Island Fresh And Fruity

Kristal Muhich and Dylan Scott
Co-owners of Kauai Juice Co.

Please tell us about your business. Kauai Juice Co. is a multifaceted business, in that we manufacture kombucha as well as cold-pressed juice and elixirs. We started Kauai Kombucha four years ago, and rebranded, restructured and created Kauai Juice Co. in January.

What is kombucha? It’s a probiotic tea, similar to cultures you get in the grocery store such as yogurt and kefir. The difference is that this is tea-based. The tea is fermented, so it has a slight vinegar taste, but also a sweet taste, as well. We use 20 percent fresh juice in our kombucha, and it’s never more than a month old on the shelf. So it’s really fresh, slightly carbonated naturally, and all hand-bottled.

Why is kombucha good for you? Not only does it contain the probiotics or beneficial bacteria to help you balance your gut, but there also are a lot of acids that are great for sore muscles and give you energy.

Why did you start this business? I started making kombucha because I wanted to be a part of the farming community on Kauai. I saw that there was a need for it — no one else was doing it. To be able to create a health product and see people feel better after drinking your product is rewarding, and so there was this niche for me to fill, and it felt like the perfect thing for me to do.

How did you start this business? I started the company by using the funding website Kickstarter, and am so thankful to all my friends and family who pledged toward my campaign. That’s the reason Kauai Juice Co. is here today. Without their support from the beginning, it never would have happened. I am so grateful for them all believing in me and my vision.

Why did you expand your business to include juice? Not everybody knows about kombucha and some people don’t prefer it, and we wanted to reach more people. I also wanted to be more involved with the farming community and support Kauai agriculture. By juicing, we use three to five pounds of produce in each 17-ounce bottle, so we are able to buy that much more from the local farmers.

What are the benefits of juicing? It takes all those nutrients and puts them straight into your blood system. Most people can’t eat five pounds of produce, but if you juice it down to a bottle, you get all those nutrients. It’s so easy to digest and gives you massive amounts of energy. It’s a really beautiful thing.

What are some of the juice options? We have more than 20 items on our juice menu right now. One example would be The Green Bottle, which is cilantro, kale, pineapple, ginger and cucumber. It’s sweet, but it has all your greens. Some of our most popular drinks are actually our milks, which are made from macadamia and cashew nuts primarily, as well as almonds.

Where can we find your products? We sell our kombucha all over the island in about 35 to 40 stores. As for the juices and milks, right now you can only get them at the Dragon Building in Kapaa.

How fresh are your juices? We make our juices fresh every day. We usually have our whole menu available in the mornings and begin to sell out of certain selections as the day goes on. If you want to preorder, we’ll have your order set aside for you. Our cold-pressed juice lasts three to five days after you buy them without losing their nutrients.

What are some of your plans for the future of this business? We recently signed a lease for a small space in Kilauea, where we will offer fresh juices every day. We hope to open our doors by November.

What other sort of things do you specialize in? We offer detox cleanses, where you only drink our juices during a certain period of time. We have five different cleanses, where you get six juices a day, and two elixirs, which are more deep-medicine shots. We’ve designed them for beginner cleansers all the way to experienced cleansers. We also help you design your cleanse. Cleanses help your digestive system repair itself. We have three meals a day, and snacks and drinks, and your digestive system gets bogged down, and this is where illnesses can come from because your body continually is overworking itself. So one of the great things about juicing is that not only can you give your digestive system a rest to heal, you also can flood the rest of your body with massive amounts of nutrients.

What’s your favorite juice? The Omega — this is so good. It has fresh pineapple, sour sop, guava, chia seeds and fractionated coconut oil. It’s not only delicious, it’s extremely cleansing. It’s a real treat.

Open seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
4504 Kukui St., Ste. 20a, Kapaa
info@kauaijuiceco.com
kauaijuiceco.com