Business featuring healthy fruit bowls expanding
By Daniel Baldwin
Jenna Stanton hated college. She couldn’t decide what career she wanted to study or pursue.
She took a year off from school to figure out what she really wanted to do in her life.
Her mother, Susanne Stanton, told her to get a job, but Jenna was more interested in starting her own business.
“I came home from a couple years of being at college,” Jenna said. “I just hated everything about it. I couldn’t really decide on what I wanted to study, so I decided to take a year’s break. My mom told me to go out and find a job, but it didn’t sound really fun to me. I wanted to do my own thing. So I said ‘alright, I’m going to open up a farmers’ market stand selling açai bowls.’” She explained that açai bowls are smoothie fruit bowl made from açai berries.
“She had no idea what they were,” Jenna said. “So I made her one just to try it out and she was hooked. She said ‘OK I will help you in these farmers’ markets.’”
Jenna went to a wide variety of farmers’ markets, trying to sell her homemade açai bowls. She made a lot of money and received good feedback from the people who bought them.
Jenna’s own product became popular throughout Central New York. This was what kickstarted her business.
“They became such a smashing success,” Jenna said. “They were just so popular and people were so excited about them. We realized that CNY needed a different kind of healthy eating alternative, aside from sandwiches and salads. So my mother offered to open up a storefront with me. She taught me how to run a business.”
In 2018, Jenna and her mother found the perfect spot, in Clinton, to run their café.
Jenna made açai and other fruit bowls, while her mother paid the bills, handled the money and kept her daughter’s business financially afloat.
The turnout at Jenna’s café was good. The place was always busy. Many people, young and old, tried Jenna’s fruit bowls and loved them. Jenna and her mother moved the café to New Hartford and expanded. They opened their second store in Rome and are going to open their third in Fairmount.
“We get pretty busy each day,” Jenna said. “We have a large mix of people young and old that come in here. We get little love notes on our emails all the time from happy customers. I see photos shared all the time with people talking about how much they loved their visit here.”
Jenna is now the owner of Bowl Boss. She found her true purpose in life.
The fruits bowls are delicious and beautiful-looking. They are also packed with anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants, according to Jenna, helps people fight off illness or disease. These bowls have a lot of fiber and protein in them. They contain no sugar or preservatives. They have no gluten and are allergy-friendly.
“They’re not just pretty food bowls,” Susanne said. “Our bases are made from superfruits, which are loaded with antioxidants, minerals, vitamins and they are really healthy for you.”
These fruit bowls have a smoothie base. The base is made up of one or many fruits blended and poured in the bottom of the bowl. The staff then puts sliced fruits at the top of the base. These toppings include sliced bananas, sliced strawberries, sliced pineapple, blueberries, granola and coconut strips.
“A lot of people like to top their bowls with granola,” Jenna said. “From there you can add on your favorite fresh fruits and drizzle local honey and peanut butter that’s all-natural. We have five bases. We have açai (dark purple berries from South America), pitaya, coconut, banana and a green-blend that has kale, banana and pineapple in it.”
At Bowl Boss, customers can build their own bowls with their favorite fruits.
Not interested in fruit bowls? This café also makes/serves fruit smoothies and waffles.
Jenna heard rumors and read articles about how fruits have a lot of sugar and less nutrients. But she doesn’t believe it.
She sees fruit as a healthy product.
“A lot of times, I think fruit gets a bad rap out there for having ‘too much sugar,’” Jenna said. “People don’t understand how fruit can do so much for you. I do believe that our foods, we’re selling, is power. It’s fuel for your day. It’s medicine. It has a ton of nutrients. It has powers that regular food does not.”