Hayden Slater’s five day juice cleanse turned into a month-long juice cleanse. Now it’s gotten him a rapidly growing business.
Six years ago, the Pressed Juicery co-founder and CEO bought a one way ticket to southeast Asia where he spent several weeks traveling through Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, sustaining himself with only coconut water, fruit juices and vegetable broth. “Wow, this is how life is supposed to feel like,” he told Digiday about completing the unconventional diet.
Shortly after he returned to Los Angeles, he noticed that one of the world’s most health conscious cities lacked anywhere to get a budget-friendly cold-pressed juice. So, together with a few childhood friends, he started Pressed Juicery in a back of a bakery to fill that niché.
Pressed Juicery now has 40 locations across the U.S., with plans to expand even further this year and broaden its product line to include frozen yogurt-like desserts and coffee. The company also started “The Chalkboard,” a lifestyle website aimed at its juice-chugging, presumably Goop-reading audience.
With the juice industry booming, Slater said he has found a way to bring the brand’s average juice price to $6.50, roughly $2 to $3 cheaper than his competitors. He’s resisted serving juices in glass bottles and some ingredients aren’t organic, but that hasn’t compromised on the brand’s ethos.
“It’s simple: We’re on a mission of making high nutrition available for all people,” he said. “We’re accessible, affordable and convenient.”
Here’s what Slater does, slightly edited for clarity:
5:30 a.m.: The first thing I do when I wake up is take my dog, Finley, down to Venice Beach for a walk. It’s very therapeutic and allows me to mentally prepare for the day ahead.
6:00 a.m.: I head to a boxing class. I don’t always have the time for a morning workout, but if I do it’s either boxing, spin or a morning hike in the Santa Monica Canyon.
7:30 a.m.: I like to start my day by visiting one of our retail stores. I bring Finley along, as she comes with me to the office every day. Normally, I’ll grab a juice for breakfast, but today I picked up a Freeze, which is our version of soft serve. It sounds unhealthy, but it’s dairy-free, vegan and made from only the ingredients found in our juices.
8:00 a.m.: Once I’m in the office, my first task is touching base on anything urgent that needs my attention. I go through my emails and voicemails and check social media to make sure I’m up to speed. The company is growing extremely quickly, so there are a lot of moving parts to stay on top of.
9:30 a.m.: I meet with our marketing team to discuss strategy for an upcoming new flavor launch. I really enjoy being hands on with all creative and branding decisions. Since I’m a morning person, I like to knock out creative brainstorms first thing.
11:00 a.m.: Time for a site check at a potential new store location. We’re in a massive expansion phase, and it’s very important to me to be involved with real estate decisions. Because we are expanding so much, I spend a large part of my day doing site visits like this or analyzing new and existing markets.
1:00 p.m.: I head back to the office to eat lunch and catch up on emails. Since we always have juice in the office it’s easy to get a quick meal in, even when my day is packed. My current go-to is our vanilla almond milk with some chia seeds mixed in.
2:00 p.m.: I like to use afternoons to handle any off-site meetings. Today, it’s a coffee meeting with a potential brand partner.
4:00 p.m.: Back at my desk, I check in with our retail team to get a sense of how our stores are performing. We also touch base on ideas and next steps for potential new market launches and upcoming store openings. It’s pretty exciting to see how rapidly we’re growing this year. Our mission has always been to make nutritious products more accessible and affordable, and every new store we open is helping us realize that goal.
6:00 p.m.: I leave the office and head home to drop off my dog. After I feed and walk her, I head out for dinner.
7:00 p.m.: I try to squeeze in a dinner with friends, family or other entrepreneurs as often as possible. Tonight, I’m connecting with a few wellness industry colleagues. It’s so important to share insights, hear what they’re doing and learn what’s working for their businesses.
9:30 p.m.: When I get home, I hop into my infrared sauna for a quick session to meditate and wind down my day. I’ve been really into group-led meditation classes at Unplug lately, but this is a great alternative for those days I can’t make it.
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