her space, lol...it was quite the experience. Leelanau is still growing, making refinements to the brand as we grow. But it is a family business with a few brand promises that we hold dear.

So if you can imagine a beautiful sunny day, blue skies, cruising over rolling hills with the windows down to your favorite song, headed to your favorite beach...that is the perfect Northern Michigan summer day. And for many of you, it is your annual pilgrimage to this freshwater paradise. My hope is that you have this experience while drinking a cherry beverage and the opportunity the rest of the year as well. Wherever you are, I hope you can find a bottle of Leelanau and that your mind, body and soul are transported back to that perfect summer day.

Kevin Vann - Founder & Head Cherry Monger