“Save Water, Drink Juice,” says a sign at Selena Haggin’s Rooted Juice farmers’ market booth.
It’s not only smart, it’s right.
Hagin, 28, who owns Rooted Juice, offers a line of delicious and healthy blended drinks that she creates herself.
On a recent Tuesday, she was showcasing some of her current combinations. Contains: Healing (celery, cucumber, lemon, apple), Pineapple Bliss (pineapple, lemon, apple), Root Peace (carrot, ginger, orange, turmeric), Immune Boost (orange, lemon, apple, ginger) , sweet beets (beet, lemon, orange, carrot).
This is Hagin’s first year on the job, and his first full season at the Tuesday market. She’s looking to expand her business, and plans to sell bottles of her flavorful and healthy cold-pressed combo at Petaluma’s Saturday afternoon farmers market opening next month. She also hosts the Cotati Farmers Her Market (June to September Wednesday afternoons) and Rohnert Her Park Her Market Fridays from 5 to 8 p.m., June to August. We are planning to open a store.
“I’ve been juicing for the last few years,” Hagin said of how she got into juicing. “First, it was for myself and my father’s health. But then my family and friends started tasting the blend. They enjoyed it and told their friends. I have to sell it.” I heard this over and over again. I loved doing it as a hobby, so I thought, “Maybe I could turn this into a job.” ”
So she did. Hagin currently prepares the drinks in a commercial kitchen in Santa Rosa, and she hopes to expand her business beyond farmers markets in the future. She is seriously considering the possibility of both a yoga studio and training facility.
Hagin said she became interested in juicing while taking a nutrition course in college and had already had a long-standing interest in herbs and herbalism. She also experimented with serving tea.
“But I like to stick to actual fruit,” she said. She works at a friendly, family-friendly farmer’s market at her market, so she is able to source many of her fruits, roots, and vegetables from her fellow vendors. “I love being in this community. It’s so freeing to be able to work for myself and I can’t wait until I can work full time.”
Hagin is one of a growing number of vendors who are viewing the COVID-19 pandemic through a positive lens: an opportunity to do something new and interesting. She felt that the time had come, so she decided to take her chance and follow her dreams. And if not now, then when. As Ms. Hagin explains, she saw others stepping out of their comfort zone, and she said to herself, “I can do it.” She is fortunate to have several friends of hers who have taught her how to start her new business.
She believes her fellow vendors are positive, enthusiastic, and supportive.
“We all help each other,” she noted, praising the community she found at the market. “I like seeing faces and I like exploring new opportunities. The people here, both customers and fellow vendors, give me ideas and other places I can sell my juice. Ultimately, I want it to be 100% organic.”
Bright, energetic and smiling, outgoing and personable, Haggin clearly enjoys her new venture as much as her customers enjoy her delicious food. Customers carrying market sweets rushed to the booth.
“What do you want today?” he asked. “Surprise me,” he added, laughing and shaking his hand. Hagin immediately laughed back and they both enjoyed his next comment. “Sell me what no one wants,” he quickly added, nodding enthusiastically. Everyone is good. ”
After the customer had already drank his juice and left, Hagin explained that he was one of her many regulars. She received an equally enthusiastic response from shoppers at the market.
“And things are getting better as the weather gets warmer,” she said. “A lot of people buy in bulk,” she said, adding that delivery is available if needed.
Hagin said the process involves a fair amount of “trial and error,” but he works hard to make each blend flavorful and appealing. She added that the nutrition classes she took were a big help in understanding how different flavors work or don’t work together.
Another one of her regulars asked idly, “What haven’t I tried?”
“Do you like beets?” Haggin asked.
“I love them,” the woman said. They settled on a lively, flavorful sweet beet, and the customer left with a bottle in hand and a smile on his face.
Longtime Argus-Courier contributor Katie Watts regularly visits vendors at the Petaluma Farmers Market to learn how they come to work, what they make, and what they grow. It tells the story of how they came to grow.
