Pressed Juicery: Hitting the Green Price Ceiling?

I’m having a deja vu moment here: Back in 2000, Kozmo was one of the earnest dot-com hopefuls. The company would deliver all manner of things to your door, from DVDs to magazines. At no extra cost. I recall ordering, often, a single Odwalla juice, partly out of the novelty of being able to do so. I recall frequently greeting delivery people that looked distinctly like coders and engineers. Cost saving measure?

Now comes Pressed Juicery, a company based in Los Angeles that is offering, you guessed it: home juice delivery. The product sounds different from your average juice: Rather than the conventional juicer, they use a hydraulic press. They claim this press helps retain more of the nutritional value by "…minimizing oxidation and releasing vitamins, minerals, and enzymes into each juice that are impossible to yield from a normal juicer (up to 400% more!)"

In a time where people find themselves increasingly busy, it’s often hard to follow through on all the well intentioned desires to do better with our health. Pressed Juicery aims to make at least one part of that equation simpler, by delivering it directly to the consumer. In a place like Los Angeles, where a short distance may take more than an hour to travel by car, it’s not a stretch to say this could prove to be a popular service.

There’s just one thing:

The juice, 16 ounces of it, works out to an average of $10 a bottle. Ten dollars! Granted, Pressed Juicery is aiming heavily towards the “cleanse” market, making 6 juices that are numerically identified so the drinker knows exactly which order to have them in, and the website offers extensive pre, during and post cleanse information to support the process. Given the short time commitment and keen interest in people to glean the most health benefits from this experience, they may be more likely than your average person under normal circumstances to pay such a cost.

But what about for everyday use? While their choice to source local and organic hits the requisite sustainability notes, is this pricing model sustainable?

Perhaps, given the testimonials, these products are well suited to those that are confused and overwhelmed by the ever increasing healthy food options out there, and just want something they can count on, with no effort on their part.

It’s often been said that sustainability and health minded people are willing to pay a price premium for greener, healthier products. The reality is not at this time matching the talk, in most cases. Among those that are ok with a premium, is there a limit? Paying nearly double what the best in class product costs at a juice bar, has Pressed Juicery reached the green ceiling?

Time will tell. Four years after Kozmo’s demise, Manhattan focused Kozmo clone MaxDelivery was launched by its CTO. It’s still in business.

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Paul Smith is a sustainable business innovator, the founder of GreenSmith Consulting, and has an MBA in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco. He creates interest in, conversations about, and business for green (and greening) companies, via social media marketing.