Will Jones
Image Credit: Sacred Squeeze
In the city, “fresh” is a label you see just about everywhere. It’s stuck on chalkboards in juice bars, printed on napkins and bags, and promoted on social media. Many of these consumables labeled “fresh” have been shipped from other states, stored in warehouses for weeks, and are produced by the ton. The gap between the promise and the outcome has become so normal that few question its use.
Now, Sacred Squeeze, a newly launched juice company headquartered in Los Angeles, is making those “fresh” expectations a reality. Co-founders Dylan Kabir and Bassem Nowyhed built the company around a process that doesn’t prioritize quantity of production first, but the quality of the juices.
To make Sacred Squeeze juices, they go directly to farmers throughout southern and northern California, and they add nothing but those juices to their bottles. No preservatives or additives. Just freshly squeezed, locally harvested juice.
The freshness of each product doesn’t come without challenges.
From Harvest to Bottle
Making small batches of real juice is slower than mass-produced beverages, but it circumvents using anonymous supply chains that dominate much of the juice industry.
It also lets the company control the life cycle of its products from the moment the fruit is picked to when it’s juiced and delivered. Because of their regional distribution sites, local LA customers can get their juice as soon as the next day.
The small-batch, made-to-order process intentionally rejects high-volume production methods, which often extend the shelf life of popular juices but compromise their nutritional value.
Image Credit: Sacred Squeeze
Using Technology Without Compromising Quality
Technology still plays a role in small batch production, but it’s not used in the same way as large-scale manufacturing uses it. Instead, companies like Sacred Squeeze use High Pressure Processing (HPP) to extend juices’ shelf life from six to ninety days without applying heat, which can degrade naturally occurring beneficial vitamins and enzymes.
This allows the product to reach more customers while keeping it raw and nutrient-dense. HPP provides a middle ground between short-shelf-life juice bars and long-shelf-life mass-marketed bottles.
Their first products, Citrus C+, Golden Glow, Tropical Greens, and Watermelon Bliss, reflected the company’s desire to uphold the beneficial properties of freshly-squeezed juice while making them fun for customers of all backgrounds. Each drink is formulated for a specific goal, such as hydration, immunity, or detoxification, and is free from synthetic additives and flavor enhancers.
In a market where powdered supplements and lab-developed ingredients often dominate the functional beverage space, customers deserve access to nutrition directly from whole, fresh produce.
A Call for More Transparent Food Systems
The supply chains that bring most beverages to markets are built for efficiency, not transparency. Sacred Squeeze is creating its supply chain where every bottle can be traced back to the grower who picked its ingredients.
Companies like this are a reminder that catchy marketing campaigns shouldn’t overshadow genuinely fresh consumables. It’s a measurable, operational choice by suppliers and companies. In a food system that encourages speed and scale, choosing to shorten supply chains, work directly with growers, and produce only what’s needed is more than a business decision; it’s a statement about values.