Do you juice? Apparently more people do every day. The industry is growing at an incredible clip, anchored by New York and Los Angeles, the two cities credited with starting the whole trend. Here in Dallas, juicing hasn't quite become the lifestyle it has out on the coasts, but the movement has a strong foothold and it's growing rapidly, catering to those who can't be bothered with messy, high maintenance juicing equipment at home.
"We double in size every two months," said Hanson Walker, chief operating officer of Roots Juices, a Dallas based company with a warehouse and processing center on Harry Hines Boulevard. Demand has been so high they're adding a Pressed Right industrial juicer, which uses pressure instead of centrifugal force to extract juice and is capable of producing 30 gallons an hour. They recently took on six new employees as they continue to expand.
Walker says they're working on a storefront and juice bar, but right now all of their juices must be ordered online or purchased through resellers in and around Dallas. Equinox, the high-end gym on Oak Lawn Avenue and both locations of Beyond Studios in North Dallas provide Roots Juices for those looking to recuperate after a long workout. Mudsmith and Drip Coffee also offer their products for those of us who can't be bothered with gyms.
The Juice Bar in the Inwood Village also markets to gym rats, capitalizing on its close proximity to two specialty gyms and a yoga studio. Theresa Petty, who's been working at the shop since it opened a year ago, says many customers come in before or after their workout for a jolt of beta-carotene. Customers committing to days-long juice binges, affectionately known as cleanses, are responsible for even more demand. "Our cleanses have gone crazy," Petty said.
The Juice Bar started offering packages of juices for one to three day cleanses this January, capitalizing on a slew of resolutionists who felt guilty about eating too much figgy pudding the year before. Customers can pay nearly $70 for eight bottles containing pressed juices, kombucha, nut milk and alkaline lemon aloe water, in an attempt to wash away their gustatory sins. Roots Juices offers similar packages. For $250 customers can torture themselves with five days of liquified fruit and vegetables. If that sounds expensive, the prices are competitive. A significant portion of Roots Juices products are shipped to Los Angeles and New York, where similar products cost much more.
While the health benefits of juicing remain in debate (the juices lack fiber, and the human body has been capable of cleansing itself since the dawn of humanity) the demand for bottled juices continues to grow.
And if you're not interested in using juice like an all natural Roto-Rooter you can still get in the juicing game. Roots Juices offers a number of juice-based cocktail mixers that are custom blended to work well with alcohol. Touting names like watermelon cooler and pear passion, the juices are marketed as a healthy mixing alternative to "toxic" sodas. Gin-n-juice just got a serious upgrade.
