In a new series for The New England Life, I’ll be interviewing local business owners in a 5 Questions-style Q&A, along with an accompanying giveaway (yay!).
To start The New England Life’s new 5 Questions series, I sat down with Danielle Perretty of the newly launched Beacon Blend. Danielle has created recipes for several amazing juices, smoothies and a chia water. Her mission? To make living a healthier life much easier. Her company delivers the super fresh blends they make & deliver right to your door, whether you’re at work or at home (either must be located in Boston, Cambridge or Somerville). Looking to add some employee perks at the work place? Beacon Blend is the go-to for this.
As for the blends featured in the above photo, I received these to taste test. My favorite? It was a close three-way tie between balance, nourish, and play. Of course, all three are extremely different from each other – but all super delicious. Actually, all five blends I tried were absolutely a-mazing.
The chia water (balance) is made with chia seeds, lemon, maple and purified water. The label mentions it is a “power water” and it 100% is. After drinking it, I immediately felt super hydrated.
While drinking nourish at the beach, I immediately received an awesome energy boost (which was great, because Rory was ready for a beach run!). This blend is made with mango, cucumber, cilantro, lime, ginger and coconut water.
Later on, Jeff and I shared play, and started fighting over it (just kidding – but we were both trying to get the last sip). Danielle mentioned in our meet-up that this one is definitely a favorite with men. It’s made with raw cacao, banana, cinnamon and coconut milk.
As for rise and harmony, I tried both while on my commute to and from work & loved reading on the Beacon Blend website that both are super high in nutrients, something I always need to start and finish off my day.
TNEL: Why did you start Beacon Blend?
Danielle: Basically, I was in marketing for over 15 years, working for a design consultancy. At the most recent job prior starting Beacon Blend, I was that person (back in 2006), who was bringing in my organic fruit, putting it in the freezer, using the blender in the kitchen, and always making smoothies for breakfast, whether my co-workers liked it or not. 🙂
A healthy lifestyle has always been a part of me, but I never realized how much because it was always natural. It wasn’t just a trend…it just never felt forced. It felt like a passion. I was always looking for natural remedies, whether to make at home for my skincare and hair. And I’ve been doing that for awhile now.
So anyways, I was really happy with my job and my career. I loved what I was doing for years. Eventually, I went out on my own for the first time and worked for myself. I had never worked for myself. I always worked for another person. It was scary. And then I thought, maybe I’ll just work for another company and try something new. Long story short, lots of job offers came in before I really decided to do this crazy idea of starting my own juice brand. It had always been inside my head as this dream but nothing I thought I’d ever actually do.
One day, something just clicked. I was walking through the Boston Public Garden and I was contemplating why I wasn’t happy with any of the opportunities I had been experimenting with. Some of them were really fabulous and would make other people very happy. But I wasn’t feeling 100%. I don’t know… a switch went on to just do it. Just do it. So I took my savings and made a commitment to myself that I was going to research this as much as I possibly could.
TNEL: What are some of the products available?
Danielle: I have 8 products. I have the power water, which is the chia water called “balance.” I have two juices, which are “harmony” and “adventure.” And I have five smoothies. The biggest difference is that I keep the fiber in my blends. Juicers remove the fiber and discard the pulp and that gives you a high sugar index, which I do not use. When you remove the fiber, it’s a straight shot to your system of what you’re juicing, but it also removes the good things that help slow down the processing of sugar.
I am very holistic with my smoothies, so I keep everything in it. People take the stems off their kale, but I don’t. It’s still good for you!
TNEL: So when I get these, how fast should I drink them?
Danielle: Well, these have a three day shelf life because there is no heat applied, it is not HPP, it isn’t pasteurized. It is all raw and fresh. My thing is, I want it to be as if someone just blended it for you. Everything is fresh and made to order. It is meant to be consumed in three days. It is supposed to be a convenience factor with the delivery and door-to-door service, which is why I’m only beta testing the Boston, Cambridge and Somerville coverage area right now.
TNEL: Who is your ideal customer?
Danielle: I want to be the healthy alternative for offices. When I worked in marketing, we always had free candy and chocolate. And I’m not complaining about free snacks… but if it is there, people will eat it. But, nothing really healthy was ever offered. That was something that really stuck with me for a long time. There’s a gap here with employee perks and I really want to fill the gap.
TNEL: And when you’re not consumed with all things juice, what are some of your favorite hobbies?
Danielle: Yoga. I just love it. It makes me so happy. It balances me with the business. I’m working extraordinary hours, seven days a week actually… being the first year out. And being a solo woman owned business and breaking into a new industry that I hadn’t worked in before…there was such a steep learning curve. Although I have had the passions for those things on the side, it is different to create a scaleable business and bootstrapping it. There’d just been a lot of lessons.
As for where I do yoga, I’ve been a long time member of Yoga Works. They sell my chia water there too. I graduated there last year with my yoga teaching training certificate.
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To order Beacon Blend, visit the newly launched website: www.BeaconBlend.com.
Now, for the best part…
With each 5 Questions, I’ll be hosting a giveaway. For this one, visit my Instagram account. To enter, make sure to follow my account and give the video a “like,” tag a friend that also loves healthy juices, and make sure you follow Beacon Blend on Instagram as well.*
On Friday (May 6 at 10 AM), I’ll announce the winner and you’ll receive a Beacon Blend chia water, juice, smoothie, plus one more of your choice….delivered right to your door! (value: $32.50)
*IMPORTANT: to enter & win, you must be able to pick up the juice in either Boston, Somerville or Cambridge.
