Karma Drinks is a New Zealand based social enterprise on a mission to make the world’s most ethical soft drink. From humble beginnings with a single bottle of cola, the team behind Karma set out to prove that business can be a force for good and that every drink can create meaningful change. For every bottle sold, a portion goes to the Karma Foundation, which supports communities in Sierra Leone through education, infrastructure, and opportunity. With over $1 million invested back into the communities that grow their ingredients, Karma’s impact is deep, measurable, and personal. Proudly certified Fairtrade and organic, and never packaged in plastic bottles, Karma Drinks is showing what it looks like to lead with integrity.
Rooted in transparency, justice, and joy, Karma Drinks continues to challenge the status quo of the beverage industry. We spoke with Jonny Harrison to explore what it takes to build a brand where doing good isn’t just a slogan — it’s the whole point.
Doing good is part of our DNA and makes us who we are not only as a brand but as a business too. As part of our culture we always find ways to do good, not only through our Foundation which is on show to the public, but in everything we do behind the scene too, for example banning single use coffee cups from our office.
Tell us something that excites you about your role within Karma Drinks? What’s been your proudest moment at Karma so far — big or small?
My role is so varied from day to day and everyday throws up new challenges which keep me energised and motivated. I get excited when I have the opportunity to help the team around me succeed, either by supporting them or by helping remove the barriers between them and their goals.
I’d call out two moments during my time at Karma so far, the first was seeing a customer activation in the UK for International Womens Day; we shared the story of a young girl who we enabled to go to school, and became the first girl we supported through university, and she has now qualified as a teacher and is working in a school we helped to build. Every time I tell this story it makes me immensely proud of the work the Foundation does.
The second moment was having the whole NZ team come together during a visit from our Foundation Chairman and seeing the passion that the whole team has for the amazing brand we have built.
What are Karma’s sustainability priorities?
Sustainability is hugely important within Karma, and it’s something we try to incorporate into everything we do. We are proud to have never put our products into plastic bottles and always strive to find ways to be more sustainable. This extends beyond what you see in the fridge, to our office practices (paperless where possible, no single use coffee cups etc), using hybrid cars for our sales teams and starting to explore electric delivery vans. More formally we also support 1 Tribe, allocating a portion of our sales to save the rainforests.
What’s something surprising about the drinks industry most people wouldn’t guess?
Drinks are a volume driven opportunity, so you don’t make very much margin on a single can or bottle, and you need to sell a lot of drinks just to cover your basic costs. This means lots of manufacturers become very focused on saving every cent they can on each drink, and this often comes at the expense of ethics and quality. Karma is quite unique in it’s drive to be the worlds most ethical soft drink, and this means that while we pay a little more to use organic, fairtrade ingredients we know it’s the right thing for the long term.
What’s one change you’d love to see across the food and drink industry?
It’s tiring seeing the small challenger brands in the market who have the least influence and funds being the ones continually striving for change within the industry. Meaningful commitment by the larger players within the industry to take responsibility for the impact we collectively have on the environment is long overdue; ocean plastics are huge issue and drinks containers are the leading contributor to this pollution.
How would you describe the next chapter of Karma Drinks under your leadership?
It’s certainly going to be a huge chapter for Karma Drinks! We have a great team and an amazing brand and we are starting to unlock lots of new opportunities across the 3 countries we currently operate in (NZ, Australia and the UK). We are really focused on making Karma available in more places so we can share our delicious drinks with more people. This isn’t an ego play on our part, our mission is simple; the more drinks we sell the more good we can do. We have a big agenda to deliver in Sierra Leone and we need to sell as many drinks as possible to make this happen.
Can you share a career highlight with us?
I’ve been fortunate enough to have lots of amazing experiences during my career and worked with some amazing people and brands. I honestly feel that Karma is a huge highlight for me, it’s a culmination of years of experience in an industry I am passionate about but also the opportunity to do this with a focus on ethics and our foundation. Being a parent it’s eye opening to see how passionate the next generation is about protecting our planet and prioritising the future over today, and the work we do at Karma really resonates with my daughters as we talk about what’s happening in Sierra Leone. I think it’s the first time in my career where my daughters are genuinely interested in what happens at my work.
Finally, what does Fairtrade mean for you and Karma?
Fairtrade for me is all about treating our suppliers as we would expect to be treated ourselves. I’ve mentioned that drinks is all about managing costs, and that’s why many farmers, growers, and workers are susceptible to exploitation. I was always raised to ‘treat others the way you’d want to be treated’ and that’s exactly what Fairtrade means to me. Karma is striving to be the worlds most ethical soft drink, and Fairtade is a non-negotiable to us in this pursuit.