THINK PINK: Designer exclusives are a dime a dozen but Manhattan-based Juice Generation has locked up an exclusive for pitaya — a Vitamin C-rich type of fruit. The eight-unit juice bar will be the place for organic pitaya juice through the end of the year. Similar to dragonfruit, the bright pink pitaya has a mild flavor and is being sourced from 18 organic farms in Nicaragua that only employ single mothers. Juice Generation founder Eric Helms, (who also owns Cooler Cleanse with Salma Hayek), said he tracked down a Nicaraguan distributor after some online sleuthing. He then lined up a 25,000-sqaure-foot facility in Allentown, Penn. to freeze the vitamin C-rich and antioxidant fruit. Brooke Shields is already a fan of Juice Generation’s Pitaya Coco Blend — bright pink pitaya juice served in a white coconut shell. Helms explained why he needed an exclusive. “A few years ago we were big into mangosteen and then the crop ran out. I wasn’t going to let that happen again,” he said.
As for Cooler Cleanse, the nationwide door-to-door juice service, Helms has just introduced a 24-hour Juice for a Day program and executive chef Matteo Silverman is a cooking up a side project — a restaurant in Sonomo. There is no telling if Hayek detoxed with a juice cleanse to play a stripper in her new film “Americano,” but she is as involved as ever with her company, according to Helms. “Selma and I have been friends for years. She is very opionated. She tests everything and changes ingredients recipes,” he said. “The almond nut milk and essential red juice are Selma’s recipes.”