It ran the year 2013 when the footwear components’ company Procalçado launched Lemon Jelly on the market. The new brand entered immediately into our imagination: injected, coloured, lemon-scented footwear that reminded us of the happiness of a candy and gum shop.
Exactly ten years of histories, successes, and achievements have passed. In Portugal and abroad. The brand has already reached thirty markets, with Germany, France, and the US among them. But indoors, success is also guaranteed. "It’s like raising a child, it has been hard work, especially being a Portuguese brand, but it’s a beautiful and inspiring project. It has been 10 years of a fantastic experience and some recognition, but I feel there’s still a long way to go”, admits José Pinto, speaking to Dinheiro Vivo.
The head of Lemon Jelly guarantees that the strategy has been honed over the years, whether in the approach to markets or in developing collections. "We are a small brand, worldwide, so we have to focus our energies on products and strategic markets. We have the next decade to start reaching other markets, but, for now, the strategy is of concentration, doing what we set out to do from the beginning, which was to bring innovation to the market with a differentiating brand in injected footwear”, says José Pinto.
To celebrate the date, Lemon Jelly organized a cocktail party in a private showroom in Milan, where it will be presenting the new collection for a month. One of the distinguished attendees in the brand’s showroom was Olivia Palermo. The actress and international influencer went to see the brand’s proposals in loco.
Sustainability at the helm
Sustainability has always been a cornerstone of the brand. However, in recent years became even more relevant, achieving the vegan seal of PETA (People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals). But that’s not all. Leveraging the know-how accumulated from the production of footwear soles, the incorporation of waste is now a reality. "Instead of having a recycled line, we incorporate as much waste as we can into every pair we make. For example, some black boots take 50% recycled raw materials, and their entire interior is constituted of recycled textiles”, explains José Pinto.
