Want to Make a Million Dollars?
An article in the current issue of Nutrition Action Healthletter (Dawn subscribes) offers this advise:
Find an exotic fruit, preferably from an ancient culture. Already taken: açai (pronounces ah-SIGH-ee) from Central and South America, goji (GO-jee) berry from China, and pomegranate from the Middle East and South Asia.
Turn it into juice, either straight or mixed with other (i.e., cheaper) fruit juices.
Attribute extraordinary healing powers to your juice. Already taken: açai is the “fountain of youth,” goji berry is “the most potent anti-aging solution on earth,” and pomegranate lets you “cheat death.”
Get Whole Foods to carry it and charge what the market will bear. Don’t be shy. Start with four or five times what regular juices go for.
What will your customers get for their money? An assortment of antioxidants and phytochemicals, just like they’d get from any fruit juice. But whether that makes the juices healthier is unclear. At least that’s the case with two of our three examples:
Not a single published study has looked at whether people who drink it are any healthier than people who don’t.
Pomegranate juice. In a small, preliminary study, UCLA researchers found that rising PSA levels slowed substantially in 38 of 46 men with prostate cancer who drank 8 oz. of pomegranate juice every day for three years. … But there’s a catch: The study didn’t include a placebo group, so there’s no way to know if the pomegranate juice was what slowed the rise in PSA levels. …
Goji berry juice. Same as açai juice.
And what about blueberry juice, which is starting to show up on supermarket shelves? While blueberry extract seems to help rats find their way through mazes, it’s too early to say if blueberries—or their juice—can prevent memory loss in people.
Doug
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Reader Comments (10)
An excellent business plan! Who hasn't considered this? All it takes to bring a product like this to market is already having a few mil. Or you can do the research, come up with some obscure berry eaten by some unknown tribe deep in the Amazon jungle, formulate it into a juice that tastes sweet, and then go find a financial backer who will want to own 99% of your idea. 1% of a $million is $10thousand, enough to pay for your trip to the Amazon to discover the berry.
Your glass must be almost empty. Any berry will do. It is all about marketing. I will admit getting Whole Foods to carry it would be a steep hurdle but if you could, wouldn't you be enjoying the trips to the bank knowing you were successfully selling the fountain of youth in the 21st century?
Guys, it's just tongue in cheek. The article is about consumers buying "exotic" juices that offer little or no science to back their claims. The same applies to the unregulated "food supplement" industry and consumer's desire to take a pill for some magic benefit. No science there either. The FDA doesn't validate the claims, they only get involved if the product kills or injures consumers. Even that takes years.
I don't care what anybody says, Acai is delicious, healthy and I will keep drinking it. At least it is better than drinking cola!
Sorry Cindy, no one even suggested you stop drinking them or that they are unhealthy. We are making fun of the premise and pointing out that they aren't magic potions. Drink some pomegranate juice and lighten up :=)
I know, I just want people to not get the wrong impression. Heath juices are good for you. Maybe they aren't the fountain of youth (nothing is) but they help keep you healthy, right?
I admit that I thought these expensive drinks had something extra in them and were extra healthy for you. I guess I was taken in. Why do they allow this? It is no different than selling snake oil. I will go back to regular fruit and vegetable juice from now on and put the money I save towards a big screen TV!!!
If you really want to make a million dollars (or more!) start a religion. Ask L. Ron Hubbard.
I am with Cindy. Acai is delicious and healthy too! You can even mix just a tiny bit with your regular fruit juice and make it a thousand times better! Expensive yes, but worth it!
OK, I will find the berry and you handle the importing, manufacturing, and marketing. We will be equal partners and both make millions. Deal?