Marnie Ashcroft

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[00:00] SPEAKER_00: It's Edmonton's Podcast on the Canada's Podcast Network.
[00:15] SPEAKER_01: Hello, this is Mario Toneguzi coming to you today with Edmonton's Podcast, a member
[00:21] SPEAKER_01: of Canada's Podcast Network.
[00:23] SPEAKER_01: Where we talk to the entrepreneurs who are making it happen in Edmonton, Alberta.
[00:28] SPEAKER_01: So you can listen, discover and engage.
[00:31] SPEAKER_01: Today's guest is Marney Ashcroft, founder and CEO of Glow Juicere.
[00:37] SPEAKER_01: Thanks for joining us today, Marney.
[00:39] SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much, Mario.
[00:41] SPEAKER_01: Tell me a little bit about Glow Juicere, what it is and what you do.
[00:46] SPEAKER_00: Okay, so Glow Juicere is a cold-pressed juice company.
[00:51] SPEAKER_00: So we started six years ago with a vision to bring access to raw, unpasteurized cold-pressed juices,
[01:01] SPEAKER_00: which at that time didn't exist in the industry.
[01:04] SPEAKER_00: There were shelf juices as we like to call them that you would find in a grocery store.
[01:09] SPEAKER_00: We wanted to bring something that allowed people that were experiencing critical care situations,
[01:17] SPEAKER_00: inflammatory diseases, but also for athletes that just wanted access to pure raw juice.
[01:25] SPEAKER_01: How did you get involved in this?
[01:28] SPEAKER_00: I feel as though I was somewhat compelled to this cause to support it because there was just
[01:36] SPEAKER_00: a lot of information coming my way. A few different sort of events occurred in my life.
[01:41] SPEAKER_00: One of them being a friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer and her husband
[01:48] SPEAKER_00: needed to quit his job and make juice for her.
[01:52] SPEAKER_00: And I thought it just seemed to really compromise the family in a way that seemed a bit unfair.
[01:58] SPEAKER_00: And so I started to do some research on what this was, on why a doctor would prescribe juice therapy.
[02:05] SPEAKER_00: And how this was missing in the Canadian landscape.
[02:09] SPEAKER_00: I also am a mom of two kids and we would be on the go and I'd be looking at the different drive
[02:15] SPEAKER_00: through options available and thinking, wouldn't it be incredible if there was a safe place that you
[02:20] SPEAKER_00: could go where you could just have access to planet-based foods? And you know that as you walk
[02:26] SPEAKER_00: in that door that someone cares about what you're eating, that nothing's been fried, that everything
[02:31] SPEAKER_00: has been carefully sourced, and that it would be convenient and you could grab and go that option.
[02:36] SPEAKER_00: Because at the time there were a few restaurants and you know, in across Canada vegan restaurants
[02:41] SPEAKER_00: were popping up, but there was nothing that made it look as convenient as what I had in mind.
[02:46] SPEAKER_00: So all of those ideas kind of started to percolate. I started doing some research in the US.
[02:52] SPEAKER_00: And at the time there were already like 4,000 juiceries in the United States. So that's when the
[02:58] SPEAKER_00: little hairs on your arm stand up and you think, okay, this is something, it's been validated in
[03:03] SPEAKER_00: other parts of North America. It's time for me to bring that here. What are you most excited about
[03:10] SPEAKER_00: the business right now? I think right now it's interesting to watch the evolution because you know
[03:16] SPEAKER_00: when I started we had a real education push around getting people to understand the value of our
[03:22] SPEAKER_00: products. So you know a shelf juice, a grocery store product costs $2.50. That might be the most you'd
[03:30] SPEAKER_00: want to spend on a juice product. And we were bringing to market a product that I was going to charge
[03:35] SPEAKER_00: at that time $8, $9.00 for. And so we have that kind of bit of a conversation to have consistently
[03:43] SPEAKER_00: with clients to get them to understand the value. But that conversation has been had and the evolution
[03:49] SPEAKER_00: in our industry has really, it's really progressed. So now we get to have conversations that push
[03:56] SPEAKER_00: handle a little further. We're talking more about the integration of super foods. We're talking
[04:02] SPEAKER_00: about food as medicine. You know there's natural health practitioners and nutritionists that are
[04:08] SPEAKER_00: starting to really talk about plant-based foods and whole foods and all of that too. So it's kind of
[04:13] SPEAKER_00: exciting because we get to keep evolving and really bringing new ideas to the table in a different way.
[04:19] SPEAKER_01: What's your vision for the company going forward into the future? So what I've always envisioned
[04:25] SPEAKER_00: for Glow is not that we are a company that makes food products, but that we're an education company
[04:30] SPEAKER_00: that also makes food products. So we really want to move that education piece and become more of a
[04:36] SPEAKER_00: lifestyle brand that connects people to all different resources that can help them on their journey.
[04:41] SPEAKER_00: I don't know exactly what that looks like. I'm really in a kind of a creative phase and I think
[04:46] SPEAKER_00: that's sort of the natural pace of our business is in the summer. We do a bit more reflection
[04:51] SPEAKER_00: and research. So we're kind of in that mode right now, a little bit of R&D trying to figure out
[04:56] SPEAKER_00: what we're going to bring. We also have locations across the country. So I did start franchising
[05:02] SPEAKER_00: within the first few years of opening the business. So we have locations from Vancouver Island to
[05:07] SPEAKER_00: Prince Edward Island that all have different demands in different communities that they're servicing.
[05:13] SPEAKER_00: So we take in that collective Canadian interest and we put that into our product development.
[05:20] SPEAKER_01: Let's take a look at the city that you live in and based your business and what are the benefits
[05:26] SPEAKER_00: of doing business in Edmonton? Edmonton, I've always been very, very happy about starting a
[05:34] SPEAKER_00: business in Edmonton. I'm not from Edmonton originally. I was born in British Columbia and I grew
[05:39] SPEAKER_00: up in Calgary in my teen years and went to high school and university in Calgary. So when I moved
[05:45] SPEAKER_00: Edmonton in my mid-20s, it was sort of a fresh view on a city that I actually have really come
[05:53] SPEAKER_00: to love. It almost has felt like a safe place to start a business. So I feel like people here
[06:00] SPEAKER_00: welcome you with kindness. We're very happy to support and create community, you know,
[06:07] SPEAKER_00: opportunities around one another. There's a lot of collaboration in this city. A lot of really
[06:13] SPEAKER_00: wonderful ideas that are started. I don't know. It would be interesting to kind of know,
[06:19] SPEAKER_00: what percentage of our business community is entrepreneurs in Edmonton versus Calgary versus
[06:24] SPEAKER_00: Toronto. I've always kind of felt like Edmonton had a lot of people being brave and taking risks
[06:31] SPEAKER_00: and starting businesses. And I think that's why we're so supportive of one another is there's a lot
[06:36] SPEAKER_01: of like-mindedness there. What about challenges of doing business in Edmonton these days?
[06:42] SPEAKER_00: I would say the challenges that I experience tend to be more around the way that, so for example,
[06:51] SPEAKER_00: there's some hard costs associated with the business. And some of those hard costs are lease rates
[06:58] SPEAKER_00: and property taxes and all those other, you know, infrastructure-related issues that you can
[07:05] SPEAKER_00: experience. And as a small business, one of the ways we've overcome that is by bending together
[07:10] SPEAKER_00: with other small businesses to, you know, there's a lot of space sharing ideas here. You'll notice
[07:16] SPEAKER_00: and Edmonton a lot of like-collectives getting together and trying to share those hard costs.
[07:22] SPEAKER_00: I think it would be interesting to see one of the things I've often thought about is what would
[07:27] SPEAKER_00: it look like if we started to kind of lobby together and actually push forward and ask for policy
[07:32] SPEAKER_00: change to make it easier for small businesses to get a foothold? It's really, you know, we really
[07:38] SPEAKER_00: don't have a lot of say and the landlords do and that's a very old institution that is difficult
[07:43] SPEAKER_00: to change. So that's just one of the sort of experiences I've had recently is around those
[07:48] SPEAKER_01: hard, those harder costs. What do you know today that you wish you knew when you first started the
[07:54] SPEAKER_00: business? Like nearly every single thing that I've learned in the last six years, I would say it's
[07:59] SPEAKER_00: very difficult to pinpoint one item. For sure, I've learned how to manage risk better in my business.
[08:07] SPEAKER_00: And I've learned how to, you know, and I want to say this in this thoughtful way as possible,
[08:13] SPEAKER_00: but you have to make sure that you're not making decisions with your ego and that you're making
[08:17] SPEAKER_00: decisions with good guidance and I think initially I let my ego or and not even ego in a bad way,
[08:26] SPEAKER_00: but just like the part of you that gets really excited about how things are going to look or
[08:30] SPEAKER_00: or how things are going to appear to others rather than how they actually feel for you
[08:36] SPEAKER_00: to make decisions in that way is dangerous and ultimately doesn't lead to fabulous success.
[08:42] SPEAKER_00: So I often look at opportunities and think, is this a decision that I'm making because it makes
[08:49] SPEAKER_00: sense for the business or is it a decision that I'm making just because I think it's going to look
[08:53] SPEAKER_00: really good on Instagram? It's just really important, I think, that's a level of maturity that
[08:58] SPEAKER_01: I've found within the business at this point. As an entrepreneur over the years, what's the best
[09:03] SPEAKER_00: piece of advice you've ever received? I think it comes back to that same knowledge of
[09:11] SPEAKER_00: following your heart and trusting your instinct in the business. I think the advice that I tend
[09:16] SPEAKER_00: to receive, you know, when I don't participate in a lot of networking type groups, I really
[09:23] SPEAKER_00: connect one-on-one with a lot of local entrepreneurs that I look to and that I think have a clear
[09:28] SPEAKER_00: understanding of how to grow businesses locally here and across Canada. One of the things we often
[09:35] SPEAKER_00: speak about is just trusting ourselves and trusting our instinct. Ultimately, you can take in a lot
[09:40] SPEAKER_00: of information and a lot of guidance, but if it doesn't resonate within you and if it doesn't
[09:47] SPEAKER_00: feel like the right choice for what you've created, ultimately I don't think it'll work out.
[09:52] SPEAKER_01: I'm going to switch gears here and ask you some more personal type questions.
[09:57] SPEAKER_01: Everybody has a bucket list these days. What's on top of yours?
[10:02] SPEAKER_00: Coming up on my bucket list is kind of a unique thing that I've been contemplating for about
[10:07] SPEAKER_00: two or three years now and actually I'm evaluating going to Peru for an ayahuasca retreat.
[10:15] SPEAKER_00: So I don't know if you know anything about ayahuasca, but it's a bit and it's hard to kind of explain
[10:20] SPEAKER_00: it, but it's a bit of a shaman sort of leads you through a process of self-discovery,
[10:27] SPEAKER_00: through a little bit of use of some accepted psychedelics. And the idea is to tap into
[10:34] SPEAKER_00: parts of your subconscious that you may not be aware of. So it's kind of a step beyond meditation.
[10:40] SPEAKER_00: And for me, that's a huge, scary moment of self-discovery, but it's something that I feel I need
[10:48] SPEAKER_00: to try out. So that's what's next. Is that it? Mottu Pichu? Yeah, it is in Peru, but it's not at
[10:54] SPEAKER_00: Mottu Pichu. There's different retreats, but this one that we're specifically looking at is in the
[10:59] SPEAKER_01: mountains. If you weren't doing what you do now for work, what kind of career or profession do you
[11:06] SPEAKER_00: think you'd have? So the path that I was on before I decided to start Glow was specific to project
[11:14] SPEAKER_00: management and custom home building. And I love that industry. I love design and I love
[11:22] SPEAKER_00: any of that work to do with custom home building renovations, all of that. So probably I would have
[11:26] SPEAKER_00: found myself in that field to some extent. I have a passion for business development. I also could
[11:31] SPEAKER_00: have possibly just ended up in a peer sort of sales role within an organization. So yeah, not
[11:37] SPEAKER_00: sure. It's funny. I often reflect on that like what the what ifs, but you can't spend too much
[11:43] SPEAKER_01: time there. You certainly can't. Do you spend much time reading books and if so, what are you reading
[11:51] SPEAKER_00: right now? Yeah, I do read books. I also, you know, I'm a busy gal and to sit down and read to
[12:01] SPEAKER_00: me actually is like a trick. I was able to get some books in while I was on vacation recently,
[12:05] SPEAKER_00: but my favorite is to listen to podcasts or to audio books, which is like you just get such a
[12:11] SPEAKER_00: download of information while driving between meetings or you know, you can kind of be listening
[12:16] SPEAKER_00: while multitasking. That's my favorite. I'm really into Rachel Hollis right now. I find her to be
[12:22] SPEAKER_00: quite inspiring. And so that's one of the books that I'm reading currently. Okay, super.
[12:29] SPEAKER_01: If there's one word that you would use to describe yourself, what would it be and why?
[12:35] SPEAKER_00: I think I'll spend the word stubborn and I'll say tenacious. I would say that I'm tenacious.
[12:44] SPEAKER_01: Okay, super. And when you look outside of Edmund 10, is there a special and favorite place that
[12:51] SPEAKER_00: you'd like to visit? So my partner, his family's work, he's from Italy. And so we spend quite a
[13:04] SPEAKER_00: little bit of time in Italy. It's kind of got a really special place in my heart. But I'm also,
[13:08] SPEAKER_00: I was born and raised in BC and I love the mountains. I, especially this time of year,
[13:13] SPEAKER_00: I'm constantly thinking about the next time we can get to the to the lake and the mountains in BC.
[13:19] SPEAKER_01: We are creatures of habit. I'm just wondering if you have a daily routine or ritual that you follow
[13:25] SPEAKER_00: every day. Yeah, I do. I like to wake up fairly consistently around the same time. I'm not a super
[13:32] SPEAKER_00: early riser, but I'm usually, you know, kind of starting my day about 6.30 a.m. and I go through a
[13:38] SPEAKER_00: process of a little bit of meditation in the morning and then coffee and the thing about me and the
[13:45] SPEAKER_00: reason why being an entrepreneur has worked really well is I like to work out first thing. So before
[13:50] SPEAKER_00: I start my day to kind of get my head straight, I go for a workout every morning and then my day
[13:56] SPEAKER_00: kind of unfolds as the business needs me. So sometimes it's meetings, sometimes it's being with
[14:01] SPEAKER_00: my team in the juicery. Sometimes it's fact-of-back conference calls. But yeah, I kind of let the day
[14:08] SPEAKER_00: unfold and I create structure, but I also try to let it be organic and not too serious.
[14:16] SPEAKER_01: I'm going to present a scenario to you, a little different one. So bear with me for a second.
[14:21] SPEAKER_01: So imagine a small tropical island, beautiful island in the middle of the ocean, but it only has
[14:27] SPEAKER_01: one phone booth and no internet. We're going to drop you off there with no technology at all,
[14:34] SPEAKER_01: by yourself. At any time you can use the phone booth on the island to call the boat to come pick you
[14:39] SPEAKER_01: up. Now how long would it take before you made that phone call and what do you think you'd do
[14:45] SPEAKER_00: there and how you would just spend your time? It's a very good question. I would like to
[14:52] SPEAKER_00: pretend that I could hang in there for, let's say, a week and try to get some rest, but
[15:01] SPEAKER_00: unfortunately, I think I'm a little too plugged in and maybe this would change over time, but right now
[15:07] SPEAKER_00: I would be thinking, okay, what are the kids doing? Is the business okay? Is someone, you know,
[15:13] SPEAKER_00: mowing the lawn, feeding the dog, like all the things, all the obligations of your life? So
[15:18] SPEAKER_00: I'm pretty sure that I could last maybe 48 hours. And then I would be making that call. And in those
[15:26] SPEAKER_00: 48 hours, I would tell myself, you're just going to relax, get some sunshine, that kind of thing.
[15:32] SPEAKER_00: I don't know. It's not the stage of my life right now where I feel like I can be
[15:37] SPEAKER_00: alone in an island, but I know it'll happen one day. Tough for entrepreneurs to do that, I think.
[15:42] SPEAKER_00: I think so. And I think the nature of our personalities is that we like being plugged in. You know,
[15:48] SPEAKER_00: it's a double edged sword, but it's one that we wield every day. Is there anything you would like
[15:56] SPEAKER_00: to add, Marney, before you leave us today? No, I really appreciate the opportunity to speak with you.
[16:02] SPEAKER_00: I think it's nice that you're bringing to light the challenges and the personalities behind
[16:09] SPEAKER_00: running businesses. That's a really important resource for us to listen to one another. And yeah,
[16:15] SPEAKER_01: I appreciate the time to talk with you. Well, thanks, Marney, for being our guests on Edmonton's podcast.
[16:21] SPEAKER_01: Thanks for taking the time today to listen to Edmonton's podcast on Canada's podcast network.
[16:28] SPEAKER_01: We hope you enjoyed the show today. Make sure you sign up for our newsletters and later review
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[16:41] SPEAKER_01: at Canada's podcast. You can also check out what other entrepreneurs are doing across the country.
[16:48] SPEAKER_01: See you next time.