“We make vegetables taste great.” James McLoughlin
Green Press a wonderland filled with cold pressed Juices, Superfood salads, Acai bowls, dairy-free Smoothies. Elixir shots, soups and yummy vegan treats was imagined by brothers James and Miles. Currently home, is right in the heart of the Melbourne CBD and we’re so thrilled to welcome the entire team to our Twosixmag community.
When we first met James we quickly realised that we share a great love and passion for supporting local business and a commitment to spreading our knowledge about feeding the body what it needs to perform at its very best. With so many choices within the store we know you’re going to love this place as much as we do!
James, can you tell us a little about Green Press…
Local and organic ingredients are turned into liquid perfection using recipes we’ve been working on for 4-5 years, with the help of the best cold pressed juicer in the world!
Salads are simple, yet sophisticated, using my brother Miles’ expertise as a Chef. He has worked at Michelin star restaurants locally and in Manhattan. Everything is labouriously, painfully and intelligently made by hand. From gluten free granola to dairy free ‘parmesan cheese’.
My partner Lindsay is another crucial creative behind the brand and we are fortunate to have passionate team members that eat as much Green Press as the healthiest customers.
Why did you start Green Press?
Let’s keep it simple. Your body runs on plants. When you give it the correct fuel source you have energy and you never see a doctor. When you eat C.R.A.P (Carbonated beverages, Refined sugars, Artificial sweeteners, Processed foods), you feel crap!
I became more aware of the correlation between food and how I felt while living in New York for three years. Lindsay educated me. Since then I’ve wanted to be surrounded by real food. We moved to Melbourne with a Norwalk cold pressed juicer and just couldn’t find anywhere that offered our diet. So we started our first business.
If Green Press were a person how would you describe them?
They make their own rules, as well as plenty of mistakes. Constantly trying to improve and improve. They take their juice and salad very seriously but not themselves.
What attracted you to the health food industry?
We wanted to be surrounded by real food. Maximize our chance of avoiding dietary mistakes and the stresses of an unfulfilling career.Hopefully demand for health continues to increase from a commercial point of view but we are in this industry because we want to live long lives full of adventure.
Has health always been important to you?
Sort of. I’ve played sport my whole life and Mum’s always pushed veggies. However, I grew up loving milk, sandwiches and anything dense that satiates hunger. I was conscious but I always thought that youthful metabolism and exercise would balance out my excessive sweet tooth.
It wasn’t until I got to New York that I realised that food is fuel and medicine. Health is colour. Eat things with bright pigmentation and avoid all the white stuff, except cauliflower.
What does a day at the Green Press office look like?
Our juicing team works from 6pm the previous day until 5-6am in the morning. The floor staff comes in at 7 and we ready the place for acai bowl madness at 8am. Mid morning calm before the storm preparations and then we serve nutritious lunches until the 3pm cravings start. These are met with smoothies and raw ‘cheesecake’ until we pack up the floor. Salad preparations, desserts and forced accounting paperwork keep us busy when the customers go home.
Do you believe we are as a whole, starting to take notice of our health? What changes have you noticed?
Definitely, and it’s a great thing! The really encouraging sign is that it’s the youth that we see driving the change in our store. It’s trendy to eat well in many circles and that’s phenomenal. There just needs to be more peers of people with this awareness. Hopefully, the education system at schools is much better than the bread and dairy pyramid I was taught, though I’m still pretty skeptical.
Do you think social media is the key to getting a healthy message out there? If yes, why?
Social media drives that healthy young crowd. It’s cool to show off the healthy café and the superfood smoothie. I’m not a big fan of the gym check in but let’s not be haters.
What advice would you give your 16-year-old self?
To eat more vegetables, you muppet! And if you hate textbooks so much, at least read up on subjects that interest you.
Can you tell us a little about the Green Press Breakfast club?
The Breakfast Club is an opportunity to spend more time with like-minded people. We provide breakfast and a guest speaker or two to tell their inspirational journey of finding health and/or small business. There are a lot of people with this raw passion and we want to meet them and introduce more.
We feel it’s extremely important to support local industry. As a growing business, what are some of the simple ways people can get behind businesses like Green Press?
The absolute best thing you can do is tell your friends! If you have any local experience that you really enjoy, whether it’s food or a great beach spot, spread the word.
What’s your current favourite Green Press juice?
My favourite child indefinitely will be our Cayenne West. Cayenne pepper and turmeric are powerhouses of nutrition and flavor and we compliment them with ginger, lemon, orange and carrot.
What are the plans for the future of Green Press?
We don’t like to put limits on these things. Just last week we had an email from an English businessman in Dubai that wants to start international GP franchises. We want to grow our brand and get it in the hands and cells of as many people as possible. That’s across Australia for now, but who knows where else.
Want to know more about this local talent? Find his witty answers to 26 things about James – here
Where can you get your hands on some delicious Green Press goodies?
Head in to see James and the awesome team at Green Press! Location: Shop 7/525 Little Collins St, Melbourne VIC
Interested in doing a juice cleanse or need to order big for your business, place your order on-line now.
Want to hang out with like-minded healthy folk…Sign up to be part of their Breakfast Club.
The team has some pretty big delivery plans coming soon so make sure you keep an eye on the website and Instagram @lovegreenpress
