Our story starts in 2002 when we sold our small acerage on Brisbanes Southside and purchased our 70 acre property at Tandur , approx 2hours North of Brisbane.
We chose this property for its rich , deep sandy loam soils . regular high rainfall and abundant natural waters sources.
Planting of the first section of Tahitian Lime trees followed soon after and the Suncoast Limes dream began.
After a few years we realised the market for fresh limes was over supplied for much of the year and the farmer price for the fresh fruit was so low many farmers (us included) simply dumped the fruit for a part of the year and only supplied fresh fruit as the supply decreased and prices rose in the later months of the year.
This saw us dump up to 20 tons of limes some years .
We could not bear to waste so much fuit each year so in 2010 we decided to value add with a range of products made from the excess fruit that would otherwise go to waste.
Over the years the Suncoast Limes range of products has slowly grown .
And now ….
Behold our latest creation !
Scurvy Dog lime chilli soda …….. The Drink with Bite .
This is a refrehingly spicy combination of Australian Limes and Australian Chillis in a sparkling drink.
Made with Real Fresh limes and Chillis , not concentrates and flavourings.
It can be enjoyed on it’s own or you can use it to create unique and exciting cocktails.
It’s a great mixer for spirits such as Vodka , Gin , Tequila and the list goes on.
Best of all it’s 100% Aussie Farmer owned and grown.
Locally Owned , Grown and Made.
Scurvy Dog is a name we have always liked.
Perhaps it grew on me as a young child watching old Pirate movies .
But here’s a short explanation of the name.
Back in the old days a disease called Scurvy was common in many Navies.
Today we know it’s caused by a lack of vitamin C , but back then it’s cause was a mystery.
Captain James Cook ( Yes , that Captain Cook ! ) realised that a dose of Lime juice would cure those sailors with the disease and stop any others from getting it, so a Lime ration was introduced into the Royal British Navy .
That’s why for many years Sailors with the Royal Navy were know as Limey’s.
Scurvy Dog was a name given to some rough old Sailors and Pirates .
We chose it because it fits nicely with our product.
Scurvy for the Lime connection and Dog for the Chilli ( The Drink with Bite )
Besides , we love big boof headed dogs !!
We believe this is a Great drink with a Great future.
If we can get this drink into enough stores around Australia we can start to get more and more farmers involved so we all have an outlet for fruit that would normally be wasted . This would not only reduce waste but put more money into Australian farmers pockets and hopefully keep more small family owned and run farms like ours viable.
And this is where you come in ….
Being farmers , we already work long hours Seven days a week.
This makes it difficult to get out and promote Scurvy Dog the way it should be promoted.
Also , being a small family owned farm we don’t have the money to spend on large advertising campaigns and having sales reps on the roads every day.
We are aiming to raise $15 000 + .
This money will be spent employing one local person to go out on the road 2 / 3 days a week for 6 months and to get Scurvy Dog into as many Shops , Restaurants and Bars around South East Queensland as possible .
We hope that after the intial 6 months , the sales and income generated will allow us to continue and hopefully increase their employment hours with the view to take Scurvy Dog into more and more outlets.
In fact , we believe if we can get this drink out there we can take it throughout Australia and even overseas.
We just need to get it kick started.
The beverage industry in Australia is pretty big but it is dominated by a small number of major companies.
We believe we have a unique product.
Not only is it 100% Australian Owned , Grown and Made .
It’s a Non alcoholic sparkling Lime and Chilli drink made with Real Australian grown Fresh Limes and Chilli’s.
Not full of Artifical flavours or concentrates.
Just real Aussie grown ingredients.
So our major challenge is getting the product out there.
We believe if we can showcase it to as many Shops , Bars , Restaurants etc as we can,
it will find a market.
And from then on and with your help we can conquer the World !!