4 Start-ups Jump on the Cold-Pressed Juices Bandwagon

Published on Firstpost.com – August 2014

Juice diets and cleanses have been a fad in India for the last decade or so, thanks to the increasing awareness about health and fitness. Of late, a new avatar has made a quiet entry into this segment: cold pressed juices.

The difference between cold pressed juices and the ones made at most households is the technology, say the founders of these new companies. The centrifugal force of blenders to mince fruits and vegetables results in loss of nutrients, while the cold pressed process uses hydraulic presses to juice fruits and vegetables. While increasing the nutritional value substantially, this process reduces the juices’ shelf life.

The health foods sector is at a budding stage in India and is poised to register a significant growth. The market was worth Rs 9,000 crore in 2010, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20 percent to Rs 22,500 crore by 2015, according to Technopak Advisors, a Delhi-based retail consulting firm.

New entrants

Over the past year, a few Indian companies like RAW Pressery and Jus Divine in Mumbai, and Antidote and JustPressed in New Delhi have entered the health food sector with a variety of fruit and vegetable concoctions targeting the health-conscious, financially comfortable middle class, who they hope will make juices a regular part of their diet. The USP of most of these companies is a focus on nutrition, with the promise of a no preservatives, flavouring, colour or additives in their products.

Vishal Jain, Founder, Jus Divine that started in May 2014 in Mumbai, claimed that the cold pressed process packs in four to five times more nutrition than regular juices, terming the popular off-the-shelf brands as ‘sherbet’. But it’s not just the process that makes the juices healthy, it’s also what and how much of each ingredient that goes into the juices, Jain said.

Sisters Carol Singh and Nadia Singh Bahl started Antidote in New Delhi in October 2013, after their mother, a nutritionist, introduced them to the idea of juicing fruits and vegetables. Antidote’s Singh claimed that, “all our produce is organically sourced from India”.

At the month-old JustPressed, Anu Alagh, a long-term importer of fruits and vegetables, uses her experience to include these produce from around the world in her juices.

Most of these companies work with nutritionists to get the balance and flavour right, while some even get recipes certified by health authorities like the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). However, the catch here is that the end products remain fresh for only about two to three days when refrigerated, unlike the off-the-shelf brands.

The differentiators

So, what exactly goes into these concoctions? A quick glance at the products on offer across companies reveals mixtures of fruits and veggies that one wouldn’t usually think to combine and some that aren’t easily available in the market. Produce like kale, amla, aloe vera, lemongrass, ashwagandha, green coffee and mangosteen among others.

Another differentiator is that a customer can get the juices delivered at home or even opt for a health package, if s/he likes to. The juices are delivered to customers’ homes on the day they are to be consumed. Some of these start-ups have started exploring retail and pick-up options, too. Jus Divine is now available at popular food chains across Mumbai. JustPressed has tied up with a five star hotel in New Delhi to offer juices as part of the services for guests for medical reasons and Antidote offers delivery services in Gurgaon and has two pick-up spots in Delhi.

Costly alternative

The cold pressed juices do not come cheap considering some of them are made from imported produce and also require a different technology. A one litre tetra pack of an off-the-shelf brand costs Rs 100 on an average, while the starting price of cold pressed juices is higher. For instance, a bottle of Jus Divine costs about Rs 150 for 250 ml and Rs 400 for a one litre pack, while JustPressed is pegged at Rs 175 (300 ml) to Rs 275 (500 ml).

At the higher end of the pricing spectrum are RAW Pressery and Antidote who do not sell single bottles – if a consumer wants to go on a liquid diet, there are pre-set packages available. RAW Pressery’s starter pack of 6 juices (250 ml) for a three-day period is priced at Rs 900; while any of Antidote’s one-day packages (4 juices of 250 ml each) costs between Rs 850 – Rs 950 per day.

Money matters

These companies refused to come on record about capital invested but said it was in the range of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 1 crore. Most founders were also reluctant to share growth and turnover estimates.

Since the cold pressed juices sector is nascent in India, most companies are still in the process of growing their customer base. Jus Divine said it has 400-500 registered customers in the two months since it set-up shop and sells about 1,500 bottles a week. JustPressed, also about two-months old, has 250 customers and sells 700-800 bottles a week. Antidote has over 7,000 customers, and is looking to grow its clientele by 10-15 percent every month. The company sells 700-900 bottles per week, it claimed.

Gaurav Gupta, senior director, Deloitte, said that though the health food sector has good growth prospects, he was skeptical about customer’s willingness to pay the high prices that these juices are sold at. “I think, to push these products, you need good distribution networks and deep pockets – that is something only the big companies have right now,” he said.