Today we’d like to introduce you to Ajay Sharma.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started my juice bar by accident, I was in the Marine Corps and deployed many times. I would eat meals ready to eat (MRE) which are highly processed; in other words, not good for you. Soon I realized that I was in great shape, but I had no energy, and I wasn’t truly healthy.
And, like a good Marine, I did what I could. I got nine hours of sleep every night. I ate rich, high-energy food full of meat and dairy. I drank coffee every few hours to keep me going. None of this helped, and to some extent, it actually made things worse: I was dragging myself through my days, exhausted and groggy.
So, I did my research. I took to YouTube to find experts on healthy eating. I read countless books on natural diets and how to use food to cultivate energy, alertness, and vigorous engagement with life. The book that affected me most was Montel Williams’ “Living Well.” Williams urges his readers to use food as a way to change their lifestyles and to focus on plant-based smoothies and juices.
That let me turn my life around. It was a joy – a liberation – to discover how much power food has over our lives. For me, the key was organic juices and smoothies. It’s a myth that you need to eat meat every day (or even at all). What you need is clean, healthy, varied vegetation.
It took me less than two weeks to escape my condition. Since then, a plant-based diet of fruits and vegetables has kept me riding high, with the energy to do what matters most to me. My body is better nourished, my mind is awake. My life has been changed, and much for the better.
My mission now is to share what I’ve found. I hope to help some of you find your own good health, and I’m doing that in the most direct way I can: by serving up fresh juices and smoothies from Salubrious Juice & More.
Has it been a smooth road?
It hasn’t been a smooth start. I had no restaurant or café experience before we opened Salubrious. It has been a steep learning curve. Before I opened, I needed the money to build our first location in Frisco. After countless rejections from various banks, it was clear that the money would come from angel investors only. I reached out to my family and friends who made this possible.
After we opened, I didn’t know where to get my organic produce for our smoothies and juices. I literally went to Kroger and Sprouts every single day to get our produce. Then training our helpers was another big challenge. I myself had no experience so how am I supposed to train anyone else? Luckily, I hired our store manager who was a manager at a Café. I learned a lot from him.
Then, as we were growing, we faced the issue of being more efficient at what we did. Our operation was not smooth, and we would not have juices prepared for a juice cleanse order, for example. So, learning how to keep getting more and more efficient was a challenge, and we are still improving our efficiency.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Salubrious Juice & More story. Tell us more about the business.
What makes us different is that we are 100% organic, 100% vegan and 100% natural. We do not posturize our juices or put preservatives. Our smoothies have real fruits only, and we do not even put ice in our smoothies. In other words, we are 100% healthy!
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The Economist and Forbes both declared that 2019 would be the year of vegan! I believe that more and more people are becoming vegans and now even NFL players have started to follow suit.
More and more restaurants are starting to carry the “vegan only” menu. This industry is looking very promising.
Pricing:
- $4.99 and up for smoothies
- $3.99 and up for juices
Contact Info:
- Address: 10990 Rolater Rd Suite 50 Frisco, TX 75035
- Website: www.salubriousjuiceandmore.com
- Phone: 972-704-3719
- Email: info@salubriousjuiceandmore.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/salubriousjuice/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/salubriousjuiceandmore/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/salubriousjuice
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/salubrious-juice-and-more-frisco
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