Saskatoon’s hottest local juice business isn’t actually hot at all — it’s cold, and it’s now available on the University of Saskatchewan campus.

Thrive Juice Co., a company founded by two health-conscious Saskatonians in 2014, creates all-natural, unpasteurized cold-pressed juices. They source their produce from Saskatchewan farms, making their products a true taste of the prairies.

Co-founders Danica Slattery and Maile Crowe grew up in Saskatoon as athletes and attended the U of S, spending their busy youths squeaking in meals between student obligations and soccer practices. They found themselves eating a lot of snacks on the go from various chain smoothie joints or the pre-packaged yogurt aisle.

“We began to think: is the food we believe to be healthy actually healthy?” Crowe said, in an email to the Sheaf. “We didn’t really know what was in our food anymore, which was a scary thought.”

It occurred to them that they couldn’t be the only people with busy schedules struggling to eat healthy and from there, the convenient, tasty choices at Thrive were born.

Slattery is a vegetarian and Crowe has gluten and dairy allergies, so the world of juice made sense to fit their needs.

“It was the easiest way to get a large volume of vegetables, fruits and nutrients into one serving,” Crowe said.

“Cold-pressed” refers to the way the juice is created. The process uses no heat, which can rob the fruits and vegetables of nutritional value. According to Crowe, cold-pressing retains up to five times more vitamins, minerals and enzymes than a traditionally produced juice does. The traditional method is to rapidly accelerate the ingredients through spinning. Friction creates heat, and the whipping motion draws in air and accelerates oxidation — bad news for veggie vitamins.

Thrive products are also unpasteurized. Pasteurization is a process used to extend shelf life involving heating the juice to kill bacteria.

“It also kills all of the beneficial bacteria, leading to nutritionally dead juice with no living enzymes,” Crowe said. “By eating raw, you receive the highest nutrient value possible and get the most bang for your buck!”

Now that Thrive is available on campus at Louis’ Loft, students can grab a healthy boost between classes. Crowe was once a busy student herself and understands the needs of the lifestyle.

“Juicing can provide better sleep, clear complexions, better focus, increased energy and mental clarity,” Crowe said.

Raw juices with living enzymes can sound a bit intimidating to the juicing virgin, but Thrive has products ideal for baby steps into the experience. Their “Raw Latte,” which includes espresso, raw almonds and dates, packs a caffeine punch that any overworked student will love, with the added bonus of being 67 per cent less acidic than coffee.

Crowe recommends “Sweet Envy,” a slightly intimidating looking green concoction. It has kale, spinach, pineapple, apple, parsley and lime, and despite the colour, it’s one of their sweetest options.

There are other reasons beyond taste for students to love Thrive, including their dedication to sustainable farming practices. They recycle the waste of their produce by giving it back to farmers as compost or feed for livestock.

“This is one of our favourite aspects of being in this business,” Crowe said. “We believe it’s important to support our local community and economy, and we love the web of support it creates.”

While their produce isn’t 100 per cent organic, much of it is, and the knowledgeable staff at their primary storefront in Riversdale can certainly give customers more information upon request. This fall, a new vegan espresso bar will be opening in-store, where customers can order personalized caffeine kicks.

For now, a selection of bottled juices are available at Louis’ Loft. Judging by the way this company has already expanded in under two years, opening stores in Regina and Moose Jaw, Sask.,  and popping up on retail shelves across the province, there’s sure to be more available soon. Students at the U of S can hop on board this healthy trend now, and won’t ever need to be accused of jumping on the bandwagon.