Juice Generation: 25 Years Independent, 20 NYC Locations

Juice Generation is the New York juice bar and wellness brand that Eric Helms founded in Hell's Kitchen in 1999 and still runs independently, with 20 locations across New York City. Its marketing and PR rest on founder storytelling: a swim instructor who put $100,000 of savings into a first store, a long-running partnership with actress Salma Hayek, a cookbook and a steady run of ingredient and product firsts, from mangosteen to Juiced Gelato.

Updated October 26, 2026. Originally published July 2025.

What are the key facts about Juice Generation?

Juice Generation is a privately held, independently owned juice and wellness brand based in New York City. The table collects the facts that are confirmed by the company, its founder and published interviews.

How did Eric Helms start Juice Generation?

Helms was 28 when he put $100,000 saved from private swim lessons into a first store in Hell's Kitchen in 1999, according to a CNBC interview. He had spent time working in juice bars before opening his own, and he built the shop around fresh, raw juice at a time when far fewer Americans were focused on health and wellness.

The store drew a mixed neighborhood crowd, and Broadway regulars were among the early customers. That mass-appeal start is a difference from later wellness brands that priced themselves as luxury products. By 2014 the brand had 13 New York locations, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, and it now runs 20, all in the New York area.

How did the Salma Hayek partnership begin?

Hayek was a friend and regular customer who asked for Juice Generation drinks to be sent to her while she traveled. The two worked together for about two years on recipes, and Helms co-created Cooler Cleanse with her in 2009, a cleanse and raw-food delivery service available in New York and nationwide. Hayek holds the title of co-founder of Cooler Cleanse and a later beauty subscription called Blend It Yourself, and she wrote the introduction to Helms's cookbook.

The partnership works as a marketing story because it is personal and long-running. Hayek is a collaborator with real juicing experience, not a paid face on the label.

What ingredient and product firsts has Juice Generation made?

Helms has built press attention around being early with new ingredients and products. He has described buying a crop of mangosteen in the early days, when The New York Times food writer Florence Fabricant noticed the store. He published the cookbook The Juice Generation with Touchstone, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. In July 2024 the brand announced Juiced Gelato, a gelato built on cold-pressed juice and developed over 12 months with Italian gelato expert Cristiano Rossi, sold in two stores and shipped nationwide.

Each launch gives reporters a clear, visual story with a named person behind it, which is the core of the brand's earned-media approach.

What can food and beverage brands learn from Juice Generation?

1. Let the founder tell the story. Helms's own path, from swim instructor to juice-bar owner, is the most repeated line in the coverage.
2. Pair with a credible partner. The Hayek partnership has lasted because she has a genuine stake and a shared interest.
3. Keep launching things reporters can taste. A new ingredient, a book and a gelato each created a fresh reason to cover the brand.
4. Grow at the pace the operation allows. The brand has stayed in one metro area and one owner's hands for more than 25 years.

For related brand stories, see Liquid Death, Poppi, Liquid Death vs Olipop vs Poppi and the food and beverage hub.

How was this page reviewed?

This page draws on a CNBC interview with Eric Helms, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the company's July 2024 Juiced Gelato announcement, and a 2024 podcast interview with Helms. Facts were last reviewed on October 26, 2026. Everything-PR is editorially independent of Juice Generation.