Jessie started the company with her 4 sisters, almost 9 years ago out of her parents kitchen in Plymouth, MI. The ladies were all at a crossroads in their lives and Jessie was working full time as a hairstylist in NYC when the collective longing to take control of their lives came to the forefront. DROUGHT was built on sweat equity and very little start up cash from a friends and family kickstarter campaign. After 8 years of hard work and dedication to the brand, the sisters have opened a 15,000 sq foot production facility which they will use to take their brand national over the next few years.
After a career in pharmaceutical management and then international real estate development, Landon was fed up with the unhealthy lifestyle and rigorous travel schedule that these professions demanded. In 2014, he and his wife, Kat, decided to go all in on a small business venture together. With a passion for wellness, juice and organic plant-based foods, Clean Juice was founded. As of March 2019, Clean Juice has over 60 open locations nationwide, and will have close to 100 open locations by the end of the year.
A self-proclaimed recovering Taco Bell addict, Kat found her passion for all things wellness in 2007 after having her first daughter. Spending the succeeding years diving into the dynamic world of nutrition, she became obsessed with the indisputable benefits received from eating an organic and plant heavy diet. In 2014, she and her husband Landon decided to translate this passion into a business and started Clean Juice. She is ruthlessly focused on bringing the highest quality, organic and truly healthy product to the communities that Clean Juice has the opportunity to serve.
Cherie is a leading authority on juicing for health and detoxification. Known as The Juice Lady, TV chef, and celebrity nutritionist, she has helped in pioneering the fresh juice movement around the world. Cherie is author of 35 books including her bestseller Juicing For Life with over 2 million books sold. Cherie holds a Master of Science degree in whole foods nutrition from Bastyr University where she sat on the Board of Regents for five years. She and her husband offer juice and raw foods cleanse retreats throughout the year. Cherie has lectured worldwide on juicing, detoxing and fasting including consulting for the Royal Family of the UAE.
As a 2nd generation owner of Goodnature, Charlie has had the pleasure of being surrounded by the juicing industry since before he can even remember. Charlie started the first commercial juicing blog in 2014, and has spent most of his time developing the wonderful juicing community and connecting like-minded people. Charlie hosts a juicing podcast (Cold Pressed Truth), and was the lead in organizing the first JuiceCon in 2018. Charlie and his brother Eric launched the Juice Makers Association in 2018, and will be presenting it to the world at this year's event.
Eric is the creator of some of the industry’s favorite tools for making cold pressed juice, including the X1-Mini. An engineer and holder of multiple patents, he is a proponent of minimal processing and believes innovators should work towards keeping food simpler and more natural, without relying on added chemicals and processing steps.
Matthew Sherman is widely known as a community creator and culinary innovator. His mission over the past decade has been to transform the category of healthy foods from a boring, arduous and exclusive landscape to a fun, and inspiring experience, focused on building the community of health. Sherman’s multifaceted abilities to brand, lead and cultivate experiences quickly set him apart from other entrepreneurs and chefs. In 2010 Matthew started jugofresh, a cold pressed juice company, from his home. In 2012 he opened his first brick and mortar location. In 2014 jugofresh had 6 locations and signed a deal to take over all of Whole Foods Markets juice bars in Florida. After opening 9 Whole Foods Market locations the brand began to experience growing pains that they couldn’t overcome. Sherman will share the full story of the rise and fall of a Miami cult like followed brand.
Ben is the co-founder and chief architect of Canteen, an omni-channel back-store solution for juice companies. A veteran software developer, he's worked with small startups, growing enterprises, and large corporations to help them become more productive through automation and data-driven insights.
Ross has been on a mission to bring health and nutrition to the world. After a decade long career consulting for some of the top brands in fitness, Ross became well known within the cold pressed juice industry by leading the expansion of Liquiteria, consulting for Organic Avenue and founding Pure Green, a fast growing cold pressed juice and smoothie company now represented in over 28 states.
Erin Powell is the Founder & CEO of Ginger Juice, located in Richmond, Va. The company is called Ginger Juice after her son, Sayer, and his bright red hair! Erin started juicing in 2014 as a way to increase fruit and vegetable intake for her son. She now has 3 locations in Richmond offering cold pressed juices, smoothies, açaí bowls and avocado toast. Ginger Juice wins local awards like Best Smoothie Shop and Best Avocado Toast in Richmond but Erin's true passion is creating business opportunities in the health food industry for other Small Business Owners. Ginger Juice will offer Franchise Opportunities across 10 states in the Southeast beginning in January, 2020.
Andrew Walker moved from Montreal to Los Angeles in 2001 to pursue his acting career. Fifteen years later, he’s starred in over 65 films and television shows and produced 3 films, including the award-winning documentary Stolen Seas, and the feature film, Oxalis. With an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for healthy food and lifestyle, Andrew invested in multiple LA restaurants to further his knowledge of the food industry. This ultimately led to him founding Clover Juice, recently rebranded as Little West, California’s premiere cold-pressed juice brand for over 5 years.
Jordan Boesch is the founder and CEO of 7shifts, a scheduling and labor management app that helps juice operators schedule, evaluate, and communicate with their staff, founded in 2014. While the product began as a simple tool to help his dad manage the work schedule at his local franchises, it has since evolved into a leading global restaurant platform. Boesch has led 7shifts into the doors of over 10,000 restaurants with the mission to improve happiness and efficiency in the workplace.
Ari is a full time juice business consultant and published author with his book "The Juicing Companion." He has a genuine love for juice, and all aspects of food and beverage. Prior to moving into the juicing industry, Ari worked as a full time chef for over ten years in some of the finest dining establishments in America. He started focusing on juice in 2014 and since then has helped hundreds of juice companies go from initial concept to opening day, working with them on every aspect of the business including creating recipes, training staff, planning menus, managing costs and inventory, and more.
Tim started Maine Juice Co. as an online juice delivery business with his wife, Michelle. It has since grown into a high volume retail store in Portland, Maine that features 100% organic choices. Maine Juice Co. infuses full spectrum CBD into their juices, smoothies and snacks. Tim is extremely knowledgeable in all types of CBD & THC extractions, as well as infusing/emulsifying these full spectrum oils into juices.
Michelle started Maine Juice Co with her husband Timothy after falling in love with cold pressed juice on their honeymoon. Their business started as an online juice delivery service and has since evolved to a retail location with juices as well as smoothies and smoothie bowls, all 100% USDA certified organic. Michelle is responsible for most recipe creation and likes to focus on the health benefits of the blends. She's also the creative mind powering the business' social media posts.
Shizu Okusa is the Founder & CEO of Wellthy & Co, a family of direct-to-consumer wellness brands, including JRINK, a cold-pressed juice subscription company, and Apothékary, a plant-based farmacy disrupting the healthcare space. She is also the Co-Founder of Canteen, a new SaaS platform taking "bricks-and-mortar" businesses to digitally native "bricks-to-clicks". Shizu has a proven executive management track record with over 8 years of business experience in all sectors of accounting, finance, tech, to marketing & sales. Prior to starting , Shizu was an Investment Associate at the World Bank’s private equity arm, IFC Asset Management Company, and had originally started her career at Goldman Sachs on the trading floor. She's a contributor to Arianna Huffington's Thrive Global Network and mentors a handful of other female founders globally.
Never one to stand still with his penchant to help others, Tom has seen success across a variety of industries in Technology, Sports Marketing and Corporate Wellness. His biggest challenge has been finding ways to care for his wife who has been battling MS for 20+ years. With a vision for healthier options in his community, Tom became certified in functional medicine coaching and then created Virtue Juice Bar. Working closely with experts Andrew McFarlane and Charlie Wettlaufer, Virtue is the first made to order, cold pressed, organic juice bar in the country.
Chris is a passionate entrepreneur who started his company in 2015 to honor the early death of his Grandmother Ruby Jean, who fought a short lived battle with Type 2 diabetes. He adamantly believes had his grandmother had the knowledge of juicing and a healthy lifestyle that she’d still be alive. Chris has made it his life’s work to educate urban youth and communities and integrate the juicing culture in his hometown. He’s proud of creating the most diverse audience surrounding health Kansas City has ever known and carries a common message everywhere he goes; “It’s possible”.
It began for Jimmy over 30 years ago when he picked an orange from a tree in his backyard. Just one handpicked orange, squeezed into pure juice perfection. He went on to start Naked, which was acquired by PepsiCo, then Evolution Fresh, which was acquired by Starbucks.
Olivia Esquivel, a mother and serial entrepreneur is a Cuban-American now living in the land of Meat N Three’s in Greenville, SC. She was plagued by the lack of organic and plant-based options in the South. She set out to directly impact her community by creating an organic plant-based restaurant. Featured in Southern Living, Vogue, New York Observer, Fast Company, Palm Beach Illustrated among others, she is on track to change the course of history in the South and bring organic and plant-based healing foods to the masses.
Born in Tokyo, Japan. 3/4 Japanese, 1/4 Taiwanese. Grew up in Japan, USA, and Taiwan. Now back in Tokyo, running Japan’s first cold-pressed juice bar, ‘Sunshine Juice’ in Tokyo. It started organically based on his life experiences – multicultural background + being a multiple Ironman finisher + sub-3 marathoner + surfer + passionate traveler. The focus is on creating as natural and organic products as possible, and offering healthier options not just for people, but for larger society and the environment.
Daina Trout co-founded Health-Ade Kombucha in 2012 alongside her husband, Justin Trout, and best friend, Vanessa Dew, in Los Angeles. Daina, who has Masters’ degrees in Nutrition and in Public Health from Tufts University, was working in corporate America when she decided to pursue her passion for “real” food and develop the best-tasting, highest quality kombucha on the market. Under her fearless leadership, Health-Ade has grown from a small production, artisanal item made in Daina’s tiny apartment and sold at local farmer’s markets into the fastest growing brand in the category that is now available in more than 12,000 stores and restaurants nationwide.
Jordan has grown her juice business from farmers' market cooler to juice truck, to recently opening a storefront. She has shared her 5-year juice journey on YouTube for millions to see and is the author of "How to Start a Juice Truck".
Andrew is an actor turned entrepreneur. After 15 years in the entertainment industry, Andrew turned his passion for health into a thriving Juice Business with multiple store fronts. He is the founder of the Start A Juice Bar agency, which has been helping hopeful entrepreneurs launch juice bars all over the world for nearly a decade.
Since 2010, Joyce has been guiding companies on the applications and validation of using HPP to treat food and beverages. Currently she is the chair person for the Cold Pressure Council (CPC), and is also co-chairing the Juice Task Force which is a collaboration of academia, government and industry experts to improve upon the validation requirements for juices.
Katie started her certified organic juice company in Monterey, California shortly after becoming a new mom, and works every day to balance running her business with raising three young children. She believes parents have unique skills that help them thrive as entrepreneurs, and cannot wait to share the strategies and mindsets that have helped her navigate both roles.
Since opening The Balanced Bee in 2016, Annie has grown her juice + broth restorative to 3 retail locations, also servicing 4 Fortune 500 corporate locations onsite and serving athletes from all over the country. With a degree in Kinesiology + Integrative Nutrition, Annie enjoys crafting juice + broth menu’s designed for those seeking to look better, feel better, and think better without compromising their health or the earth!
Kenny is an experienced hospitality entrepreneur who applies his depth of industry knowledge to founders and hospitality executives looking to develop, open or refine their restaurant or food and beverage concepts. Honors include being a UBS/Clinton Foundation Fellow, recognized in Crain’s 40 Under 40, and Inc. Magazine's 30 Under 30.
OH’s mission is to connect communities with nutritious options made with local ingredients. OH is Hanna’s representation of a new way of living that embraces the healing forces of natural ingredients and complete sustainability. She carefully hand picks the highest-quality produce Southern California has to offer with a variety of international exotic spices and rare superfoods packed with nutrition.
Dan has been working in the food industry for over 5 years helping source the finest and freshest organic ingredients for his companies. Most recently at Dr Smood he has been instrumental in opening multiple production facilities and 11 cafes in New York and Miami.
Lia has extensive food industry experience helping to establish comprehensive supply chains across multiple states. When she’s not buying organics, she’s eating organics.
LaKeasha is the founder of the online juice bar that promotes an all-around healthy lifestyle with cleansing options and in-person community events. She is the creator of 87FEST, a fitness, music and arts festival in downtown Los Angeles. Brown has also been featured as a event instructor and beverage partner for Stevie Wonder’s KJLH Women’s Health Forum.
Adrienne Steele has spent the last 20 years in all areas of food service and manufacturing operations. Her company ASC Consultants helps companies grow their businesses from the ground up focusing on Quality Assurance, Quality Control and Food Safety. Her experience includes Executive Chef, R&D Chef, Pastry Chef and Director of Product Development, managing organic compliance and HACCP.
As a social entrepreneur M’Lissa started High Lift Juicery, a raw, organic, cold-pressed juice business that has become her vehicle to cultivate community-focused economic development. While the mainstream is chanting, “Go Big, or Go Home,” M’Lissa believes strongly that there is an inherent need to focus on the hyperlocal— cultivating partnerships with local businesses; encouraging social enterprise & entrepreneurship while innovating for a thriving local economy.
Baba is multifaceted entrepreneur with a passion for transforming the way business interacts with the greater community. A systems thinker focused on finding simple and efficient solutions to complex problems, he aims to create a healthier world through better, affordable, and responsible solutions. His current work centers on the development of new tools, technologies, and processes to build a brighter future.
Tess is a designer and strategist passionate about creating positive impact through meaningful design. Her practice is built on the belief that impact is the culmination of small choices - as a result, she's dedicated her career to making the right choices easier. Her background in strategy consulting and design for social impact drives her to connect unlikely dots, and seek new, innovative solutions to big social and environmental challenges that cross sectors and industries.
