Anisa Mahdi listened to her gut and started a thriving juicery
“My mission is to make healing foods taste so good that even the most skeptical juice drinkers, like reluctant husbands or picky kids, can enjoy them," the founder of Plump Juicery said.
If you’ve ever had your stomach stage a protest after a meal, you know how impossible it is to ignore. Bloating, fatigue, that nagging discomfort — it’s your body’s way of saying, something’s not right.
For Anisa Mahdi, those signals were loud enough to change the course of her life. Three years before she launched Plump Pressed Juice Company in Atlanta, Mahdi was working a corporate job at a financial services company and quietly battling mysterious digestive issues.
“I could not stand up for long periods,” she recalled. “Even a trip to the grocery store would make my body feel like it was pulling me down.”
Doctors ran tests, but the results always came back normal.
Mahdi said it was such a frustrating experience, and she knew she had to take matters into her own hands.
Step one was slowing down her lifestyle to reduce stress. Step two was cutting back her diet to exclusively include whole plant-based foods.
Her body responded. Energy returned. Digestion improved. Even her skin looked better.
“I figured out what worked and what didn’t work for me,” she said. “I started experimenting with juicing to still get a nutrient-dense sweet treat.”
That interest didn’t stay private for long. Mahdi began bringing her own blends to the office. Soon, coworkers were leaning over her desk, curious about “that green juice” in her hand.
Then came the requests.
“They started giving me bowls of fruit and asking me to juice it for them,” she said. “Even the café staff would drop extra items off at my desk.”
Mahdi realized that her juice pressing hobby could function as a viable business venture. And both her friends and family members were very encouraging of the idea.
Mahdi officially launched Plump Pressed Juice Company three years ago, selling cold-pressed juices, smoothies, and plant-based treats at weekend markets in Atlanta.
On her first market day, she brought 30 bottles. They sold out within minutes.
A lot has changed since then. Now, she presses the juices every Friday evening with help from her mom, dad, and partner. The four of them work together to sell the juices at weekend markets.
Each weekend, she sells hundreds of bottles to a very loyal and repeat customer base. Her new goal is to help educate and empower more people to see juice as a viable option for gut health.
“My mission is to make healing foods taste so good that even the most skeptical juice drinkers, like reluctant husbands or picky kids, can enjoy them. “You can have your treats, but in a natural form, without all the processed chemicals,” she said.
The next step for Mahdi and Plump Pressed Juice Company is to grow beyond the markets into its lifestyle brand, which offers juice and nourishing snack options in a world full of highly processed convenience foods.
“There aren’t too many people I know who don’t have challenges with energy or some type of health problem,” Mahdi said. “If it’s not them, it’s someone they love. We need more companies like Plump to be committed to this work.”
In other words, Mahdi listened to her gut — and it led her to build a business that helps others do the same.
Follow Plump Pressed Juice Company on Instagram.
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