Juicy Profits
Yesterday was Easter and we hosted brunch at our place. I love keeping guests busy by setting up a “Make Your Own Juice” bar complete with our Jack LaLanne Juicer! It’s so simple to just put out some freshly prepped fruits & veggies (don’t forget the lemon wedges and ginger root to give it a kick) and just let guests go about concocting their own creations. Fresh, delicious, super good for you and a little adventurous food fun.
My mix of Strawberry Ginger Tangelo juice was promptly mixed with Moscato d Asti. Hello Spring and boy did that pink juice look lovely!
All that juicing got me thinking about an interview I did back in December for the Wisconsin Restaurant Association magazine. I was asked about upcoming trends for 2013 and here’s part of what I predicted…
“The desire for seasonal ingredients and exceedingly fresh flavors has pushed the retro kitchen trend of juicing into the hottest kitchens and bars in the nation. Locally consumers are willing to pay $5 for fresh squeezed orange, ginger, lemon, honey & wheatgrass juice at Milwaukee’s own The Green Kitchen and fresh juice makes a frequent showing on some of the hottest bars in Chicago such as Perennial Virant and Taverita.”
Today I decided to do a bit of surfing to find out how well my crystal ball was working. Pretty good apparently!
Quick Service & Fast Casual Restaurant News Magazine (QSR) published this timely article online just today called The Great Juice Rush of 2013. In the New York region, consumers of juice hot spots such at Organic Avenue are paying up to $7.50 for 14 oz of juice and $4 per 1 ounce “boost” add in such a ginger, tumeric or wheatgrass. Wow, that’s more expensive than a craft cocktail and don’t even ask what it costs for a bottle of cleanse juices!
While Wisconsinites are not as health conscience as the coasties, I’m surprised more Madison cafes, bars and restaurants haven’t shown more love and excitement for a fresh trend that, according to the QSR article, has profit margins of 200-300%!
Now that’s a trend to jump on and squeeze the life out of! (sorry…I couldn’t resist)
