Barrington Duo’s Journey From Lemonade Stand to Bottled Goods

Little Maven Lemonade purveys fresh juices and a cultural message

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It all started with a lemonade stand. Mariana Silva-Buck saw her young daughter Sofia’s thirst for success that couldn’t be satiated by miniature paper cups in the sleepy Massachusetts town where they were living. That’s when the bottling began. By the time the mother-and-daughter duo moved to Barrington, they started meeting neighbors from all over the world and learning what flavors others enjoyed sipping on hot summer days. Under the moniker of Little Maven Lemonade and with the help of incubator space at Hope & Main, the pair started developing new varieties like Unicorn Lemonade using Blue Butterfly Pea Flowers, which are native to Thailand and Malaysia.

“Our goal is to celebrate our immigrant heritage, expand the tables instead of building walls, and start a conversation about those American identities that have immigrant roots,” Mariana explains. Her own roots stemming from Brazil, Mariana states both hers and Sofia’s favorite is Amazonia, an authentic Brazilian limeade, but they create each with care and thoughtfulness.

From refrigerated bottles at local markets and found on the WhatsGood app and Farm Fresh RI’s Market Mobile platform, now shelf-stable bottles are beginning to hit the stands. “This is a game changer for us,” says Mariana. “It allows me to scale the lemonade to much larger batches without being afraid to have product go to waste. The lemonade remains just four to five ingredients, no preservatives.”

Little Maven Lemonade’s mission also extends beyond the product. With the help of sponsor Lawrence Air Systems, summer Fridays brought Courtyard at The Cove, the brainchild of Mariana to host community block parties at Police Cove Park, “an event that’s welcoming to all cultures and inclusive to people from and outside of Barrington,” she explains. “I believe in celebrating multiculturalism, diversity, and inclusion, and  Courtyard at The Cove was created with that goal, to have an opportunity for the community to gather and be introduced to all the flavors the world has to offer – from the food to the dance.” 

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