“I always tell people that ideas are cheap. Just Google and you’ve got all the answers,’” Anabelle Co-Martinent begins, setting down her turquoise cup of dirty chai latte. “It’s easy to say, ‘let’s start a business’ but the real, hard part is the need to have a vision of where you want go.”
We’re sitting in La Juiceria Superfoods, Nadi Bangsar. Anabelle, the ladyboss of this trendy café chain, matches its sunny, lively vibe with her chipper nature while tracing her steps back to 2013 when it was just her and her humble cold-pressed juice company, La Juiceria. The fad fell as swift as it rose, but Anabelle's was one of the few companies that survived – with a success story to boot. “We were geared to really making it, to create awareness among Malaysians, and banking on making health a long-term lifestyle.”
See also: 6 Healthy Café Owners In KL & Their Best Dishes That Won Over Fussy Eaters
Spurred by intuition, determination, hard work and a sprinkle of luck, the mum-of-2 took La Juiceria further by becoming the only Halal-certified cold-pressed juice company in Malaysia. Next, the consumer-savvy realist focussed on offering a solution to the nation's soaring obesity, hypertension and diabetes rates, with veggie-packed juices. Today, La Juiceria cafés serve KLCC, Mont Kiara, Bangsar, and Subang Jaya, and she's also founder of Super Saigon, an offshoot brand in its third outlet, and a newly-minted social media marketing agency, Soxial Status.
Everyone can create a juice formula – it’s not rocket science. It’s the way it makes you feel, the confidence – that’s what you’re selling