As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ana Blaskovic writes, a winning combination of incredible youthful energy, a tried-and-tested product that quickly conquers the health food market with “know-how” and a financial injection from a venture capital fund – that’s the story of Juicefast, a new investment of the Feelsgood fund worth half a million euros.
The Juicefast brand, which will be launched at the beginning of October, is a newly founded Croatian-Slovenian foodtech startup that will unite the current Detox.hr brand and the Healthy Meals pilot project of young entrepreneurs David and Marko Dravinec.
This Croatian-Slovenian foodtech startup and its accompanying entrepreneurial story started back in 2018 from the confines of the small neighbourhood fruit shop Mali vrt (Little garden) where the idea of freshly squeezed 100 percent natural apple juice for detoxification and fasting was first born, 22-year-old David explained.
On the wings of conquering the lucrative (and very rapidly growing) healthy food market, which was also affected by the coronavirus pandemic, given that the spread of the virus emphasised the importance of a good diet and general healthcare, their income growth was rapid: in 2020 it amounted to 1.5 million kuna, then it grew to 2.8 million kuna, and the last figure they reported reached a massive 6.5 million kuna. Juicefast is a neat play on words which alludes to the speed and simplicity of the process.
“We were amazed at how much people liked simple juice. Now we understand that there’s a reason in this simplicity. Each of our juices is made with 1.5 kilograms of fresh fruit and vegetables. We all know we should eat it, we know it’s good for us, we know we’ll feel better, but…sometimes we just don’t feel like it,” he says with a giggle.
“And then, if you can be bothered, you’ve got to prepare your juices…. Buy the groceries, prepare them, then you’ve got to clean the juicer after using it, all of which takes time. It’s easier to jump down to the bakery and buy it all already done for you. The hectic pace of modern life imposes some other priorities on us, and we often put our health on the back burner. These are problems that we’ve manage to solve, and we’ve provided both simplicity and practicality,” he added.
The range of detox juices offered by this Croatian-Slovenian foodtech startup is made exclusively from fruits and vegetables from domestic family farms, except for exotic species for which Croatia is simply not a natural climate.
The juicing is carried out in a 500-square-metre hall in Laduc using slow-juicing devices that retain nutritional the fruit’s values, especially vitamins. Detoxification has become extremely popular in the last few years with a combination of intermittent fasting that gives the body a “break” from constant food intake. The entrepreneurial duo has as such successfully found their niche with a range of juices that are not pasteurised, have no preservatives or additives, but are processed with high hydrostatic pressure.
Feelsgood, the only Croatian venture capital fund that requires a positive social impact from its investments in both Croatia and Slovenia, has invested 500,000 euros in the project, recognising the synergistic effect of the production of juices and healthy meals, sustainable agriculture and cooperation with local producers.
The investment injection, on top of the 250,000 euros from other investors, will be used for the growth and development of the company here in Croatia, as well as to provide the spring in the startup’s step for their move to the markets of Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Italy and Hungary. The glittering USA is also on their radar.
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