Dirty Lemon is a brand-new, exclusive, instagram famous, charcoal activated detox cleanse juice beverage currently found in the hands of the instagram fitness elite, the famous, and social media influencers across the world. Spearheaded by an impeccably presented art directed advertising campaign and dominating the instagram feeds of the most stylish and health conscious fitfluencers, DirtyLemon has exploded from its New York roots into the eye of the international consumer zeitgeist- and doesn’t show any sign of holding back.
In this article we’ll push beyond the hype and discover what makes DirtyLemon so popular for post-cheat meal guilty trendsetters and tumblristas, and unveil the secret future of this latest iteration of fashion accessory beverages.
What is DirtyLemon?
Dirty Lemon, at its heart, is a refreshing and zesty combination of water, raw cold-pressed lemon juice, ginger-root extract, dandelion-root extract, and activated charcoal sourced from coconut shells. Dirty Lemon professes to detox and cleanse the digestive system by means of the special restorative qualities of the aforementioned ingredients- Ginger and dandelion root help with digestion and liver function and lemon juice is good for gastrointestinal system cleansing.
The main event for this detox circus, however, is the inclusion of activated charcoal in the medicinal concoction of Dirty Lemon. Activated charcoal has been used since ancient egyptian times for a myriad of medicinal applications. Activated charcoal is essentially charcoal that has been heated or otherwise treated to increase its absorptive power- the treatment causes the porous element of its internal structure to increase in size, which in turn causes the charcoal to become more absorbent. It’s activated charcoal. It’s special charcoal. You may not have heard of it.
Activated charcoal can absorb up to 3,000x its size in toxins like heavy metals or the acetates created when your body is attempting to digest alcohol. Historically activated charcoal has been used to treat poisoning, flatulence, pregnancy complications and low cholesterol levels, and now it can be used to treat your sunday morning hangover after too many espresso martinis, available in a pleasantly tangy guilt-free beverage.
Dirty Lemon is different. Dirty Lemon, unlike other health drinks available on the market, is largely unsweetened- containing only one gram of sugar per 16 ounce bottle. For the health-conscious, there are only 10 calories per every bottle of Dirty Lemon. Did we mention Dirty Lemon is also black? Fashionably black.
How Does Dirty Lemon Work?
The Dirty Lemon formula has been composed by an elite team of nutritionists and naturopaths to ensure the composition is scientifically sound and delivers real-world results. The concept driving Dirty Lemon is that the specific combination of naturopathic elements in the beverage can help with digestion, balance the pH levels of the body, and flush toxins from the system.
When ingested, activated charcoal can bind and flush out toxins, heavy metals, pesticides, and bacteria from the gut. Activated charcoal isn’t the only active ingredient in Dirty Lemon, however. Dandelion extract is a natural diuretic, and assists the body in removing excess water weight (read: it makes you pee a lot) which is excellent for literally flushing the negative elements that cause hangovers from the body. Ginger extract is a natural anti inflammatory, and has strong anti bloating effects.
Consuming elements like charcoal has been touted in the past by stars like Victoria Beckham, with positive effects like helping practitioners lose weight and avoid problems like arthritis and cancer. If you’re taking a regular medical prescription, however, beware- activated charcoal is so efficient in removing elements from the body it bind with your prescription and render it inert, so be sure to leave a five hour break between any pills you take and your next bottle of DirtyLemon.
The Origin of Dirty Lemon
The mastermind behind the unrivalled success of Dirty Lemon is Zak Normandin, an American entrepreneur based in New York. With a strong background in advertising and creating innovative packaging, Normandin created the precursor to Dirty Lemon, Little Duck Organics, in his basement in 2009. Over the following years Normandin went on to win several innovation awards for Little Duck Organics, and developed a retail presence in over 30 countries worldwide. In 2014, Normandin sold his majority control of Little Duck Organics, and left the company to start a creative agency and product development house.
Normandin created Dirty Lemon in order to connect with an increasing demographic of consumers who were searching for a health solution that delivered real-world results without having to compromise on behavioural or lifestyle choices. Normandin, when queried about the inception of the brand, stated “Our thought process was that if we could create a high-quality health food product we could stand behind, and we paired that with marketing that appeals to what modern consumers are looking for, then we’d have a really interesting brand proposition,”
The brand proposition has been successful indeed, with an average re-order rate of one case per customer. One of the pivotal elements of the success of DirtyLemon’s marketing is it’s uniquely exclusive text-only ordering system. Eager DirtyLemon consumers are only able to purchase cases of DirtyLemon ($65 USD for a pack of six) via a bespoke text ordering system created by Normandin himself. The system itself is elegantly simple- just text the provided number with the amount of cases you’d like to order, your address, and credit card details, and DirtyLemon will do the rest. To streamline the purchase process, the system stores the billing information for each number associated with an address, making it easy for fans of DirtyLemon to get their next activated-charcoal-lemon-water with minor fuss.
Combined with a uber-trendy packaging and a relentless onslaught of reblogs, doubt-taps and regrams, the marketing campaign for DirtyLemon has generated record social media engagement numbers, converting into massive order numbers.
The Bottom Line
With a cavalier approach to the fitness lifestyle and the social media campaign #lifeisnotacleanse, Dirty Lemon has a fun, free but healthy message that resonates with the temporary awareness of the iPhone generation. Normandin has described the Dirty Lemon modus operandi as “providing the product that fits really well with what people are already looking to do.” Dirty Lemon provides gratification for both the ego and the body- and looks good doing it.
