The Juice Bar Purchasing Guide

Most juice bar owners will need the following equipment to get started:

Refrigerator ($1,500 - -$4,500) Ice machine ($1,700 - $2,700 for small/ medium size) Juicer ($300 - $3,000) Blender ($180 - $300) Dishwasher ($400 - $700) * Measuring cups ($10 - $20 each) Large trash can ($15 - $20 each) Plastic wraps ($2 - $4 each)*

Fruit Peeling Machine ($15 each) * Knives ($10 - $50 per piece) Cutting board ($5 - $20 each) Portion scale ($10 - $40 each) POS system ($1,200 - $1,500) Napkins ($0.01 per count or less) Table* ($100 - $200 each) Chair* ($20 - $40 each)

* = not mandatory

You should plan to budget anywhere between $3,000 to $12,000 for initial purchasing costs, depending on the size of your juice bar. 

Picking the right juicer is arguably the most important buying decision you’ll make when starting a juice bar. Here are the key considerations you’ll need to keep in mind when making this purchase and some popular options.

Considerations When Buying a Juicer

TYPE OF JUICE

Do you want to serve juice that is mostly fruit based, mostly green based, or a mixture of both? Fruits tend to have more liquid while leafy vegetable usually have less. Therefore it is usually easier to get juice from fruit and harder to get juice from vegetables. Some types of juicers are better suited to juicing greens than others.

EFFICIENCY

The more juice you can get per fruit, the less fruit you need to buy to produce a glass of juice. An efficient juicer can save you lots of money in the long term. Typically, a masticating juicer squeezes more juice per fruit than a centrifugal juicer. A more efficient juicer also means less waste. This is something that environmentally conscious patrons will appreciate.

SPEED

If you wish to serve fast and to-go juice, you’ll likely prefer a centrifugal juicer. However, if your customer wouldn’t mind waiting a bit longer for a more nutritious juice, you can choose a lower speed juicer such as a masticating juicer.

NOISE

Some juicers create much more noise than others. Loud noise can affect the customer experience in your juice bar, especially in an open counter/kitchen juice bar.

CLEANING

Juicers need to be cleaned on a regular basis. Are the juicer parts that need to be cleaned dishwasher safe, or will you have to clean them by hand? Is it easy to take apart the unit for washing?

COST

What’s your budget range for the juicer? More expensive models cost upwards of $2,500, while cheap models are closer to $200.

Types of Juicers

With these considerations in mind, you can decide which type of juicer is the best fit for your juice bar. There are three common types of juicers, and all three come in a wide range of prices to suit business of any size.

CENTRIFUGAL JUICER

This is the most common juicer you’ll find at a department store. It features a blade to cut fruit into small, thin pieces and spins at a high speed to extract juice. A straining basket at the bottom separates pulp from the juice. To use a centrifugal juicer, simply cut fruit into large chunks, toss them into the juicer and turn it on.

• Pro: produces juice quickly and with the least amount of cleanup
• Con: least efficient juicer—creates lots of pulp. In addition, the heat generated from the spinning blade causes juice to lose some nutrients, which may be a concern for some health-conscious customers.

MASTICATING JUICER

A masticating juicer squeezes juice out of fruit slowly by pressing the pulp using a single auger.

• Pro: Produces significantly more liquid and less pulp, making it great for vegetables such as carrots and beets that have a lower amount of liquid.
• Con: Takes longer to extract juice. You may want to cut fruit and veggies into smaller pieces rather than chunks for best results.

TRITURATING JUICER

A triturating juicer works just like a masticating juicer, but uses two augers to grind the pulp before it start to squeeze juice.

• Pro: Extracts the maximum amount of liquid with the minimum amount of pulp
• Con: Cleaning a triturating juicer is a complicated and lengthy process. The cost of a triturating juicer is very high, too.

Note: If you have more specialized needs, you may also wish to look into purchasing a wheatgrass juicer or a hydraulic press juicer (aka “cold press”). Be aware, these types of juicers can be quite expensive.

Recommended Juicers

We researched popular commercial juicer units. The following are some popular options commonly used by juice bars. We have broken down our recommendations into two categories: low capacity units, which are most suitable for smaller juice bars, and high-capacity units.

LOW-CAPACITY JUICERS

These juicers are low-cost options that are capable of handling a small quantity of juice.

Centrifugal Juicer

• Berville 800JEXL Juice Fountain Elite  $300 (one year warranty, 1000 watt)
• Berville JE98XL Juice Fountain Plus  $90--$150 (850 watt)

Masticating Juicers

• Omega J8004   $260 / Omega J8006  $300 (10 years warranty)
• Champion G5-PG710 $280--$320  (some models have a 10 year warranty)

HIGH-CAPACITY JUICERS

These juicers are more expensive but also much better suited for commercial use.

• Nutrifaster N450 $2500--$2600 (1 year warranty)
• Waring Commercial JE200 $2400--$3000 (1 year warranty)
• Ruby 2000 Juicer $1900--2000 (1 year warranty)

 

 

 

 

Webstaurant

This website offers a variety of brands in all of the basic equipment you will need. In addition to the main equipment (juicers, blenders, etc.), you can also order furniture for your juice bar, and even some non-perishable ingredients. Prices tend to be fairly low, and some ingredients can be purchased in bulk.

Bed Bath and Beyond

You can order online or visit one of their many retail stores to find high quality kitchen equipment. While the prices may be a little steeper, you can often find good coupons to lower the price.