LOS ANGELES—On a chilly February morning in Studio City, Manny Perez sells cold-pressed green juice at the farmers market. Perez works for GoSpiral Farms, which produces the green juices’ star ingredient, raw spirulina.
GoSpiral Farms went on a brief winter hiatus from selling at the Los Angeles County farmers market circuit due to the inclement weather and operational demands. GoSpiral Farms has returned selling a limited menu of juices. The jarred raw spirulina, a customer favorite, is set to return later this month.
The family-owned and operated business recently expanded to an indoor growing warehouse in Oceanside, Calif. According to founder and CEO Paul Cathcart, the facility is designed to produce twenty thousand pounds of spirulina per month. This operational expansion will help Cathcart and his team grow spirulina year-round and meet the demand of nutritious foods across the country.
Recently, the company started experimenting with High Pressure Processing (HPP) with the hope to sell in grocery stores. HPP is a non-thermal pasteurization process that kills 99.999% of microorganisms to extend the perishable beverage’s shelf life, according to Food Business News.
“The process doesn’t include heat, which is great because it doesn’t mean the spirulina gets killed off. But it pops the cells so there is no way bacteria can grow,” said Perez. “So the juices end up lasting about a month before opening.”
GoSpiral Farms says it has started marketing its health and Eco-conscious juices to local stores and the product is well received.
“The juices are simple and delicious. In and of itself, it’s a great product,” said Perez.
