We’ll post our perspectives on the juicing industry, relevant industry news, recipes, and much more. Feel free to reach out to us to share your thoughts or questions. We’re looking forward to a long and fruitful dialogue with our readers.
What do “natural” and “fresh” mean? These words hold a much deeper meaning than one might imagine, especially in the juicing industry.
There are multiple government agencies involved in defining what these and other similar terms mean and don’t mean, when these terms can or cannot be used, what brands can or cannot claim. Multiple class-action suits have been brought against major branded companies fighting about what’s meant by “fresh” and what exactly is “natural.” While these lawsuits range from allegations of false claims to false advertising, what they do is represent a developing “trust deficit” in the market on the part of the consumer.
There are several things consumers question while purchasing food in addition to price, and importantly, several things a shopper will internally or externally ask themselves. What does it mean when a grocery store or restaurant says they are serving “fresh” or “100% natural” products? What does a brand say “nothing added” or “no preservatives” mean?
Citrus America, Inc. was formed to address all those issues.
Our path to success was simple: provide the highest-quality equipment, thorough product training, and around-the-clock technical support, and coach customers on how to be successful with their investment in our equipment. Our original vision has expanded to a variety of juices. Our juicers are now used for fresh lemon, lime, grapefruit, tangerine, and pomegranate juice. Our juice can be used for pure juice enjoyment or craft cocktails, as cooking ingredients, and to be mixed in with other fresh juice and smoothie concepts.
Keep It Simple
Even though this may seem like a complicated discussion, it can be very simple. Supermarkets and restaurants can give the consumer proper transparency, then they, the consumer, can make the right decisions for themselves, reducing the importance of government in defining terms such as “fresh” and “natural”. Government agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are meant to support food safety and ensure a certain degree of truth in advertising. Still, the consumer can make their own decisions about what tastes better and what’s “fresh” and “natural” as long as the operator provides proper transparency.
Offer Fresh
For many juice lovers, experiencing fresh, on-demand, in-store, squeezed citrus juice may be a first-time experience. People are surprised to find out what fresh juices taste like. Once somebody tastes fresh orange juice (especially low peel oil for more sweetness), cocktails made with fresh citrus juices, and other high-quality products, it is tough to forget them. Lower-quality products simply lose their appeal, and quality wins out.
Grocery retailers, hotels, bars, restaurants, cafés, bakeries, etc., can serve “fresh” and “natural,” but also need to have the ability to demonstrate to customers that the products they are providing accurately meet their standards. Naturally, a company can also offer a wide variety of packaged products. These alternative products can also be high-quality products. However, fresh products are the direction to take to reinforce a fresh image. Many grocery stores have fresh-cut produce operations and meal-prep departments for fresh food. Many restaurants have open kitchen formats, where customers can see what they are cooking and smell what they are making. After witnessing these fresh visual processes, one taste supports the overall dining/buying experience, which should be exceptional.
Providing high quality is not easy, but it does not have to be overly difficult either. It requires some thought, planning, and effort, but we all know it’s worth it when we see a happy customer who enjoys their experience at your location and soon returns to enjoy your products and services. Quality costs, but quality pays as well.
Build Trust
A retailer or food service operator can overcome the developing “trust deficit” by building trust with their target audience. This will start by earning the trust of each consumer one at a time. Then, a domino effect will ensue, supported by repeat positive experiences and word of mouth. When one provides many choices with proper transparency, the consumer is likelier to become a loyal shopper or guest. That’s building Trust Capital.
A quality-focused company should be known for serving high-quality ingredients. The products and services it offers, how fresh they are, and how they taste can either rise or fall with its clientele and market share.
Invest in Your Brand
Smart investments with fast paybacks can help operators develop and strengthen their quality image and have paybacks far beyond just earning attractive margins and Healthy Profits directly from juicing. Improved brand image, increased trust capital, increased in-store customer frequency, and gains in market share are additional benefits that build long-term value on top of near-term profits.
Earn Healthy Profits
Juicing is not a new phenomenon. Making juice has been around for thousands of years. Squeezing grapes and making wine are the earliest documented forms of juicing, dating back to biblical times. Making juice one glass at a time is a relatively simple process. However, making several or even hundreds or thousands of servings per day requires some know-how and excellent equipment.
These fairly straightforward guidelines can help one implement a successful juicing program. In the end, the consumer will always make their own purchasing decisions. However, it’s up to responsible business people to exemplify transparency so consumers can make properly informed decisions and get the product they want.
That’s The Juice, The Whole Juice, and Nothing but The Juice.
Citrus America, Inc. will share our thoughts and insights into fresh juicing here. We hope to help you be successful. In the meantime:
- If you’re thinking about getting into juicing, please feel free to contact us and discuss
- If you’re already juicing and looking to improve or grow your juicing operations, let us know how we can help
The Juice
