Company blends new stores, products in 2014
Central Texans love their juice, if the growth of Austin-based company JuiceLand is any indication.
In October 2011, Matt Shook parted ways with the company he helped co-found, Daily Juice. He then rebranded his Barton Springs Road and Lake Austin Boulevard stores as JuiceLand.
Since then Shook has added seven stores. The Lakeway and Westlake stores opened in January and May, respectively.
The newest location, near the intersection of 29th and Guadalupe streets, opened July 1, Shook said.
JuiceLand's Oak Hill location celebrates its first anniversary in July. The restaurant has a drive-thru, Wi-Fi and small picnic tables for children.
"Here's how I describe JuiceLand: delicious, fun, creative and healthy," he said.
Shook said the most popular drink on the menu is The Originator, which includes apple juice, bananas, blueberries, cherries, peanut butter, brown rice protein, spirulina and flax oil. Protein smoothie Wundershowzen and organic green juice TigerLilly are also popular, he said.
"We do a lot of mixing," he said. "We try to blend different drinks together to see what kind of reaction we get."
JuiceLand also serves a variety of food items, including its Feast in the Middle East, Clean & Soba Noodle Bowl and Super Happy Fun Sushi Bowl.
"We feel like someone could eat an entire meal at a fast food restaurant and get [fewer] nutrients than from drinking one small cup of our juices or smoothies," he said.
Juices and smoothies
As the name suggests, JuiceLand is known for its juices and smoothies.
The company categorizes its fruit and vegetable juices as Fresh & Easy—juices with three or four ingredients—aqua frescas or Next-Level.
JuiceLand also has a wide selection of smoothies, ranging from the more basic fruit smoothies to Even-Further Smoothies, which incorporate more exotic ingredients such as ormus supergreens and Ginkgo biloba.
The drinks' colorful names—such as The Funky Meter, Ninja Bachelor Party and The Berry Godmother—are the staff's attempts to describe the product before a customer drinks them, owner Matt Shook said.
Juice cleanses
Juice cleanses are a large part of JuiceLand's business, Shook said.
Participants shift to a short-term liquid diet of pressed fruit and vegetable juice with the goals of feeling better, losing weight and improving digestion, among other benefits.
Pregnant women, people with eating disorders and children younger than age 17 should not juice cleanse, according to JuiceLand.
Local products
JuiceLand carries several local products including Kosmic Kombucha drinks and energy bars from Bearded Brothers and Thunderbird Energetica.
The company also sells its own brand of energy bars, JuiceLand Chews, as well as kale chips and activated almonds.
In July, JuiceLand will debut a new food item, the Sunday Picnic Plate, "a vegan mushroom eggplant barbecue matched with a cauliflower potato salad and barbecue sauce," Shook said.
JuiceLand2422 S. RR 620, Ste. 114-A, Lakeway, 512-284-9044701 Capital of Texas Hwy., Westlake, 512-243-5719
www.juicelandaustin.com, www.facebook.com/juicelandaustin, Twitter: @JuiceLandAustin
- Hours: Mon.–Sat., 7 a.m.–9 p.m.
- Sun. 8 a.m.–9 p.m.
