A full spectrum of color appears as Rainbow Juices co-founder Chrissy Cox stocks the cooler behind the front counter at Portfolio Coffeehouse.
“Rainbows make everything happy,” Cox said while sitting in the coffee shop. “The juices that were coming out of our juicer were so amazing, and we blend all these things, and they look like a rainbow in the pulp.”
After finding community support and interest, Cox and her partner, Dawna Bass, started selling their elixirs in November. The women stock the juice in local coffee shops, including Lord Windsor Roasters, Portfolio Coffeehouse and Viento y Agua. They also take orders from their website, where they sell cleanses and juice packages.
“We’re hitting the ground running, and we keep running,” Bass said. “We are super busy all the time with it, but it’s something that we love, so it flows for us in that way.”
Rainbow Juices has joined a green, sustainable movement along with other businesses like Fine Feathers Kombucha that has been sprouting with help from community support.
“We’ve been involved in it, and we are noticing it more and more,” Cox said. “I’ve always thought the biggest way to change the world, if everyone does what they love, they will feel good.”
The idea of juicing came from Bass’s interest in preparing raw foods, Cox said. With Bass’s culinary knowledge and Cox’s involvement in Long Beach Roller Derby and yoga classes, the women said starting a juicing business flowed naturally.
“With yoga we started branching outwards,” Cox said. “We realized quickly that we needed to start and legitimize our business [and] get a new kitchen.”
Portfolio Coffeehouse barista Rebecca Poulson said that offering Rainbow Juices was a natural fit.
“Customer base is just really into that, really into natural products and juices … It’s been really easy,” she said.
Poulson said that the juices serve those who need to fill a nutritional void that they may enter when going about their busy schedules.
“It’s something that I would do on my own, but I get really lazy and juicing at home is messy and you get a lot of cleanup. It’s expensive,” she said. “So just having it fresh and already done for me, it’s great for someone who’s a lazy juicer.”
Cox said they make the juices using a two-step process and a hydraulic press. The slow process, which squeezes the juice out of every fruit and vegetable used, keeps the end product raw and alive with all the original nutrients and enzymes intact.
“It’s all going into peoples’ bodies, and I mean, they say eat your fruits and vegetables, drink your fruits and vegetables,” Cox said. “I always tell people, my little motto is, it’s the best fast food on the planet.”
Popular flavors include the spicy and zesty So-Cal Cider – made with orange, apple, chard, ginger and cinnamon – and ABC +, made with apple, beet, carrot, kale and ginger.
Because the juices are raw, they have a shelf life of three days. To keep the nutrients intact, the Cox and Bass said pasteurization has to be avoided, which means the juices have to stay in Long Beach.
“There are people from outside of Long Beach who drive here,” Bass said.
After going through almost 1,000 pounds of produce a week, the women donate the leftover pulp and compost to local urban farms, like Chestnut Lot and Gladys Avenue Urban Farm.
“We have very minimal waste products,” Cox said. “It’s just neat to be connected in that interwoven network in the community.”
Long Beach resident Brittany Roberts said the artsy community helps local businesses thrive through support and interest.
“We have a close-knit community, and I feel like that adds to having that something that’s special and individual about our city,” she said.
Even though the name “rainbow” seems simple, the title has multiple meanings, giving nods to LGBTQ pride and representing the chakras in the body.
“Everything is under that rainbow, everything under the sun,” Bass said.
To see a full list of flavors as well as locations of where to purchase the juices, visit www.rainbowjuices.com.
See what the Rainbow Juicers have to say in the Daily 49er’s podcast.