Summer in Rhode Island wouldn’t be the same without Del’s Lemonade, and for Sydney Amaral ’26 it has been a season for squeezing the most out of a marketing internship at one of the Ocean State’s most iconic brands.
Amaral, who is set to graduate in December with a Marketing degree, has been looking for jobs in the cosmetics or finance industries, but it’s her background in the food and beverage industry — including stints working at local restaurants like East Bay Oyster Bar and Honeybird Kitchen + Cocktails — that led her to the Del’s internship.
“It was a good way to get hands-on experience and see how much strategy goes into growing and maintaining a well-known Rhode Island brand,” explains the East Providence, Rhode Island native. “As a kid, I would always see the Del’s truck at the beach. I felt that this was something I'd be interested in, because not only will it help me in the future but it's something that reminds me of my childhood.”
“As a kid, I would always see the Del’s truck at the beach. I felt that this was something I'd be interested in, because not only will it help me in the future but it's something that reminds me of my childhood.”
Founded in 1948 in Cranston, Rhode Island, Del’s Lemonade’s signature product is a fruit ice containing sugar and bits of real lemon. The company has more than a dozen storefront locations in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, plus a fleet of trucks that sell frozen lemonade to thirsty beachgoers and can also be found parked at various locations around the state during warmer months. Recently, the company has expanded its reach by establishing locations in Boston, Maine, and Florida.
Amaral interned on the research and development team at Del’s headquarters. There, she worked on signage, digital menus, franchise research, and wrote a comprehensive marketing plan for the company.
“It was cool to see how they're always able to stay aligned with their goals and stay on brand with the colors and patterns they use,” she says. “It's a brand that people instantly trust and recognize due to their consistency. Every design they create and their signs and promotional items always fit their identity down to the small details.”
Being part of the Del’s research and development team also meant occasionally getting hands-on with the product. “Some days I would be literally bottling Del’s lemonade,” Amaral says.
Among her fellow Rhode Islanders, Amaral’s internship at Del’s carried a certain amount of cachet — but also the misunderstanding that she was working on a Del’s truck, as so many local high school and college students do each summer.
“It's a brand that people instantly trust and recognize due to their consistency. Every design they create and their signs and promotional items always fit their identity down to the small details.”
“Some people would just think you’re scooping lemonade, and even I didn’t know they had this headquarters in Cranston where they do all the behind-the-scenes stuff while making the lemonade there, too,” she says. “I'm so used to being a customer-facing person at a restaurant, but the behind-the-business operation is such a different experience.
“I get to see the marketing, the branding, and the strategy that influences the overall customer experience,” she says. “It just confirms that I want to pursue a career in marketing for a well-known consumer brand.”