California-based Pressed Juicery is a business that has had a long association with JBT’s juicing range. Beginning first with two Fresh’n Squeeze machines at a modest facility in West Los Angeles, the company has experienced exponential growth in every year since its inception, and in the process has substantially expanded it’s juicing systems. In an exclusive article, Mike Stokes, Vice President of Operations at Pressed Juicery explains how Pressed Juicery’s relationship with JBT has been a key factor in its growth and success, and why the companies continue to work closely to the present day.
Pressed Juicery is a leading cold-pressed juice company with the mission of making high nutrition a realistic option for everyone. To do this, we make products that are delicious, nutritious, accessible, affordable and for everyone. Pressed Juicery started as a passion project born in a 22-square foot broom closet in West Los Angeles that was founded by three friends whose lives had all been positively impacted by the power of juice. Today, the brand has over 70 locations through California, New York, Nevada, Washington, Hawaii and Massachusetts, and offers national shipping to all 50 states.
Pressed Juicery’s products include cold-pressed juices; Freeze, a revolutionary soft serve made from just fruits, nuts and vegetables; functional 2 oz. shots; and Heat, a line of superfood lattes. The company’s products were created with their customers in mind, proving that health, great taste and affordability can all exist together.
Right partnership
Pressed Juicery’s relationship with JBT first began in the early days of the business. The company was growing rapidly and we needed to relocate into a larger manufacturing plant.
We were looking for a scalable process but it was also paramount to us to maintain our quality. It was imperative that we provide our customers with great-tasting, safe citrus juices.
This then triggered the manufacturing team to evaluate its current processes. We realized we needed a better method of juicing our citrus. In the current process we were peeling our citrus and then pressing them on a good nature press. The manufacturing team knew we wanted to go to a juice extractor but didn’t have enough volume.
Some of the manufacturing team members had previous experience with JBT and were confident this would be the right partnership to deliver the best product. We determined the Fresh’n Squeeze model would fit our needs.
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Ongoing support
When Pressed Juicery relocated its manufacturing plant to Central California we started with two Fresh’n Squeeze machines. We juiced our lemon, orange, grapefruit, lime, and blood oranges. This was a major upgrade from hand peeling every piece of citrus.
Pressed Juicery has experienced exponential growth since inception. As our business continued to expand and enter different markets we realized we needed to upgrade our Fresh’n Squeeze machines to a citrus extractor. We could no longer keep juicing on the small Fresh’n Squeeze machine to keep up with demand.
JBT has provided a level of expertise on the citrus side that has benefited the entire team. They have been able to support us throughout our journey and have provided guidance in ensuring our extraction equipment provides the best quality product. Their maintenance team has ensured our machine is running efficiently at all times. JBT touches many areas of our operations and it’s nice to have a single source for business discussions around our citrus processes.
We believe we have just scratched the surface with JBT. They are an innovative company that is paving the way in new processes, and our partnership will lead us to different projects around juicing. I believe as we continue to grow and expand JBT will be there as a resource to help us determine the best equipment for our operations.