Arden’s Garden Extends a Healthy Hand in Atlanta’s Black Communities

Arden’s Garden, Atlanta’s popular health food retailer, also known as the city’s first juice bar, is expanding its presence and high nutrition offerings into an economically diverse range of communities throughout metropolitan Atlanta. The 30-year-old company which began in founder Arden Zinn’s kitchen opened its 18th and 19th locations in Atlanta recently in the Cascade Heights area and in the heart of the Benteen Park neighborhood—right off Boulevard.

Leslie Zinn, Arden’s Garden CEO and president said the company’s approach offsetting health and nutrition deficits in less affluent and underserved Atlanta area communities is an extension of her mother’s mission to provide health lifestyle opportunities and high-nutrition food and beverage products to novice and more seasoned health food consumers.

The company’s two-prong approach to accomplishing the objective of offering its signature cold-press juices in less affluent communities around the metro Atlanta area is based in both its specialty processing for maximizing nutritional value and building presence with the opening of its 19th store in the Atlanta metro area.

“After my mom bought that first juicer, a health food store opened in her neighborhood, and they heard about her, and they said, ‘Hey, come to the back of our store. We’ll give you the produce. You make the juice; we’ll split the sales. It was called Return to Eden.” That was in 1994.

Zinn admits her mother was more product passionate than she was business savvy. But with her and her brother’s help, they found themselves in a matter of just five years filling a full-scale manufacturing and retail niche to serve the needs of growing number of consumers while bridging healthy foods inequities gaps between underserved communities and those with greater access to than they were educated than they were didn’t fully comprehend the need for.

“What we learned from our experiences early on is that people in food deserts need and want access to fresh and healthy food, and if you provide that, they will come and support you,” said Arden’s Garden president and CEO Leslie Zinn, noting that the company’s first fully functioning manufacturing plant was located in East Point, Ga. “I had never set foot in East Point,” says Zinn of moving the homebased business from her mother’s kitchen table to several retail outlets to a manufacturing space off of Howell Mill, and then eventually locating in a primarily underserved Black community.

“The other thing we know is that we have to meet people where they are. Not everybody is ready to drink our Green Energy Machine. They might be only ready to drink cucumber lemonade or pineapple, apple, or ginger [juices] and that’s okay … it’s a start. It’s a gateway and we just want to bring you in,” the impassioned entrepreneur explained of novice and newly minted health food enthusiasts.

The 30- year-old company is a local model in Georgia – much like California is for the nation – for leading the way to better living through nutrition by providing quick, convenient, high-quality plant-based juices, smoothies and food products to conscientious consumers, many of whom live outside of the boundaries of more affluent communities where the popular food items are more accessible and available.

In Atlanta’s environs where many are joining the craze of drinking green juices and snacking on vegan to build healthy bodies, increase stamina and improve their general quality of life, thousands of residents seeking health options live off the health food grid, and are often relegated to mediocre offerings for their nutritional needs.

The company’s methodology for bringing those hungry for healthier lifestyles through nutritional food and drink offerings is based on the popular philosophy that “if you build it, they will come.’ Zinn, who along with her brother Ed, who helped to expand the company, were determined to ensure that those residing in and around food deserts and other communities limited in the types and abundance of high-nutrition products found in wealthier communities can access the life enhancing food and beverage options that not only improve quality of life, but according to a bevy of industry experts extend individual life spans.

Arden’s Garden’s meticulous process for creating juices and food products is accomplished through a remarkably simple but efficient signature cold-press method for maximizing nutrient retention and freshness by applying intense pressure to extract juice essentials using hydraulic press technology, culminating in a superior and flavorful vitamin-rich product.

In addition, Zinn’s unwavering devotion to supplying customers with what they want, and need is accomplished through good old-fashioned taste tests, where customers visiting any of their 19 locations have an opportunity to try new products and provide feedback on what they like and what they want more of.

“We’re being intentional about where we are putting in our stores. … So that’s sort of a synergy that we have … we touch our customer every day,” explains Zinn. “I can walk into the store and listen to what people are people asking for, what are people wanting, what are they needing,” she explains. “We don’t have to do a bunch of focus groups. Gosh, we just put it into our stores, and the customers will immediately give us feedback, like ‘this is great, this is terrible or this is what we’re looking for. So, it’s like we have 19 mini labs, constantly giving us information, and you get to see people transform their lives,” she says adding “That’s what the real impact is. That’s what the real excitement is.”

Zinn’s connection to the community and the culture is an organic one rooted in direct interaction with her customers and her commitment to people over profit.

“We feel very grateful to the City of East Point and to our community for how much they supported us, because it was incredible. So, we want to give back” says the affable entrepreneur. “I live in the area, you know, so this is my community. We see the struggles that residents have, Zinn says emphatically. “Like you may not be on track to go to college, and that’s okay, you can find opportunity here. I have people here that started with me when they were 17, and they’re now a corporate manager, and they never went to college, but they’re in the top leadership. You know, we’re a place that if you work hard, you can rise.”

Consumers agree that Arden’s Garden has been a great benefit for both health options and remains responsive to the changing needs of local residents.

“The African American culture is very aligned with juices and smoothies. I’m not African American but I can just see from the people that come in, and the love that they have for our product, how folks decide on which juice or smoothie is right for them,” she explains with remarkable sincerity and understanding.

“If you’re having a medical condition, or let’s say you’re an athlete and you’re going to compete in a race, or you’re just going to work out, I would recommend beets because it’s going to open you up, giving you more blood flow. If you’re sick, ginger is fantastic. If you’re pregnant and you’re having tough time with nausea, ginger is your best friend. So, there are definitely things that are directed towards specific ailments,” Zinn explains.

Arden’s Gardens recently rolled out its newest and most innovative product to date, FOCUS+, created to stimulate and enhance mental and cognitive function. “Everything we make is based on function,” says Zinn. “So every fruit or vegetable has a different function for the body. … FOCUS+ – pun intended – is totally focused on mental clarity,” she adds with a smile.

For more information on Arden’s Gardens location and products please visit Arden’s Gardens website at https://www.ardensgarden.com/