We recently connected with John Marshall and have shared our conversation below.

John, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

One of the biggest issues of profitability in this industry is inflation. As we all know, prices for goods have skyrocketed recently, and attempting to serve our products while maintaining the standards we’ve set for ourselves and our products (i.e. serving our juice in glass bottles so there’s no plastic chemical leakage or keeping our juice organic) is costlier than alternative options (using plastic bottles or not using organic produce). We’ve managed to stay very competitive price-wise, but quality does come at an expense. So we’ve struggled with our goal of trying to spread health to the community through our juice and ensuring the juice affordable with the growing costs of the ingredients.

John, 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 wife and I own Honest Juicery, and both come from completely different backgrounds. She was a nurse who started in med/surg and ended in ICU and ER and I am an Army Veteran. The business was her idea, and stemmed from her burning out with our modern healthcare system that is extremely pharmaceutically heavy. She wanted to create something that would improve the health of the community through an improved diet, exercise, and other lifestyle changes. So we serve acai bowls, superfood smoothies, organic cold-pressed juice, and adaptogenic coffee. We are both eco and health conscious, so we poured the things we are passionate about into the company. For instance, we use glass bottles for our organic juice, and offer a .50 refund for every bottle that is returned. All of our plastic cups, straws, and bowls are biodegradable. We also have partnered with a local company that has an awesome worm farm and we donate our compost! We enjoy donating and have quarterly votes where our followers get to vote on their favorite non-profit or local business, and in the future we hope to be able to sponsor volunteer groups or set up volunteer days for our team.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Our company was initially founded several years ago. It began as a food truck, and by the time we were permitted and licensed, my wife was 8 months pregnant with our first baby. Although I was constantly worried about her, she insisted we open and run the truck as apparently it was a good distraction from how uncomfortable she felt those last few weeks. We ran the truck until about 2 days before we had our baby, and she was out wanting to be on the truck again within a few weeks after our baby was born. She was extremely passionate and determined to grow. About 2-3 weeks after we opened again, COVID-19 mandates forced us to close down entirely. We were devastated. We took some time off, moved to Texas (I’m from the South, and wanted to move closer to home), dragged the truck with us, and opened again. It was easier this time around, we had a better grasp of what we were doing, and Texas was extremely welcoming and supportive of our product and goals! We went to bootcamps with coolers of juice, yoga studios, parks, gyms, meeting people and getting our product out there. Because we were spending more time dragging coolers of juice around than running the truck, we decided to sell it. One of the first people that came to view the truck mentioned Union Hall, and said we should check it out. We went up that evening and met the owners of the space we’re currently in. Amazingly, they were looking for someone to take over their lease! A few months later, here we are in Union Hall!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

My wife and I can both answer to this question. As mentioned previously, she was a nurse and I was in the Army. She burnt out with floor nursing and the emphasis on pharmaceuticals, and I decided to go Reserves after deploying twice to Iraq and twice to Afghanistan. Our careers were substantially different, but we both ended up burnt out in the end and seeking something new.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.honestjuicery.com
• Instagram: honest.juicery
• Facebook: Honest Juicery