CreaTive
JuiceS
GENESIS JUICE'S
GINGER LEMONADE
CONTAINS WATER,
ORGANIC LEMONS,
GINGER AND AGAVE
NECTAR
S
ince the 1970s, Genesis Organic Juice has
prided itself on providing a product that’s
local, sustainable and 100-percent organic.
And in that mission, it’s taking on Big
Soda.
“Odwalla is a Coke product. Naked is a Pepsi product,”
says Jonah Alves, president of Genesis Juice. “This new one,
Suja, is a Coke product, and Evolution is a Starbucks prod-
uct.”
These ubiquitous juices compete for space on store
shelves, but do average thirsty consumers comprehend that
they’re buying from a large corporate manufacturer? And
should they care?
“We don’t use juice-grade fruit,” Alves says. “We use
fruit-salad grade fruit. Every piece of fruit is handpicked and
hand-culled. Nobody does that. All the rot, the bad spots, get
dumped in and boiled away.”
Boiling juice?
“With anything, heat degrades flavor and nutrition,”
Alves says.
Many juice manufacturers, Alves explains, boil away
potential pathogens using high heat and leave the juices in
enormous sealed vats, sometimes for up to a year. Later,
Genesis Juice squeezes high-quality fruit
By Rachael Carnes
“flavor packs” are added back to the juice before packaging,
to make it more palatable.
Not so Genesis Juice, which uses a method called high
pressure processing (HPP) to make its juices safe to sell and
consume without adding heat.
“Our technique uses pressure,” Alves says. “No heat is
used at all. So when it comes to taste, flavor and color, we
think this is second-best to fresh squeezed.”
HPP is a technology that Toby’s Family Foods, which
acquired Genesis Juice in 2007, has been using for years to
preserve its spreads and dressings without cooking the tofu.
“When Genesis approached us, they were floundering,
close to bankruptcy,” Alves says. “We had similar company
philosophies of using local products and 100-percent organ-
ic stuff.”
He adds, “The cool thing is, we were able to save a long-
time Eugene business.”
Following the acquisition, Toby’s hired back many Gen-
esis employees and set to work on a package redesign.
Some may remember those stout little glass bottles with
the fruity label.
“But there’s nothing particularly sustainable about
glass,” Alves says.
GENESIS JUICE'S
PRODUCTION FACILITY IS
IN LANE COUNTY
EUGENEWEEKLY.COM/CHOW
The company opted for PETE plastic, the most recy-
clable.
Genesis juices are poured into bottles, and the whole
container is put through the HPP process that uses hydro-
static pressure to kill any potential pathogens, while ensur-
ing vitamins, minerals and antioxidants aren’t damaged or
degraded.
Because the plastic container is never heated, consum-
ers don’t need to fear that chemicals from the plastic con-
tainer are potentially leaching into their food.
“Our juice retains 84 percent of its vitamins using this
process,” Alves says.
On the day EW visited Genesis Juice’s production fa-
cility, the air was alive with the scent of fresh lemons for
cranberry lemonade, ginger lemonade and strawberry lem-
onade. The company also makes a “Superfood Smoothie,”
a hibiscus cooler, several varieties of apple juice blends
and an herbal tonic that’s a perfect pick-me-up. They also
press orange juice, though just for a few months of the year.
“Orange juice, when it’s in season, is the best,” Alves
says.
See genesisorganicjuice.com for more info.
GENESIS JUICE
SOURCES ITS LEMONS
FROM CALIFORNIA
CHOW SUMMER 2016
3