The story of how Thrive Juicery expanded its fresh juice business using Byte Technology’s smart refrigerator fresh food vending machines is inspiring.
Thrive Juicery started with just one brick-and-mortar store. Then, just 11 months later, they added a second store. Now, they are launching Byte Technology-powered fresh juice kiosks at gyms, apartment buildings, and on university campuses. Thrive’s success is, well, tasty!
How Thrive Juicery Started
Ann Arbor, Michigan has a huge wellness community with two Whole Foods stores as well as several supermarkets that are all based on wellness. However, Ann Arbor had no fresh juicery.
At age 37, Thrive Juicery’s co-founder, Anna Mignery’s husband was diagnosed with what they thought was celiac; and he decided to do a juice cleanse to help reset his whole body. Even though they later found out that the diagnosis was incorrect, he could not deny the positive effects that juicing had. The benefits that they felt were phenomenal, and they found that others felt the same way.
“Thrive was born more out of this sense of calling like we need to provide this for our community” states Anna. Thrive Juicery’s mission is to help the ill overcome, to help the well feel even better, and to help everyone discover their true potential.
Why Thrive Juicery Started Vending
Not long after opening, Anna was being approached by fitness studios and hospitals wanting to be able to sell Thrive’s fresh juices in their facilities. But there was one major hurdle to overcome. Because it’s not a pasteurized product, the juices have to be purchased directly from the producer.
While traveling, Anna’s husband discovered fresh food vending machines and realized they might provide the perfect solution because Byte’s kiosks are a convenient and accessible way to sell at multiple locations with the product still coming directly from Thrive Juicery.
Why Byte’s Smart Refrigerators?
Thrive juices, because they are fresh and unpasteurized, have a very short shelf life of about five days. Because of their small size, Byte’s smart refrigerators were a great fit.
Anna says, “We can sell the products quickly and keep restocking them as opposed to worrying about large amounts of products expiring.” She also says that her locations —the gyms, hospitals, and colleges—are more receptive to using Byte’s refrigerators because they don’t take up much floor space.
Getting Started Was Easy
Anna explains how simple the process of getting started with Byte was for them. “Byte got the fridges to us quickly and we got them stocked and ready to go. I have someone that just comes in and puts our branding on the sides of the fridge the day we get it, and then we fill it the next day.”
After the start-up, Byte provided valuable service to help Thrive Juicery continue to thrive.
Anna says, “As a food service person, I’m constantly worried that the refrigerator might not be at the right temperature. But if there’s anything that I’m worried about, I go to my Byte Dashboard and all the data and analytics are there. There are also tutorials. If I have a question, I’ve been able to find the answers easily.”
Anna’s satisfaction with Byte’s fresh food vending machines is palpable, “We have had customers that have been asking for some time for something like this. We just didn’t have the solution, but now we do. Cold press juicing is a labor of love, and Byte ended up being the perfect platform. It’s helping us to fulfill our mission.”
