We recently connected with Ginette Rhodes and have shared our conversation below.

Ginette, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

After graduating from the Ohio State University in 2019, I planned to take a short year off before applying for law school. Like millions of other Americans, my plans were completely capsized by the unexpected coronavirus pandemic.

I found myself stuck in my hometown of Saint Louis Missouri. I tried my very best to navigate an uncertain job market but despite my best efforts, every job application seemed to be met with rejection. This led me to work in the juicing department at a local health food store where I prepared an assortment of fresh juices, orange, pineapple, beet- you name it! After work, I often juiced at home for myself. With each vegetable or fruit I juiced, I took a moment to understand its nutritional value. My mom enjoyed many delicious juices that summer because of me which was only right since she was the first person to introduce me and my siblings to practice and benefits.

While we bunkered down during the pandemic, I used my time learning about entrepreneurship, reading, meditating, and reflecting on my life. I began to study self-care and alternative healing modalities including “inner child work”. This therapeutic approach allowed me to confront and heal aspects of myself long neglected. I wanted to become a more evolved version of myself who conquered her fears, flaws, and failures with grace and wisdom. The journey was awe strucking and for once in my life, I felt authentically me.

In honoring my inner child—affectionately known as “Nettie” —I reimagined her when naming and creating Netty’s Juicery. Nettie believed she could do anything she put her mind to including starting a business all by herself! Nettie believed in the power of her creativity and always led with her heart. She had a willingness to help others and valued compassion first. Netty’s Juicery not only pays homage to my childhood dreams and creativity but also serves as a reminder to embody those same qualities as I navigate the challenges of adulthood. Netty epitomized boundless optimism and fearless pursuit of her aspirations, values that continue to guide me in both life and business.

Netty’s Juicery is a love letter to myself to keep going when times are rough and no matter what put God first in all that you do. Through my juicing company, I am blessed to teach others about nutrition and provide a service that makes juicing more convenient for those who may not have the time to juice for themselves or their families.

Ginette, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My story began in 2021 after embarking on a life-changing trip to Colon, Panama. I worked as an administrative assistant to Oxford Encyclopedia recognized culinary innovator, Dr. Aris Latham. While there I lived a “Sunfired” dream, surrounded by tropical fruit trees on a 700-acre fruit farm, I enjoyed bright-colored hammocks, the comforting river of Rio Piedra, and a mouthwatering assortment of freshly made raw vegan cuisine. I listened closely to Dr. Aris Latham as he taught for hours on end about the principles of food science and the benefits of juicing fruits and veggies for health and wellness.

I took on the philosophy of using food as self-defense. Every fruit and vegetable is uniquely equipped with different phytonutrients that benefit the human body. We drank a variety of freshly made juices including ripe papaya, pineapple, aloe vera, orange, mango, celery, kale, and more. My health drastically improved and I felt the vigor of my teenage years. After the 6-month journey, I returned to St. Louis, Missouri eager to share all that I learned. I hosted different wellness presentations and finally, decided to take the much-anticipated leap to start Netty’s Juicery. Netty’s Juicery is an online juice bar that features 3 different juice subscription packages as well as thousands of bulk organic herbs, spices, and teas.

My mission is simple, to make cold-pressed juices accessible to everyone. Thank you for supporting me!

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

Not everyone lives near a juice bar. Since Netty’s Juicery is a virtual or eCommerce store, we can deliver high-quality, cold-pressed fruit and vegetable juices to our clients no matter what city or state they call home. Each juice is raw, hand-crafted and made in small batches. We ship our juices frozen to preserve the most nutrients without pasteurizing or High-pressure processing our juices. Quality is never compromised! The cons of this decision are that shipping can be a tad bit pricey on our end, but we are okay with taking on the majority of that expense so our clients can receive affordable juices.

Have you ever had to pivot?

When we first introduced the concept of a holistic superstore on the website, we struggled to find a reliable supplier. Our first supplier had a wide range of health and wellness products but shipping was not as consistent as we hoped. We knew that we couldn’t compromise reliability.

We found a new supplier and focused on providing organic herbs, spices, and teas on the site. Switching suppliers was a major pivot for us. We made sure to communicate what was happening behind the scenes to our community of wellness seekers. Our supporters trusted us through the process and welcomed the new products although they were different from what was listed on the website previously.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nettysjuicery.com
• Instagram: @nettysjuicery
• Facebook: Ginette Rhodes
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginette-rhodes/

Image Credits
Church Productions https://www.thatguychurch.com/ M&T Studios https://www.instagram.com/mandtstudios/