Wheatgrass Business Takes Off

Wheatgrass Business Takes Off FARM HOME Food Wheatgrass by the glass is in hot demand according to Kevin Keune Shiocton Wis Advocates of the health food drink made from ground-up wheat sprouts claim two ounces is equivalent to the nutrition of 2 lbs of fresh vegetables


    Keune grows and sells wheatgrass juice seed flats of grass juicers and other supplies He also offers consulting services to prospective growers Since selling his first six bottles this past March his business has been growing 10 to 20 percent each week


     I quit my full time job in June and we are getting close to replacing my previous income says Keune Currently we water our production by hand but we are looking at a sprout growing machine that could grow up to 800 lbs per week


    He s going to need the increased production After the Green Bay Packers began buying his juice for the team players wives began ordering it for themselves Business growth has all been by word of mouth he says


     Every customer that has tried my wheatgrass juice has stayed with me says Keune


Keune is excited about the product and the business He sells juice in 8-oz bottles for $13 each 10 by 20-in flats of ready to cut wheatgrass for $9 and precut flats for $10 At the recommended consumption of 1 oz per day a bottle lasts about a week while a precut flat will produce about 12 ounces of juice He says growing wheat grass is something that anyone can do whether for themselves or commercially


     I have people wanting me to ship wheatgrass juice but that s not a good idea says Keune It s expensive to ship because you have to have ice and it s cheaper to just grow your own It only costs about 10 cents per oz and a good hand powered juicer costs only about $100


    Keune encourages people who are interested to visit his website for simple growing instructions Materials to get started are inexpensive and can be ordered from Keune on his website or from other vendors


     There s no reason any person working out of their home can t turn it into a profitable business he says Get the materials and start growing it From that you will learn and identify the questions you need answered


    Perhaps a sign of the growing interest in wheatgrass is that a quick search of the internet identifies 65 000 websites that mention discuss or sell information and products related to wheatgrass It is an interest that Keune feels has lots of growth potential in North America


     In Australia there are juice bars on every street corner and companies there have developed very sophisticated growth chambers for wheatgrass he says


    Keune is already consulting with wheatgrass growers in ten states and four countries Part of what he is teaching for a price is his ability to market his juice with a 14-day refrigerated shelf life


     There are lots of people growing wheatgrass lots of different ways and selling the grass or dehydrating it he says As far as I know we are the only ones bottling it fresh


    He credits the shelf life and quality of his wheatgrass to the use of a liquid supplement called Ocean Grown The supplement is concentrated seawater He adds one gal to 99 gal of water He now offers the concentrate to his customers in pint gallon and 50 gal containers and promotes it as an important part of his wheatgrass production strategy


     I started watering sprouts with it and could see the vibrancy texture color and taste improve he says Now it is part of our proprietary technology


    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Kevin Keune Make Scents Shiocton Wis 54170 ph 920 986-3319; website: www growgreens com

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