We caught up with the brilliant and insightful M. Corey Whitted a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

M. Corey , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Crenshaw Juice Co. is an organic cold pressed juice primarily serving the South Los Angeles community. Crenshaw Juice Co. was developed during the pandemic and launched towards the end of it. During the pandemic, one disturbing statistic that really inspired the development of Crenshaw Juice Co. was the fact that residents of communities of color were more susceptible to death and complications directly related to diet. In fact, communities of color suffer disproportionately for many terminal illnesses that are caused by dietary choices. So, I wanted to provide my community with healthy food options in the form of raw cold pressed juice. South Los Angeles, like most communities of color, are deemed a food desert from the lack of healthy options. We are here to help solve this problem and provide healthy supplemental food and education about the benefits of drinking fresh raw fruits and veggies. In addition, because of the rapid gentrification of our community, I knew it was important to create a business to reflect its local residents. Crenshaw Juice Co. is about health. and progressive local ownership. To conclude, we also have a cool line of merchandise !

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I got into the cold pressed juice by an interest and the time to fully develop it. Crenshaw Juice Co. was created during the pandemic. I have always wanted to open a cold pressed juice in my community, as we lack such healthy choices. I used to have a production office in Larchmont, which actually has several cold pressed juice stores in the immediate vicinity. So, opening a local cold pressed juice company was high on ht e to do dream list. After committing to pursuing this dream, I could no longer use the excuse of not having enough time to do so. The pandemic definitely gave me the time to accomplish building and creating Crenshaw Juice Co. I knew that the pandemic would last forever and I also realized that people would be more health conscious as well. So, I sent a date to open and committed to taking all of the proper steps to begin to offering my carefully balanced blends of cold pressed juice to my neighborhood. Offering cold pressed juice is helping to solve a great problem which the lack of healthy food options, especially in South Los Angeles. What really sets Crenshaw Juice Co. apart from other cold pressed juice is that we are fresh producing fresh batched daily. In addition, all of our blends are well balanced and come from high quality produce organic sources. We offer the best cold pressed juice with great intentions of being healthy, and tasty. We are most proud of really on how so many people are aligned with. our mission of health and wellness. In addition to regular retail sales, we have quite an impressive roster of corporate clients that hire us for cold press juice services. I think the main thing we strive for producing healthy options with the intention of really helping the world live a better life. We are starting right here in the Crenshaw District and offer our healthy solution to all.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Well, I hate to use the over used term “organic”, but that is exactly how I was able to gain a following. I think especially with food, if the product is really good, people love to post about it. And if its new and delicious, people tend to post it because they want to be recognized as finding the new cool place. People also just love the brand itself. Crenshaw Juice Co. seems very familiar and very LA. I would definitely say that our instagram presence has grown the business, as we have been booked for many jobs based on our instagram profile. As far as specific social media advice, I think posting on stories and reels is the way to get the most traction now. Also somehow the post and repost seems to be an effective tactic as well. I don’t not sure how the algorithm works but Crenshaw Juice Co. seems to show up on a lot peoples feed. But I think if you provide an authentically cool brand, it will naturally grow into a well followed account.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One big lesson I had to unlearn was following the old saying of having all of your ducks in a row before you make a move. That can be further from the truth, as they will never be all in a row. Something will always come up, and one must just pivot and continue moving forward. I think that’s the biggest lesson I have had to unlearn. As I pursued this journey of creating this business, I heard so many reasons what I needed or should be. Most people are scared to take the leap of faith and believe in themselves, so naturally the advice from most people are excuses they have made in their life. I have realized that having faith one selves will lead to better outcome. Do over think, just make well calculated moves. Don’t react, just rethink, and things will fall into places. I have realized that taking action trumps worry over what may happen. Postponing decisions and movement due to outside circumstances will always lead to delay. I like to think then act!      

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.crenshawjuice.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crenshawjuiceco
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/crenshaw-juice-los-angeles-2

Image Credits
M. Corey Whitted