Fresh Thyme to Debut Certified Organic Juices in Q1

Partnering with Maglio Companies, a Wisconsin-based produce company that processes cold-pressed juices, Fresh Thyme Market will be rolling out a new line of certified organic juices in the early part of this year.

Fresh Thyme is well-known for its fresh-squeezed juices, which are currently processed and bottled by its stores’ produce departments. Up until now, the company has not offered any certified organic juices because it lacks the organic processing certification to do so. However, it has included a number of organic ingredients in many of its juice offerings, including its carrot juice, which is made from 100-percent organic carrots. Kale, spinach, and apples are three other ingredients that Fresh Thyme often sources organically for use in its fresh juices.

Fresh Thyme Market is adding organic to its existing line of fresh-squeezed juices

“Organic has been our first choice on a lot of the main commodities we use for the juicing,” says Scott Schuette, VP of produce and floral. “Customers have gravitated to it. We’re known for it. It’s a great point of differentiation in the department for us.”

Fresh Thyme’s fresh juice sales are up over 20 percent year-to-date, and Schuette says that the company is looking to boost sales by a further 15 percent with the addition of the new certified organic cold-pressed juices.

Scott Schuette, Vice President of Produce and Floral, Fresh Thyme Market

Fresh Thyme currently offers about 20 different types of fresh juices (the number changes depending on the store and the season). One customer favorite is Green Thyme, which includes kale, spinach, Italian parsley, cucumbers, Granny Smith apples, and lemon.

“Organic has been our first choice on a lot of the main commodities we use for the juicing. Customers have gravitated to it. We’re known for it. It’s a great point of differentiation in the department for us.” - Scott Schuette

“When I first looked at it … it didn’t look like it was going to be one of my favorites,” jokes Scott about Green Thyme. “[But] it has a great taste to it despite the green look, which can be deceiving. … It is by a lion’s share one of our most popular drinks.”

Maglio Companies will produce a certified organic Green Thyme for Fresh Thyme, along with certified organic versions of a number of Fresh Thyme’s other proprietary juice recipes, including Red Thyme (beets, Granny Smith apples, celery, Italian parsley, spinach, cucumbers, limes, and ginger root) and Orange Thyme (Italian parsley, Granny Smith apples, lemons, oranges, and carrots).

Fresh Thyme Market

Schuette says Maglio will use Fresh Thyme’s “exact specification of product,” ensuring that the juices will have the same flavor profiles “that customers have grown to love throughout the years.” And he notes that the bulk of the organic juice partnership with Maglio will focus on producing organic versions of four of the most popular single-ingredient juices—carrot, beet, celery, and orange.

“When I first looked at [Green Thyme]…it didn’t look like it was going to be one of my favorites. [But] it has a great taste to it despite the green look, which can be deceiving.…It is by a lion’s share one of our most popular drinks.” -Scott Schuette

Maglio will cold press the juices, pasteurize them without heat (using high-pressure processing), and bottle and label them before sending them to Fresh Thyme’s distribution center in Bollingbrook, Illinois, which is a short 2.5-hour drive away. From there, the juices will be distributed to all of Fresh Thyme’s 70 Midwestern stores.

“We’re excited,” says Schuette. “[This new partnership] has a lot of potential for us, and it’ll give us the chance to finally brand those juice bottles as being certified organic.”