Hana James
Co-Founder & Director of Community, Greenhouse
Where did you go to school and what did you study?
I studied Anatomy and Cell Biology at McGill. My plan was to go into medicine, but on that journey, I realized my passion for healing and health was more connected to food and nutrition, which led me to where I am today.
I love the Blue Lemonade! What is the most popular Greenhouse juice?
Blue Lemonade is definitely a popular one! Each of our beverages has their fan bases, but I’d say overall our green juices like Gatsby and the Good are the most popular.
How does Greenhouse help you lead a healthy lifestyle?
I have always been into health and nutrition, and always done my best to lead a healthy lifestyle. That being said, I also appreciate balance. I feel that Greenhouse helps me lead a healthy lifestyle with balance by providing me with easy on-the-go options during my busy days. I’m typically on the road, jumping between stores or meetings, and it is always easy to grab a juice or smoothie (and satisfying!)
Aside from the launch, what is your favourite Greenhouse memory?
One of my favourite early memories from Greenhouse was opening our first store in the PATH in Commerce Court. It was such a different pace of life down there (compared to our Macpherson store), and I loved the hustle and bustle.
My favourite moment was meeting our regular banker customer who would come down first thing, chug a Giver (our most hardcore green veggie juice) and start their day.
More recently, expanding to Vancouver and making trips out there to build the brand and meet our customers on the west coast has been really great. It is really exciting to watch Greenhouse grow and expand to new cities.
Greenhouse Juice tastes amazing, but it may seem expensive. How would you justify the cost of buying Greenhouse products?
Accessibility to our product has been a huge part of our mission. From the beginning, we’ve known our product is expensive, but we have done our best to bring the price point down. We also committed to not cutting corners: always being organic, packaging in glass and having the highest quality product. Since we opened, we have brought our prices down significantly and we are continuing to do so as we grow and expand into the grocery retail channel.
I think our customers can justify buying our products because they really feel a difference when they drink our products. They feel a burst of energy after The Good, or can kick a cold in the butt after a Fiery Ginger.
Greenhouse has become one of Canada’s favourite brands, especially in Toronto. Once a brand achieves that kind of status, what can they do to ensure they remain popular and trendy?
Staying focused on our customers is what helps us stay relevant. We like to experiment and try out new ideas and see what sticks with them – and trust me, not all of it sticks. Mostly, we want to stay true to the Greenhouse brand and not try too hard, as people can sniff out inauthenticity from a mile away.
How has Greenhouse’s customer service strategy evolved?
We have always put our customer first. Working in our first store, I wanted our customers to be able to come in, try some juice, ask as many questions as they wanted and feel like they found the perfect product for them. Engaging and knowing our customer has and still is how we approach customer service.
Over time, we’ve embraced new platforms online, like our website chat, to provide more real-time responses and have also started formally measuring our customer service satisfaction, so that we can understand where we’re doing well and where we can improve.
How do you evaluate candidates who want to join the Greenhouse Juice team? Do you have a favourite interview question to ask?
Since we are a health and wellness business, I’ve always looked for team members who understand and have an interest in this space. If you are a fan of the product and understand its benefits, working in our stores will be more enjoyable.
I always like to ask candidates to sell me their favourite juice. It’s interactive and lets me see a bit more of their personality!
Between The Greenhouse Cookbook and the company’s blog, Greenhouse keeps releasing recipes! How do you measure the impact of sharing new recipes?
Recipes are amongst our audience’s favourite content online. For the most part, we’re just trying to inspire our audience to consume more plants, more often. It’s certainly fun to see some of our recipes travel the world around Pinterest and social media.
Many content creators focus on posting about fitness and nutrition. What do you think of that space and how do you think it will change?
It is definitely an ever-evolving space with a ton of information. I think it is amazing how much content there is out there, and how engaged people are with the health, fitness and nutrition world. I always caution people to do their own research and make their own decisions for what works best for them. No two people are the same and what works for one person, may not work for another!
I see (and am seeing already) a more balanced, holistic approach to fitness and nutrition. People are no longer interested in extremes and are looking for more of that balance, which I think is really important.
To learn more about Greenhouse Juice, visit their website or Instagram.