The jury’s out on whether Americans are getting any smarter, but signs suggest we’re getting healthier. Raul Rodriguez intuitively felt and saw the thirst for natural, unprocessed foods and responded by founding California-based Movita Juice Bar in 2015. The brand, now with more than 30 franchises, has grown dramatically over the past decade, though its trajectory has been anything but a straight line. 

At the start of the pandemic, Movita stayed open as an essential business, but sales plummeted and within weeks Rodriguez was on the brink of missing payroll and closing. Then, mercifully, fate intervened. With no vaccines available at the time, people looked to bolster their immune systems in any possible way. Movita, whose name merges Mo (more) and Vita (Latin for “life”), was suddenly in an enviable position to help fill the void. With a range of diverse offerings such as smoothies, açaí bowls, almond butter and avocado toasts, and juice shots, there was something for pretty much everyone.

On reflection, Rodriguez points to a particular cross-section of Movita’s clientele, the Gen Z market, as a source of its renaissance. “The younger generation is far more educated about protein and healthier ingredients,” he says. “The pandemic accelerated this trend, paired with today’s easy access to information.”