Healthy recognition for wheatgrass juice pioneer

Founder of Squeeze Juice Café, the Northern Ireland specialist in healthy wheatgrass juice drinks, Jacquelyn Stewart is in line for a major UK food industry award.

The entrepreneur has reached the final stages of the Leading Edge Leading Lights Awards, which are sponsored by Kraft Foods. She formed the company in Warrenpoint, County Down in 2009.

Squeeze Juice Café has also won business for its fresh wheatgrass juice from health conscious customers in the US, Belgium and France. It now ships most of its output of wheatgrass in single shot pouches to customers outside Northern Ireland.

This Leading Lights awards celebrate remarkable talent in the food and grocery industry and individuals that have gone the extra mile and made a real difference to their company or the industry during the past year.

Jacquelyn Stewart, who developed the small business using wheatgrass that she also grows with the latest hydroponic technology, says: "I am delighted to have reached the final stage of this prestigious competition. Featuring in the awards will help to raise our profile particularly in Great Britain, now my most important marketplace.

"I've also been immensely encouraged by the orders received through our website from customers in Europe and most recently from New York.

"Adapting the knowledge and experience that I had accumulated throughout my career, learning new technical skills and becoming accountable for setting and achieving my own goals has helped our business grow month on month, while our commitment to ongoing research and development will ensure that we remain at the forefront of this niche market," she adds.

She goes forward to the final stages of the awards on 18th September in London. The final will be held on 2ndOctober and the winner announced at a gala dinner a week later.

The website now sells over 500 shots of fresh wheatgrass a week. Squeeze Juice Cafe has also invested in a revolutionary high pressure processing technique that ensures that wheatgrass juice shots stay fresh for up to six weeks. No additives and no preservatives are used at any point in the processing.