Smoothie success

True Fruits is a success story that took a long time to get rolling. About four years ago, three students started mixing and blending fruits in their kitchen in their search for the recipe for the perfect smoothie.

Two of them had studied abroad for a year in Scotland, where they encountered their first smoothies. A thick creamy drink made of blended fresh fruits and juice. While smoothies have long been popular in the United States and Britain, they were almost unknown in Germany just a few years ago.

"We drove all across Germany to find some investors or a fruit juice company to work together with," said Nicolas Lecloux, one of the three masterminds behind True Fruit. "We hooked up with a small, family-run juice company in Stuttgart who said, 'Okay, we'll give these three guys a shot.'"

The juice company then provided the apple juice, which is added to the blended fruits to make the drink more fluid. Nadine Scherf, responsible for public relations at True Fruits said the high quality of the products translates into a steep retail price. A 0.2 liter bottle (6.8 fluid ounces) costs more than 2 euros ($2.82).

"We use only the best fruits and they are harvested only once they're really ripe," she said. "Our concept is: true fruits - no tricks. And that means they are not made of concentrates, there's no added sugar. It's really made only of fruit."

At the beginning, True Fruit sold about 10,000 drinks per month, today it's about half a million, which the company has said is significant since it doesn't advertise. The bottles have a little warning: "careful, this drink is addictive," but that, the company said, is simply because what's inside the bottles is so tasty and healthy.

Currently there are six different flavors on the market. A larger bottle is just about to be launched. When they set out four years ago, it was not easy to get a foothold in any of the supermarket chains. Only via personal contacts, they managed to put their drinks on the shelves of one single supermarket in their hometown Bonn.

Eventually, word got around and True Fruits is now part of the standard product range of one of Germany's largest supermarket chains.

"At the beginning, it was very difficult," Lecloux said. "And if you think how much money is wasted on bad loans, and how difficult it is for young entrepreneurs to get a bit of support – well that can make you bitter and disappointed."

Author: Monika Lohmueller/ai

Editor: Sean Sinico