Ever wonder about that lemon slice in your drink? How long has it been sitting out for? Did the waiter wash their hands before putting it in your drink?
Here’s the future: premium pre-packaged citrus slices from Virgin Fruit. Our PureCitrus product line allows restaurants, airlines, hotels, and many other industries to dispense individually sliced and individually packaged citrus wedges, similar to a coffee creamer or sugar packet.
We have a prototype with a proven refrigerated shelf life of 53 days and a patentable packaging processes that involves a proprietary blend of citrus juice. With equipment manufacturers (Harpak-Ulma, Kronen, and Berry Plastics) and co-packers (Club Chef) already lined up, Virgin Fruit is ready to bring the lemon of the future to the masses.
Read on to see how you can help make it happen!
The restaurant you’re at is slammed or simply understaffed. Your waitress is also bussing tables. After she takes your drink order, she picks up a bunch of dirty dishes, silverware, and napkins. You watch as, without washing her hands, she puts the plates down, wipes her dirty hands on her apron, fills your glass with water, and tops it with a lemon slice from a container that’s been sitting out for who knows how long.
With the recent increase in consumer awareness of health related issues, particularly involving healthy choices, food preparation, and contamination, the founders realized there was huge potential to introduce a line of products that would solve this problem. Especially one that would make the distribution of citrus products much more efficient and cost-saving in commercial applications.
A rising demand for new and improved products and services is evident within a number of industries such as the fast food industry now serving “healthy” alternatives. Consumers are also becoming more conscientious of food-borne illnesses such as E-Coli and Salmonella, but have little options when it comes to avoiding those instances.
Until now.
In collaboration with our strategic partner, Berry Plastics, we created a unique packaging that protects and extends the life of a citrus slice. The shelf life study of our prototype proved a refrigerated shelf life of 53 days.
This long shelf life enables never before seen benefits to a number of industries:
So the next time your waiter reaches for a lemon from the container that they cut earlier in the day, imagine them grabbing a pre-packaged, lemon slice in a wrapper and offering the citrus wedge to the customer, giving them the option to open the package and place the citrus wedge in the drink themselves. All with the same flavor and texture of a normal lemon slice. That is Virgin Fruit PureCitrus. Our patentable packaging plus a proprietary blend of citrus juice allows the lemon to sustain itself, similar to how beef jerky is sustained.
PureCitrus will be the first branded citrus slice available on the market and enable a variety of hospitality, leisure, and travel operators to enhance their customer experience.
Fresh, convenient, sanitary.
Virgin Fruit has begun establishing strategic partnerships within the food and beverage industry, specifically focusing on manufacturing and distribution. Our equipment manufacturing partners so far are Harpak-Ulma, Kronen, and Berry Plastics. These established partnerships are a huge help and will allow for immediate sales through their existing relationships to nationwide franchises. We also have access to sales channels via our strategic partners, including our contract co-packer, Club Chef.
We have the product, we have the partners, now we need the actual manufacturing equipment to make the product. All of the pertinent equipment will be housed by Club Chef.
Up next:
Make sure to request access to the business plan tab of this profile for an inside look into Virgin Fruit!
Wilson has always had an innate drive for competition and success. This was established early on through participating in competitive soccer which he continued through to the collegiate level. Later, he redirected his efforts to the classroom and reinforced his drive for success by striving to earn top marks at Eastern University where he obtained his MBA. Since then, Wilson has been actively involved in developing new businesses and seeing innovative ideas come to life. His experience has taken him from Pennsylvania to California and finally back to his hometown of Miami where he brought with him skills learned in the field such as leadership and knowledge in product branding and development. Fluent in Spanish, Wilson continues to be active in the community by mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs.
Howard has over fifteen years of accounting and taxation experience, achieving vast knowledge and experience in the preparation of financial reports and local, state, and federal tax returns. He is currently a Senior Accountant and Office Manager for Philip Shenkman C.P.A., P.A. He is also the co-founder of Shenkman & Son Management Corp., which is involved in real estate investments and currently manages approximately five million dollars worth of real estate. Howard also has a consulting firm that offers investment advice and has participated in the development of numerous marketing materials for private equity firms. In 2011, he became the Chief Financial Officer for Empower Health & Fitness Systems, Inc., a weight loss and performance company based in Miami, Florida. Additionally, he is a Licensed Community Association Manager (LCAM) and is currently studying to become a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA).
Hanan has over ten years of experience in marketing and business development. Hanan has been integral in the growth of numerous ventures, specifically in the areas of management, sales, and investor relations. He previously held a Florida Real Estate License as well as a Florida Health Life and Annuities License. His extensive analytical and business acumen is a great addition to the executive team at Virgin Fruit.
Mr. Lakis has spent his career delivering leading-edge multimedia solutions to the healthcare and education ecosystems of South Florida. Combining artistic, technological, and business talents and skills, he has led projects, established revenue-generating businesses, and pioneered multiple industry milestones applying media and technology to patient, staff, community, medical education initiatives, distance learning, telemedicine, and medical documentation. Common threads in this wide range of achievements can be found in their refined aesthetic, engineering-like precision and use of technology, and a business sense of economic contribution and value.
Born and raised in Greece, George moved to Miami in 1978 and completed his studies at Florida International University, while pioneering that university’s media and technology academic programs. Mr. Lakis moved into the workforce in 1986, joining South Miami Hospital. Here, he led many successful initiatives that put that hospital on the medical technology media map. Subsequent to the South Miami Hospital acquisition by the Baptist Health system in 1994, George assumed corporate-wide responsibilities for media and technology programs in Baptist’s local and international programs. He fueled that Baptist’s rapid expansion and development into a medical multimedia powerhouse in South Florida and internationally.
Mr. Shenkman earned a B.S.B.A in Accounting and a B.A.A. in Accounting at the University of Florida. After graduation, Mr. Shenkman received his commission as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, serving thirty months in Germany. Upon completion of his tour of duty in 1972, Mr. Shenkman returned to his native Miami where he passed the C.P.A Exam and began his accounting career. Mr. Shenkman has had experience in all aspects of accounting and taxation, and previously served as CFO for the national nonprofit organization, Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation, Inc. He currently owns and manages a shopping center in Pompano Beach and rental condominium units in Palmetto Bay. He holds a Community Association Management License (LCAM). His accounting clients range from multimillion-dollar international aircraft brokers to corner store sole proprietor retailers. His functions for his clients include advising startup businesses, helping in decision making regarding buying, selling or exchanging businesses and real estate. Mr. Shenkman is currently studying for the Registered Investment Advisors (RIA) license to facilitate clients in maximizing returns on their investments.