04
de Maig
de
2017
Act.
04
de Maig
de
2017
Three years ago, Ricard Abadias was working in Madrid for Oréal when he decided to give up his stable job to become an entrepreneur. What he had in mind was the green juices that had triumphed in the United States, which he had seen on a trip there, convinced that it would prove to be a successful product in Barcelona. At the same time, he found that "life in a multinational company was not so satisfactory," he told VIA Empresa, which just added to his desire to set up something of his own, like Press&Reset.
In June 2015, he set up the company with his partner and a year and a half later they are beginning to cover their costs. "It was quite a big challenge because when you decide to leave a company to set up a new project you leave your comfort zone and find yourself with the most complicated thing you have done in your professional life," he says. Despite the difficulties and obstacles of those 24 frantic months, he insists that he is completely satisfied devoting himself to a business "related" to his lifestyle: "Healthy living, food... For me they are important and make you enjoy your work, because I always say we sell bits of health."
Ricard Abadias in the shop on Travessera de Gràcia. Photograph: Artur Ribera
And it seems as if the famous green juices are a trend set to continue. They combine fruit and vegetables in formulas you would never have thought of; and nutritionists and specialised shops sell them as magic potions for improving one's health. But is there a bubble around the product? Abadias' answer is clear: "No." "There is a lot of market competition, but I think that it is very positive and that it will become established rather than die off," he says about the sector; "people are getting used to seeing businesses like ours and that means that we have to make increasingly less effort to explain what we do."
A spreading market trend
Opening three shops in Barcelona and having different expansion projects underway appears to back up his theory. The production plant is in Hospitalet de Llobregat, where the juices are made with the cold pressed technique. Apart from the shops, the catalogue of products has expanded to include salads, sliced fruit, vegan desserts and other healthy snacks, so as to have a "a 360 offer so that the client can have breakfast, snacks and dinner." But always, points out the CEO, "with the juices as the core business."
Another line of products are the detox treatments. Press&Reset markets a pack of juices to clean out toxins from the body. They are programmes that last three days upwards and are designed for both occasional and regular consumers. Both the shakes and the packs are made by a group of nutritionists who work for the company and contain unique ingredients: "Quality raw materials always from the same supplier, this is the product's secret."
If the sale of salads, fresh fruit and ready-to-drink juices take place in the shops, the detox packs and large purchases are done through the online store. In the shops, the firm's public face and where the teaching about the product takes place, the average purchase is around 12 euros. However online, the average spending of each buyer is 40 euros. "We distribute orders to the whole of Spain in only one day and without delivery costs, which is why the purchases are larger," he says about the type of shopping online. Although most sales are in Catalonia, Abadias says that volume is growing in the rest of Spain, especially in large cities.
A third and final line of the business are sales to hotels, gyms, restaurants, yoga centres and other businesses connected with looking after oneself.
Opening up new markets
"My partner and I complement each other. He has a more finance-oriented and logistical profile, while I am more on the image, sales and marketing side. Coming together was the key." Abadias and his partner own 70% of the business and run it according to the knowledge they have acquired through their professional lives. Some 30% of the company is in the hands of parnter-investors, who came on board about eight months after they launched through a round of investment.
In the past two years, the CEO says that they have come across many difficulties: "It is difficult to set something up and to get the authorities to help you; you have to do it by yourself. You hit obstacles along the way, but we have managed to overcome each one." Perhaps a thing they got right was creating a business that covers the entire chain, from production to distribution, because that means they do not have to depend on third parties.
Despite the difficulties, he stresses that his everyday work has nothing to do with what he was used to in multinationals. "A lot of time is wasted doing internal marketing, you try to sell projects internally instead of thinking about the consumer," he points out; "we can now act more directly and keep ourselves grounded." Even though this agility is one of the reasons that has allowed them grow so quickly, he also admits that the lack of funds can be a barrier.
The forecast is good for 2017. Abadias tells VIA Empresa that they want to attack the foreign market alongside a partner who will open the way for them among luxury hotels. "In Catalonia, we are already in places like the Mandarin or the Majestic and we can say that it is working very well for us," he points out.
In June 2015, he set up the company with his partner and a year and a half later they are beginning to cover their costs. "It was quite a big challenge because when you decide to leave a company to set up a new project you leave your comfort zone and find yourself with the most complicated thing you have done in your professional life," he says. Despite the difficulties and obstacles of those 24 frantic months, he insists that he is completely satisfied devoting himself to a business "related" to his lifestyle: "Healthy living, food... For me they are important and make you enjoy your work, because I always say we sell bits of health."
Ricard Abadias in the shop on Travessera de Gràcia. Photograph: Artur Ribera
And it seems as if the famous green juices are a trend set to continue. They combine fruit and vegetables in formulas you would never have thought of; and nutritionists and specialised shops sell them as magic potions for improving one's health. But is there a bubble around the product? Abadias' answer is clear: "No." "There is a lot of market competition, but I think that it is very positive and that it will become established rather than die off," he says about the sector; "people are getting used to seeing businesses like ours and that means that we have to make increasingly less effort to explain what we do."
A spreading market trend
Opening three shops in Barcelona and having different expansion projects underway appears to back up his theory. The production plant is in Hospitalet de Llobregat, where the juices are made with the cold pressed technique. Apart from the shops, the catalogue of products has expanded to include salads, sliced fruit, vegan desserts and other healthy snacks, so as to have a "a 360 offer so that the client can have breakfast, snacks and dinner." But always, points out the CEO, "with the juices as the core business."
Another line of products are the detox treatments. Press&Reset markets a pack of juices to clean out toxins from the body. They are programmes that last three days upwards and are designed for both occasional and regular consumers. Both the shakes and the packs are made by a group of nutritionists who work for the company and contain unique ingredients: "Quality raw materials always from the same supplier, this is the product's secret."
 |
| They have three shops in Barcelona. Photograph: Artur Ribera |
If the sale of salads, fresh fruit and ready-to-drink juices take place in the shops, the detox packs and large purchases are done through the online store. In the shops, the firm's public face and where the teaching about the product takes place, the average purchase is around 12 euros. However online, the average spending of each buyer is 40 euros. "We distribute orders to the whole of Spain in only one day and without delivery costs, which is why the purchases are larger," he says about the type of shopping online. Although most sales are in Catalonia, Abadias says that volume is growing in the rest of Spain, especially in large cities.
A third and final line of the business are sales to hotels, gyms, restaurants, yoga centres and other businesses connected with looking after oneself.
Opening up new markets
"My partner and I complement each other. He has a more finance-oriented and logistical profile, while I am more on the image, sales and marketing side. Coming together was the key." Abadias and his partner own 70% of the business and run it according to the knowledge they have acquired through their professional lives. Some 30% of the company is in the hands of parnter-investors, who came on board about eight months after they launched through a round of investment.
In the past two years, the CEO says that they have come across many difficulties: "It is difficult to set something up and to get the authorities to help you; you have to do it by yourself. You hit obstacles along the way, but we have managed to overcome each one." Perhaps a thing they got right was creating a business that covers the entire chain, from production to distribution, because that means they do not have to depend on third parties.
Despite the difficulties, he stresses that his everyday work has nothing to do with what he was used to in multinationals. "A lot of time is wasted doing internal marketing, you try to sell projects internally instead of thinking about the consumer," he points out; "we can now act more directly and keep ourselves grounded." Even though this agility is one of the reasons that has allowed them grow so quickly, he also admits that the lack of funds can be a barrier.
The forecast is good for 2017. Abadias tells VIA Empresa that they want to attack the foreign market alongside a partner who will open the way for them among luxury hotels. "In Catalonia, we are already in places like the Mandarin or the Majestic and we can say that it is working very well for us," he points out.