Why Leslie Zinn Believes in Whole Foods and Not Just Vegan Foods

Our CEO, Leslie Zinn, was recently interviewed on the Talk to Cassius podcast to discuss how Arden's Garden started and where the company is going in terms of plant-based whole foods.

Since we're purists at heart, everything we make is cold-pressed and manufactured in house at our two facilities in East Point, Georgia. This means we are very hands-on when it comes to every aspect of our products from start to finish, whether the juice is sold at our retail stores or at wholesalers like Publix, Whole Foods, or Walmart.

When asked how we come up with our juices, Zinn said, "What we do is we choose the fruit or vegetable that we think is necessary for people to drink or to put in their bodies, and then we try to make it taste good."

In the future, we'll also introduce high pressure processing, or HPP, where pressure is used instead of heat to kill bacteria in juices.

But over the years, we've become more than just juice. We're also expanding our plant-based food line, and Zinn talked about all the benefits of plant-based whole foods. 

"If it grows on a tree; it comes out of the ground -- you're in good shape," Zinn said. "If it comes out of a bag you might want to give it a second thought."

Everything that you buy should be somewhat perishable -- something with a life force. Zinn mentioned that diseases like cancer and diabetes are all lifestyle related diseases that are connected to our diets.

"You can't out-workout a bad diet," Zinn said. She believes that nutrition is top priority, but that factors like sleep, exercise, and managing stress are also important. 

Make fruits and vegetables a big part of your diet by "eating the rainbow", which means having a variety of colorful food options. If you can't always get those with what you eat, try to get them with what you drink with cold-pressed fruit and vegetable juices.

"So much of success is suiting up and showing up, no matter what," Zinn said. And that's good advice for all aspects of life.

Watch the entire interview on the Talk to Cassius channel for more.