Eric Strauss didn't just run a lemonade stand as a kid-he
actually sold stock in it. "I always enjoyed business,"
says the now 27-year-old founder of St. Paul, Minnesota-based Crazy
Carrot Juice Bar Inc. "Growing up, I did everything from lawn
mowing to delivering newspapers."
That busy beginning has ripened into a thriving juice-bar
company. What prompted Strauss to set his sights on the $500
million-plus U.S. smoothie market? "To me," says the
avowed vegetarian, "juice seemed to be-and still is-the next
major food trend."
Strauss' optimism is well-founded. Health-conscious
consumers have an ever-increasing appetite for vitamin-enriched
juices. "Let's face it: Baby boomers are aging and they
want the fountain of youth," observes Dan Titus of Juice
Gallery, a Chino Hills, California, publishing and consulting firm
specializing in juice bars. "There's going to be steady
[industry] growth."
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That's good news for Strauss, who launched Crazy Carrot in
December 1996. Projecting sales in excess of $1 million this year,
Strauss now counts friends Liem Nguyen, 25, and Tony Barranco, 24,
as partners. Coincidentally, Crazy Carrot has also grown to three
locations-all in Minnesota. Adds Strauss, "We're very
interested in expanding."
Crazy Carrot isn't content just to expand geographically,
though. As if juices, healthy snacks and smoothies created from
freshly squeezed orange juice weren't enough of a draw, Strauss
notes the newest Crazy Carrot offers free Internet access. "To
my knowledge," he says, "this is the first juice bar [to
do so]." Fresh ideas-and ingredients-are what this industry is
all about.