By Jen Faydenko, Assistant Produce Manager, Co-op Owner
Natalie’s Orchid Island Co. was started by a woman trying to fulfill her husband’s dream. He dreamed of producing fresh squeezed juices, but was too busy maintaining the family’s fourth generation citrus farm to pursue it. Marygrace Saxon, Natalie’s founder, knew she had the superior quality of Florida citrus first hand, and she felt she had exclusive access to the country’s best citrus, though she didn’t have the same access to fresh juice, unless she squeezed herself or purchased from a roadside stand.
She was determined to bring her husband’s idea to fruition; focusing on high quality, minimally processed juices, all squeezed fresh each week. With a commitment to uncompromising quality and honest transparency, Natalie’s goes to the greatest lengths for authentic freshness. Even hand selecting the finest fruits and vegetables! Every Order is handcrafted in small batches, and pasteurized for the minimum time and temperature to ensure the maximum quality and freshness of each ingredient.
Natalie’s Orchid Island Co. also keeps it simple: there are minimal ingredients in each juice. No preservatives. No artificial ingredients. No GMOs.
Surrounded by this beautiful, 4th generation orange grove, Marygrace decided to start supplying her own family with fresh, clean label juice. It soon blossomed into a family operated, women-owned business, worth $124M! Her juices are carried in 5,000 supermarkets, and 41 countries internationally. By partnering with over 60 charitable organizations, Natalie’s has even been recognized as a global symbol of clean label nutrition.
The people at Natalie’s are very intentional about all their practices. Their top priorities are being authentically nutritious and using the freshest fruits and vegetables possible. When seeking high quality ingredients they always begin looking locally, in their own region. Supporting local producers insures the livelihoods of the surrounding community, which in turn helps them in their mission to access the highest quality of ingredients. Natalie’s has the smallest carbon footprint in the juice industry and always works to maintain their commitment to the environment. The citrus waste heads to cattle farms where it is repurposed. They’re also committed to supporting American jobs – all of their packing is made in America and is 100% recyclable!
No matter what you like there’s a flavor for you. Natalie’s offers 25 different varieties of fresh squeezed juices with limited ingredients, (words you can pronounce), from citrus juices to fruits with veggie juice, and exotic blends with up to eleven items. The holistic, cold-pressed juices, are mindfully crafted with botanicals, adaptogens, spices, and superfood ingredients that boost health and wellness.
You may see my picture in front of their Holistic, Resilient-Immune Mindfulness, in the produce case at GreenTree. It’s cold pressed, packed full of vitamin C from blood oranges, with elderberry, turmeric, ginger, and black pepper. This anti-inflammatory blend is rich in antioxidants. Sweet and spicy, it’s my go to for a hard day. Be sure to let me know what you think if you try it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!