Press on Juice

July 30, 2015

A Business and A Cause

She navigated the high-powered Chicago business world for years, working for top companies like Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic.

As time passed, she moved even father up the ladder, eventually co-owning an IT firm.

Sometimes you need to get back to basics before you can press on to your next career adventure. That's what Kris Rockwood did when she left the big city to start a company of her own in northern Michigan – one with plenty of liquid assets.

HEALTHY CHALLENGES

In spite of Rockwood’s Chicago success, the Traverse City native found herself missing home, and she moved back north. A diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis several years later would be the unlikely catalyst that would lead to her next business endeavor.

"I led an active lifestyle and ate fairly well, but my doctor made it clear that I needed to make bigger changes to reduce my symptoms and potential joint damage," Rockwood said.

"He emphasized the need for more antioxidants, more anti-inflammatories, less sugar and less processed foods. So I made dietary changes, started juicing and immediately felt better."

Juicing can be a time-consuming task, in large part because of the challenge of keeping enough fruits and vegetables fresh and on hand.

"Then, making the juice takes time"¦ and so does cleaning up," Rockwood pointed out.

Noticing that the raw juice bars common in larger cities were nonexistent in northern Michigan, Rockwood realized there was a niche to be filled. There’s no denying that juicing has long been a growing trend. The Wall Street Journal reported that annual sales of home juice extractors hit $215 million in 2012, up 71 percent from the previous year.

"Given my own life-changing experience with juicing, the significant health benefits and the challenges facing home juicers, I saw a wonderful opportunity," she said.

Press On Juice was born and, to Rockwood, it was more than "just a business."

COLD-PRESSED FLAVOR

"Press On Juice is also a cause to help others benefit from the nutritional benefits of fresh, raw, cold-pressed juice," Rockwood said. "It's a really healthful alternative to things like a bag of chips or a soda."

The difference between regular "juice" and "cold-pressed juice" may not seem that important to the average consumer, but Rockwood explained that cold-pressed juice is usually made from organic fruits and vegetables, with zero added ingredients.

A peek at a typical grocery store juice label reveals such ingredients as high fructose corn syrup, canola oil, cellulose gum, citric acid, color dyes and sodium benzoate to "protect flavor." A real cold-pressed juice won’t contain any of these things.

"The cold-press juice process is slow," Rockwood said.

"We use a multi-step production process that includes grinding the ingredients into a fine pulp that's put in a linen bag. The bag is then slowly squeezed on a hydraulic press to maximize extraction of the juice and its nutritional enzymes."

Most home juicing equipment uses centrifugal force to extract juice from fruit and vegetables. It’s fast, Rockwood explained, but it leaves a lot of juice still in the pulp, which is then thrown away.

"Centrifugal juicers also aerate and tend to heat the juice," Rockwood added. "So, between the oxygen and the heat, the juice's flavor is degraded and its shelf life is shortened."

While it's healthier than store brands full of sugar and additives, cold-pressed juice is not pasteurized and contains no added preservatives, so the down side is that it's highly perishable.

Each single bottle of Rockwood's Press On Juice is made with two pounds of fresh, raw fruits and vegetables, but because of the lack of pasteurization, she has to carefully control product inventory. So, for now, Press On Juice can be purchased at the company's location in Traverse City or ordered online, one bottle at a time or as a multi-bottle juice cleanse.

WELLNESS BENEFITS

Rockwood is confident that obtaining Press On Juice is worth the effort.

"Adding cold-pressed juice to your diet means incredible health and wellness benefits," she claimed.

Rockwood cites a 2013 report published by the Permanente Journal that concludes that a plant-based diet leads to "the possibility of reducing the number of medications, to treat a variety of chronic conditions, lower body weight, decreased risk of cancer, and a reduction in risk of death from ischemic heart disease."

Overall, the jury may still be out on coldpressed juice's precise benefits.

A U.S. News and World Report Health feature (August 2014) stated that the juices are often thought to taste much fresher than traditionally bottled juices, but there is not yet enough research to support the claim that cold-pressed juices actually contain more vitamins or minerals.

In a telephone conversation with Ohio State University food scientist and professor Steven Schwartz, PhD, he agreed that the surface benefits are likely, but as for the juice's healing properties – not so much.

"I'd say that cold-pressed juices would have better flavor and color than pasteurized juice," he said. "They would probably have a better flavor profile because they're not heated, so would not be degraded"¦but, I can't think of any specific health benefits from cold-pressed juice that I've heard of specifically."

FOOD AWARENESS

Whatever your belief about its health benefits, cold-pressed juice has enjoyed increasing popularity on both the east and west coasts for years. Juice bars are common sights in Los Angeles, New York City, Miami and Seattle, and juicing is a big trend among celebrities and athletes.

"It's becoming more popular because people are getting a greater awareness about what they should be consuming, and a grab-and-go juice meets both on-the-go needs and nutritional needs," Rockwood said.

Press On Juice has 30 different juice blend recipes, from earthy and green (G-Force and Harvest) to rich and slightly spicy (Rejuvenation) to more traditional fruity flavors (Radiance and Strawberry Shake).

"I use a wide range of fresh ingredients, including carrots, apples, pineapple, oranges, kale, spinach, cucumber, parsley, beets, celery, limes, lemons and ginger," Rockwood listed. "The ingredients are simple: nothing but fresh fruits and vegetables."

When she founded her company, Rockwood didn't realize the major journey she was undertaking or that so many people would go with her.

"It's clear to me that the right food is our medicine and the wrong food is killing our bodies," she said. "To be allowed to watch someone transform from sick to healthy creates an unbelievable reward and drives me to continue our "˜quest for good.’"

Press On Juice starts at $3 ($6.50 online) per single bottle. A three-day cleanse costs $149 for 18 bottles online. For more information, visit pressonjuice.com, facebook.com/pressonjuice or stop by their store at 1125 East 8th St. (corner of 8th and Garfield) in Traverse City. 231-409-9325.