The Hindu Business Line : It HAS to be juice

At 24, he sees himself as a creator… and so, when Avinash Bharwani decided to launch a business, he let his creative juices flow, literally. His chain of HAS juice bars in Mumbai offer “health on the go” with a range of fruit and vegetable juices and smoothies. The first outlet was launched at Juhu in May last year and within a year or so four more were opened.

“We have a lot of celebrities and the model brigade pouring in. They are health-conscious folks and find it easy to drop in for juice or a smoothie or two, on the go,” says Bharwani. The juice bar also projects itself as a hangout zone where people can meet after work or a workout and chill out over a refreshing drink.

His family runs Jetking, an IT training company, and Bharwani, the second of three sons, was keen on a new business. “I like creating new, innovative things… like new companies and products. I don’t have the patience to do the same job every day... I’d rather hire and guide someone to do that,” says the confident young entrepreneur.

Asked about his leap from the world of techies to one of smoothies, he says, “After workouts I always felt the need for a quick and healthy energiser, and realised that there were many others who felt the same.”

At the juice bar, the pick-me-ups range from the classic freshly-squeezed juices to the blended “power” juices and smoothies with low-fat milk/soymilk/yoghurt options.

For an energy boost, it offers freshly prepared shots of wheatgrass and lemon. And for those dropping in bleary-eyed after a hard night of partying, there’s Hangover Relief — a combination of apple, carrot, orange, celery and ginger.

The drinks retain the fruit fibre and have no artificial flavours, added sugar, preservatives or additives. The chain anticipates a turnover of Rs 1.5-2 crore this year.

Explaining the success of his venture, Bharwani says, “People want the convenience of getting something on the move.” At the first outlet he opened, he had customers coming in from all parts of the city. That spurred him to open more outlets across the city. Looking ahead he wants to branch out to cities. He has franchisers at Nagpur, Pune and Bangalore and is looking for more in Delhi and Hyderabad. With creation on his mind, he is keen on “franchise development, expansion and new locations… I want to get into other ventures in fashion, restaurants, entertainment, Web… Wish me luck!”

Quick sips:

Organic Acai Powerpunch

Berry Blast

Super Smoothies (97 per cent fat-free)

Low-fat smoothies (98 per cent fat-free)

Fruit smoothies (99 per cent fat-free)

Popeye Power

Orange Grass-hopper

Buster Boost

Mango Sunrise Breakie

Wild Mango Berry

More Stories on : Entrepreneurship | Beverages | Health