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California native Jill Summerhays grew up on smoothies, a frozen fruit drink her health-food-conscious mother introduced to her. But when Summerhays moved to Utah for college, she had to say goodbye to not only the California sunshine, but also the smoothies she loved so much. "There was nothing like that [in Utah]," she says. "Your only choices were soda and milkshakes, so I started tinkering with a recipe."
In 1983, Summerhays married husband Jeff, and the two made their first smoothie together on their honeymoon. Starting a full-time business was far from the minds of the newlyweds; Jeff was working at his family's chain of restaurants, and Jill wanted only part-time work. But she knew her smoothies would be a success, so she and Jeff started working at weekend special events, such as the 1983 Utah State Fair, giving out free samples to introduce people to their drinks. "We pretty much had to educate them on what these drinks were," says Jill.
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