Spotlight on Ripe Juicery: Cold Pressed Juice That Cares!

Many organizations and companies are seeing not only the ethical perspective but also the overall value in being more transparent in the way that products or services are made or executed. Consumers are becoming more and more aware about the products and services that there are buying into and the impact their purchases make. Are they making a ridiculous amount of profit? How are their suppliers treated? Are communities, individuals or animals marginalized or exploited by their day-to-day operations? These are questions that consumers are asking themselves. Entrepreneurs and new business owners should be aware of these growing consumeristic behaviors before opening doors to their clients.

Co-founders of Ripe Juicery, Lindsay Haley and Meghan Attwater, started their business with these behaviors in mind and with a pure passion for “healthy food, organic farming and leaving a smaller footprint as a business”, they said. While Lindsay owned a yoga company in the past and practised as an aesthetician and Meghan with a background in addictions and mental health, it was clear to them that this was their next step. “We both love plant based foods and juice, fitness and gardening”, they said, so it would only be natural to combine these passions in their start-up. Ripe Juicery was born and their ethical based approach to business has definitely been a breath of fresh air.

“Ripe Juicery is a cold pressed organic juicer, specializing in all things plant based”, the cofounders explained. “We create all of our products from scratch and package them in a glass or eco-friendly packaging. Ripe is a zero waste company, donating even the pulp that remains to a local animal sanctuary. We promote a healthy, approachable and transparent way to business, priding ourselves on being 100% dairy, gluten and refined sugar free”. In short, these entrepreneurs created a line of cold pressed juices that care!

All businesses start somewhere and for these entrepreneurs it was backpacking in Hawaii and spending time in Costa Rica surfing and practising yoga. “We returned feeling inspired and noticed that there were no plant based businesses or juiceries that created the product we loved, so we jumped in with both feet and have yet to look back,” they stated. Obviously their hard word is paying off because these co-founders are opening their third location, adding expansions in with their food menu and with a larger prep-kitchen. “We hope to see a few more locations in the following year, an expanded delivery program and possibly growing their own produce!”

Meghan and Lindsay have seen their fair share of hurdles when launching their business and when asked about the main ones faced, this is what there had to say: “We have had many hurdles thus far at Ripe. We have has equipment fail, staffing struggles and funding fails. We approached every struggle in the same way—we roll up our sleeves and get to work! Business is simple, work harder than everyone else and share with the world what you love. We have worked from 6am-3am some days to make Ripe possible. Hard work is the key to every struggle”.

Futurpreneur Canada supported these two young entrepreneurs in their beginning years, providing financing to their business and with a handpicked pairing to a business mentor for two years. “Our mentor Fran has become a friend and business partner, as we now use her product in our stores! We appreciated being able to openly ask questions and have someone to bounce ideas off of,” they said.

This Canadian company serves not only fresh juices, but a fresh approach to running a business. “We are most proud that we have stuck to our values in business. We use 100% eco-friendly packaging, we source produce from local farms, we use ALL Canadian suppliers and we treat our customers like family! When you visit Ripe, you can feel the love.”

To any entrepreneur out there that is looking to start their own business, click here.

Written by: Sara Pivato, Social Media and Content Intern, Futurpreneur Canada