Greenhopping is making it easier.
It’s an app that makes finding juice bar and restaurants that serve natural, organic, farm-to-table ingredients in New York City, Jersey City, Hoboken, The Hamptons, Long Island, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Dallas, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Miami.
With more to come, including healthy food and produce delivery.
They’re currently servicing 14 US cities (available on iPhones and Android devices), they’re working on facilitating access to healthy plant-based eateries by placing all vegan, raw, gluten-free and vegetarian restaurants, as well as green juice bars, cold-pressed juice bars, green smoothie bars and health food stores that offer these beverages, on an electronic map for consumers to locate via a GPS mobile application or the Internet.
Want to go green? This is the way to go.
Cofounder and CEO Catherine M. Cuello gives us the long-term plan – and benefits.
Tell us about the service.
GreenHopping is a health and technology start-up founded here in New York City in 2014. It was launched by partners Catherine Cuello and Alfred Fuente.
We focus on showcasing the entire exclusively natural, organic, healthy, and farm-fresh-to-table style restaurants in each city. At present, we assist consumers in finding healthy juice bars and restaurants, but our goal is to facilitate the sale of juices and healthy foods to customers through mobile payments on our platform – ready for delivery or pickup.
By encouraging customers to buy green foods, we are also trying to encourage a transition to a healthy lifestyle, potentially mitigating the risks related to obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.
How is it different?
GreenHopping is trying to impact the diets and eating habits of families in America, with an emphasis on lower income communities. By helping customers access and buy green foods easily, we are trying to encourage a transition to a healthy lifestyle – and in the long run – mitigate the risks related to chronic diseases. We are trying to make healthy eating accessible to all through technology.
We aspire to revolutionize the way consumers access green food by using technology to connect consumers with healthy options in their neighborhoods and to educate them on the benefits of healthy diet.
Our solution provides access to information, and a way to purchase healthy food and green juices on your mobile device. By fostering this, we expect to promote a change in attitude towards healthy eating, all while expanding the market for green food.
What market are you attacking and how big is it?
Juicing, as a meal replacement or a way of staying energized and healthy, is a multibillion dollar business. Given the rapid rate of growth that the juicing industry has sustained (a duplication of sales between 2004-2012 ), it is expected that this market will continue to grow at a pace between 4% and 8% per year, which would make it a $6 billion business by 2015 , provided the trend does not accelerate, which it could.
As new lifestyle trends have kicked in, several 2014 reports show that customers have been making requests for healthier food and beverages. Health and wellness are a serious focus for the future of foodservice. The National Restaurant Association’s What’s Hot Chef Survey of 2014 emphasizes this trend; as 7 out the top 20 trends can be linked to health and wellness and 73% of Americans (16 and older) say they are more interested in healthy eating practices than they were a few years ago, according to Fast Casual.
What is the business model?
Transaction fees and subscription based.
What are some of the most popular NYC places from your data?
Everywhere… we’re seeing more and more green juice bars and healthy food spots open every day. When we started the research in late 2013, NYC had 400 places… today, we have over 550.
What are the milestones that you plan to achieve within 6 months?
Healthy food and green juice delivery.
If you could be put in touch with one investor in the New York community who would it be and why?
Kite Ventures.
Why did you launch in New York?
Because it’s a great test market and the green juice craze is on the rise.
What’s your favorite fall destination in NYC?
Central Park.
