We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Madison Howell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Madison thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Maddy’s Juice Bar

My dad grew up in Jamaica, living off the land where he grew his own fruits and veggies and raised animals. He worked hard and enjoyed climbing trees to eat loads of mangoes. We always have fresh fruits in our house and we eat a lot of mango! It my favorite!

Maddy’s Juice Bar started in 2019 as an idea inspired by me at 8-years-old from watching videos of children on YouTube with lemonade stands. I wanted one of my own and when my Daddy and Mommy finally said yes, I was so excited! I prepared two pitchers of Kool-Aid, I made a poster board, and we walked to our neighborhood park selling cups of grape or blue raspberry Kool-Aid from “Maddy’s Juice Stand”. That day, I made $66.

My Daddy always said we would bottle fresh juice that we made but I never thought it would actually happen. I had never made juice before!

Even though I didnt know how, I decided I wanted to do this full time. I was so happy interacting with people and seeing them drink what I made but, I wanted to make this a business of my own.

With the help of my dad, we decided to create our own fresh juices inspired by his Jamaican heritage. We wanted a healthy and natural product that could still be delicious.

We launched in March 2021 with one flavor, a hibiscus tea called Sorrel which is a flower native to Jamaica and typically consumed during Christmas time. We tested our product on our closest family and friends on a Saturday afternoon and gave them samples of the juice to try. They loved it! We knew we had to keep going!

Now we have 5 custom flavors with more to come. I want to create juice that is delicious and nutritious, while honoring my dad’s culture in Jamaica that he has passed on to me!

Our flavors are unique with ingredients you didn’t think would go together but they are so good! I have Hibiscus Tea, Cucumber Mint Lemonade, Island Punch, Very Berry Blend and Peach Mango Tea.

I love being a young entrepreneur. I get a lot of attention! It makes me feel like I’m helping the world when I can make people smile or laugh when they meet me or try my juices. I like that I am a unique entrepreneur.

I am most excited to hopefully finally see my juices in stores! My mom and dad pay for everything so that the money we make I can use to go to college. I want more than that! I want my mom and dad to stop working so we can spend more time together and travel the world.

Right now, we are a very small business. We dont make a lot but we keep going. I know the hard work will pay off in the end. One day, I want to bring the juices directly to neighborhoods with Maddy’s Mobile Juice Bar, like an ice cream truck! We have so many ideas. I can’t wait to see it all happen!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

In the beginning my only customers were family, my parent’s friends and my elementary school teachers. We started doing vendor shows almost every weekend in 2021. Here, we meet new people and gain new friends. So far, I have done 54 vendor shows and I have more scheduled. My mom gets in contact with other small businesses, school craft shows and churches and we sell my juices there. My mom also runs my social media page so we keep in contact with new friends there too.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

I met my business partners the day I was born! They are my Mommy and Daddy!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Maddys_juicebar
• Facebook: Maddysjuicebar4

Image Credits
Shameika Howell