By Jared D. Childress | OBSERVER Staff Writer
On a triple-digit heat day in Sacramento, what’s better than an ice cold glass of lemonade?
Answer: supporting Achazia, an 8-year-old entrepreneur.
As the creator of Sippin’ Pretti Lemonade, Achazia has become one of the city’s youngest entrepreneurs. Founded in August 2021, the traveling pop-up business has delighted Sacramentans with homemade lemonade pouches for just $5. There are 25 flavors, including original, black cherry, watermelon, and a mystery flavor that has been guessed by only one customer.
Most recently she became the youngest business owner featured at Underground Books, a Black-owned bookstore in Oak Park owned by Georgia “Mother Rose” West.
“At her age, most kids are thinking about being a princess, but she wants to do more,” said bookseller Aaliyah Reed, 27. “It’s really great to see someone at such a young age pushing for self-improvement. That’s not common nowadays.”
In between a constant stream of customers, Achazia earnestly talked up her lemonade.
“I worked very hard on it,” Achazia said. “I like to see [my customers] smile every time I give them lemonade.”
Achazia isn’t just hawking a product, she is on a mission to promote mental health. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, she saw how her lemonade lifted peoples’ spirits – starting with her mother, Alexis Senegal.
“A lot of life happened during the pandemic, and I was in a deep, dark depression,” Senegal, 35, said. She explained she had suddenly lost her business partner to COVID. “Emotionally pulling myself together to be there for another human was challenging.”
But Senegal showed up for her daughter, getting the wooden lemonade stand out of storage and setting it up in their neighborhood.
“As I was showing up for her, I was also getting happy,” Senegal said. “Achazia realized she could use this to make other people ‘get happy.’”
For more information on Sippin’ Pretti Lemonade, visit Achazia on instagram @SippinPrettiLLC.