Clean Juice is a Startup Company that holds the distinction of being the first and only juice bar franchise that was certified by the USDA in 2016. Now, throughout 2017, the company is laying plans to expand to several new cities in various states.
Clean Juice was founded by Kat and Landon Eckles, a millennial couple who are in their early 30s and very focused on health and wellness. Kat and Landon spent an entire year developing the brand for their flagship store which opened in 2015 in North Carolina.
In its first year alone, Clean Juice achieved more than one-million-dollars in sales which led to the opening of three additional venues.
As of early 2017, the Eckles are actively negotiating contracts to open forty-four more Clean Juice locations across the United States, and the number grows each day.
While their initial focus began in the Southeast, they currently have signed franchise agreements in eight states including Arizona, Texas, and Pennsylvania. Moreover, they have corporate interest in states such as California and Colorado. These venues will be opened later this year and into 2018, fully embracing the popular organic food trend.
Menu
Kat Eckles became interested in wellness in 2007 after she had her first daughter. Kat soon realized how superior organic and plant-based foods are when she had much more energy after consuming them.
Kat and Landon recently had their fifth child and are just as dedicated to this lifestyle as ever.
Landon spent five years in management and sales, and he has translated these skills into running the Clean Juice business. “We saw a void in the marketplace when it came to organic foods and decided to create our own franchise,” Landon Eckles explained.
“We chose the name to reflect our commitment to organic, natural ingredients. We aren’t hiding any masked sugars or chemicals in our products and we wanted people to know that.”
The menu is currently broken down into six categories: Fresh Juice, Cold-pressed Juice, Smoothies, Protein Smoothies, Acai Bowls, and Bites. “Each is named with the main benefit that it provides, such as ‘The Immunity One’ or ‘The Detoxifying One,'” Landon stated.
“We are super proud of our menu because we designed it to reach a broad range of people: guests that come in who have been eating fast food for years can find something a bit sweeter that appeals to their palate, and the dedicated juicer can come in and grab a full green treat.
Our most popular item is one that surprised us: ‘The Berry Bowl,' an acai bowl featuring berries! My favorite is ‘The Youthful One’ Smoothie – a delicious blueberry coconut blend and Kat’s favorite is ‘The Intense One’ which is green based with spirulina. We are always adding new flavors. We have a seasonal menu that changes four times a year. Spring is coming up, so we have cult favorites ‘The Wedding One,' light, sweet treat with dates and ‘The Matcha One’ featuring Cacao & Matcha and tastes like a milkshake, but actually can burn fat!”
Expansion
Landon noted that his family took a risk by pursuing a non-traditional path, but they have become so successful that managing the rapid pace of the brand’s growth has become a challenge.
Despite the occasional hardships, the ability to work alongside his wife and help improve people’s lives has made all the effort worth it to Landon.
“We 100% believe that God has brought the right people into the Clean Juice journey and they have made it so fun, productive, and such a growth experience for all involved,” he said. “We want to grow so that the masses have access to a truly healthy, organic product while they are on-the-go, but we still want to serve each of these individual communities very personally.
We have put programs, like our ‘Juice Booster’ ambassador program and our new JAJO community service initiative, in place to make sure that we are invested in each area we serve. We found our passion and turned it into a business, and that’s why we feel so genuine to our customers.”
