Today we’d like to introduce you to Chantel Jones Bigby.
Hi Chantel, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
My journey started with my curiosity of trying to reverse my health issues naturally. I had high blood pressure, high bad cholesterol, fibroids, and more. I remember watching a documentary about the healing powers that juice can offer to the body and decided I had nothing to lose but to try. I immediately bought a juicer and started my juicing journey. That was a little over 8 years. I started and stopped many times for various reasons, but mainly because I just couldn’t find my groove with the time it took to juice, nor did I enjoy the juice very much. Although I was desperate to find a natural solution to reverse my health issues, one thing about me- if the juice was nasty, I just couldn’t do it. And it was. I just couldn’t figure out how to make the juice that I wanted to consume. Fast forward 6 years, I hit my final straw. I was now a wife and new mother and knew I needed to take control of my health, not only for myself but for my growing family. So, I dusted off my juicer and tried again. This time with a new level of zeal and determination to create juice recipes that made “healthy taste good.” Before you know it, I was a juicing machine and created recipes that were DELICIOUS! I decided to use my husband Darius as my taste tester because he is anti-fruit and vegetables, and I mean ANTI. Shockingly, my husband LOVED my juices!! And so did my toddler daughter. At that point, I knew I was on to something. Juicing was now part of my daily wellness practice, and within a year of consistently doing so not only did I reverse my hypertension diagnosis and reduce my bad cholesterol, but I also found joy in the journey of this practice and a renewed sense of life. I was so in love with my juice and the benefits that I experienced that I started giving it away to friends and family that I knew were also trying to live a healthier lifestyle. Before you know it, I started getting asked if people could buy the juice from me. From there, it started spreading by word of mouth like wildfire. My husband and my community of family & friends encouraged me to turn my passion for juicing and wellness into a business, and that’s when Joy Juice Culture was created. Within 7 months, I had more orders than I could manage and found a commercial kitchen in Garland to produce more of Juice for my community. And that’s where I am today. Joy Juice Culture is bigger than delicious juice. It’s about restoring a culture of joy and generational health for ourselves, our families, and within the communities where we work, live, and play.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I can’t say it’s been a smooth road, but like starting any new business, there are challenges, particularly funding, and bootstrapping to get started. Gratefully, my business is growing rather organically through personal referrals, and I haven’t had to worry about where and how to find customers, however, I’m currently in the position of needing to find funding to obtain the next level of equipment to continue to meet our demand, and scale our operation for growth.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Joy Juice Culture is a profit-for-purpose Juice & Holistic Wellness company located in Garland, TX. We are on a mission to help our community to live healthy, joy-filled lives through Juice, Wellness Education, and access to Plant-Powered Foods. We are best known for serving delicious tasting gourmet juice that makes every customer shocked that they are drinking all-natural juice without added sugars, and not to forget feeling the joy in their body after one sip. We hope that our Juices sparks the appetite for people to pursue a life of wellness and joy at the heart of their daily lives. I also want our community to know that our brand is bigger than delicious juice. Joy Juice Culture is a vehicle to wellness, community care. In addition to offering Juice and Wellness products, we also participate in speaking engagements and host workshops for both youth and adults to learn and experience health & joy from juicing. We host workshops about the business of juicing as well, with hopes of supporting future entrepreneurs and innovators to move their idea from a passion project to a profit-for-purpose company. We invite anyone interested in collaborating on this mission to visit our website www.joyjuiceculture.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk-taking.
Normally when someone says the word risk-taking, I give a natural side-eye. I’ve grown to be risk-averse now that I’m responsible for providing for small humans, i.e., my children. And for this reason, in business particularly, I’m very intentional about assessing risks early and preventing problems that could have dire consequences. Once I’ve done my due diligence, I’ve become much more comfortable taking a risk on something that I wholeheartedly believe in. And that’s how I feel about Joy Juice Culture. Yes, I’ve sacrificed money in the business to get us going, but the biggest value investment that I’ve taken a risk on is my time. Time is an asset that I can’t get back. Very early mornings and late nights. So, when I give it away, you best believe it is for a cause and vision greater than myself. I’m all in.
Pricing:
- 12oz bottle of Joy Juice starts at $8.00
Contact Info:
- Website: www.joyjuiceculture.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joyjuiceculture/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joyjuiceculture/
