Pressed Juices: Positively Life Changing!

I love forwarding on stories that inspire and prove that anyone who invests time into their own passions, generally are very successful. And here is a story of just that, a hugely successful company called Pressed Juices…..and their slogan…..Positively Life Changing!

I came across Pressed Juices in Melbourne a few months ago and after contacting them and meeting the founder and his AMAZING team (totally have lady crushes on the talented and lovely Jackie, Eliza and Casey from Pressed Juices HQ:)), I have been so impressed every step of the way. It is so evident, they LOVE their product.

So to give you a basic rundown, Pressed juices are different and great for us because the cold-pressed method that is used in their Melbourne warehouse, does not generate the heat that the centrifugal method does. Basically, far fewer nutrients and enzymes are killed the juicing process.

I sat with Leo Pegoli, founder of Pressed Juices, and may I say, he impressed me no end. I hope you love this interview as much as I did.

BWA. xx

What was your background, and how did it lead you to Pressed Juices? 
My journey in the business world began 20 years ago.  After a stint in the United States on a sports scholarship, I spent my formative years working, before returning to Melbourne to start my own company. While passionate about business, over the years I became aware of the mental and physical effects of a demanding lifestyle in the corporate world.  After a particularly rough few years, I realised my priorities had resulted in a deep imbalance in my life and I needed to turn my focus inward.

While living in the USA for much of last year, I discovered the mental and physical benefits of incorporating fresh pressed juices into my daily routine.  Looking after yourself physically is the start of your own truthful existence.  I now try not to concern myself too much with tomorrow and instead focus on the right things that are in the here and now.  One of the building blocks to achieving a greater sense of now has been the appreciation of myself.  Juicing daily, to me, is an act of self-appreciation. Pressed juice, rather than juice blended and/or processed by other means, is the ultimate delivery system of nutrients to the body.  I now consider daily juicing a vital component to living a healthy lifestyle, and have found that nourishing from within results in me feeling my best.

After returning to Melbourne late last year, I found that I couldn’t find the pressed juices that became so important to me.  Combining my business experience and newfound passion, I’m proud to embark on this new venture to bring fresh pressed juices – and the mental and physical benefits of drinking them! I hope Pressed Juices can provide you with the same passion for nourishing yourself from the inside out.

What is your favorite thing about running your own company? 
Watching the impact Pressed Juices has had on my staff and customers is extremely rewarding. I enjoy providing a stable and stimulating work environment for all employees.  My aim is to enable our customers to make an active step towards a happier and healthier lifestyle through the convenience of our nutritionally dense cold pressed juices.

Building a brand with values that I believe strongly in has also been extremely fulfilling. Pressed juices aims to bring out the potential in everyone. The potential to be healthy and the potential to be positively happy everyday.

How do you celebrate when you achieve set goals for your company?
Something great about Pressed Juices as a company is that everyone within our team is constantly striving to reach new goals together, which as the owner of Pressed Juices is very humbling to see and also motivates me to keep moving forward!  I strongly believe in self rewards and the importance of keeping a balance between work, family time and socialising.

What keeps you motivated on the harder days? 
With anything in life, there are the highs and lows and it is important for me to constantly draw on the positives within Pressed Juices and in my own life to stay motivated when it gets a little bumpy! Something that I really ensure that I practice when a difficult situation arises is stepping back from that situation to analyse what’s at hand from another perspective, from a different set of eyes.

What are your basic everyday rules to treat your body like a temple?
I think it is very important to keep a balance between all elements of life.  I am constantly aware of the importance to stay balanced with work, family, exercise and socialising. I am very lucky to have family and friends who can always be relied on, to keep me grounded and sane.

Besides juices, what do you have in your diet everyday? 
I would be lying if I were to say I didn’t thoroughly enjoy Italian food. My motto is everything in moderation! When I do indulge in a delicious pasta from my favourite Carlton Espresso, I make a conscious effort to finish the week with clean, fresh salads and protein based meals.

Do you exercise everyday? What is your best advice for busy woman who don’t have a lot of time to exercise?
Fitting in exercise can sometimes be a challenge when juggling both work and personal commitments but it really is important for me to stay as fit and active as I can, as I truly believe and know this is equally as important in maintaining a balanced mind, body and spirit.  I make the time and put in the effort to stay active and to constantly challenge myself.  My weekly routine includes the sprinting club at the Royal Botanical Gardens, which definitely pushes me to my limits.

What is different about Pressed Juices from other companies? Tell us about the pressing process. 
We truly understand the need for a healthy, quick and natural product, to keep up with the rapidly evolving world we live in. As people begin to become consciously aware of the state of their wellbeing, we love having the ability to offer a product that can really make such a positive life change. We are all about sharing the journey with our customers, no matter which stage they are at, encouraging healthy and positive living.

The fresh fruits and vegetables are pressed using a hydraulic press that applies a tremendous amount of pressure, to extract the nectar directly from the pulp. That pressing action, instead of blending or grinding, won’t oxidise or degrade the fruit and vegetables and helps keep the nutrients and enzymes intact. With a blender, the fruits and vegetables are being cut and ground by a blade and are exposed to heat, which removes many of the essential vitamins, enzymes, proteins, and minerals that we want from our juice. Pressed juice is simply the closest thing to raw, pure fruit or vegetables, and allows you to get a concentrated amount of nutrients that would otherwise be difficult to achieve just by eating raw fruits and vegetables alone.

As a company, Pressed Juices is committed to making it possible for everyone to positively improve their health and wellness through delicious, fresh and nourishing cold pressed juices that are convenient and bursting with goodness!

What benefits have you seen from including these juices into every day diets? 
It is no secret that adding fresh, cold pressed juice into your daily diet is going to improve your overall health and wellbeing on a whole new level! With the inclusion of cold pressed juice into our diets, we are supercharged with micronutrients, vitamins and enzymes, we can include a larger variety of fruit and vegetables and can consume optimal amount of vegetables in one hit! The benefits are somewhat endless, on a nutritional note they increase energy, reduce toxins, help alkaline your body, improve your immune system and provide accessible nutrients for your body to absorb. But what we love is that these juices give us that positive outlook on life because we feel good, we feel healthy and we feel as if we can fulfill our full potential!

Should we worry about Sugar levels when we drink fresh juices? 
All of our juices contain only natural sugars from the fruits and vegetables we juice, which have a low glycemic index (GI).  This means that it doesn’t cause the glucose level in the blood to rise as fast or as high as GI food and artificial juices.  Natural sugars in fresh fruit and vegetables are easily assimilated and digested by the body unlike superficial sugar, which is toxic for the body. But with anything, it is important to be aware of the your individual intake, particularly juices only containing fruit, ensuring that the quantity of natural sugars doesn’t exceed the recommended daily intake.

If you could have breakfast with two people, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Bill Clinton is such an influential and inspirational character. I strongly admire his philanthropic worldview and think that he would be both fascinating and stimulating to chat with over breakfast.

Hugh Jackman is such a talented actor and I love his movies. I think he would be great to have breakfast with as he seems like a very nice and down to earth true Aussie.

Images:Pressed Juices.