Bubble tea had its moment. Now, it’s just juice.
The word “juice” is rarely ever just juice. In daily life, we use it to mean a variety of things. In a flow state, your creative juices are working. You juice your car up before a long ride. American singer Lizzo even uses the word in one of her hit songs to refer to her inherent charm. If you can’t stand her? Blame it on her juice.
It’s no wonder then that Cherith Tan, the founder of Cebu-based juice brand Just Juice, saw potential in it as a product — how it has popularly represented vitality and strength.
She studied in Vancouver, Canada, where wellness culture flourishes. Ranking in the top ten in the Global Wellness Institute’s fastest-growing wellness economies in the world, Canada is a hub of health-conscious living. For Cherith, the city served as an eye-opening blueprint: the accessibility of fresh and nutritious food and beverages around every corner is what propelled her to follow suit here in Cebu.
Though it appears she may actually be leading the charge.
“I wanted to build something that wasn’t just another coffee shop, bubble tea stall, or matcha bar,” Cherith said. “Cebu has plenty of those.”
The oversaturation of these types of stores doesn’t seem to faze many Cebuanos, with new ones popping up cheaper than the last one (if P39 coffee is too much, here’s one for P38). For many, these shops serve as their attempts to find third places in a city scarce of them.
Cherith had created one of these third places before. Her previous business was the Bubble Bee Tea House in Escario Street, which many Cebuanos know and love. And miss, as it closed only this year after almost two decades in the business.
Why did it come to an end? Cherith outgrew it.
“As I got older, I found myself pulling away from overly sweet, creamy drinks,” Cherith said. “They stopped making me feel good, even when they tasted good.”
Juices, known for their health benefits, appeared to be the most optimal substitute. But in a city where milk tea and frappuccino reign, how can juice be competitive? Cherith relayed her experiences as a customer of Cebuano juice bars where sugar-infested juices were being touted as “healthy” and ways of preparing them “felt off.”
Just Juice aims to be the antithesis to sugary milk tea, both for Cebu and for Cherith’s own personal life.
“That’s really what the pivot was about — not rejecting indulgence, but redefining what I wanted ‘indulgent’ to mean,” Cherith proclaimed.
Just Juice offers a refined approach to indulgence through its premium selection of cold-pressed juices and nutrient-dense superfood smoothies. Committed to uncompromising standards, the brand combines fresh ingredients with rigorous hygiene practices and full calorie transparency to ensure exceptional quality in every bottle.
And it’s not just marketing. Cherith is firm about that. When the promos say “clean nutrition,” it’s a literal standard. Real fruits and vegetables, not diluted in water. No white sugar, and Cherith emphasizes, “ever.”
When asked about the common reluctance of people to drink juices because they lack “sweetness,” Cherith claims the devil is in the details. From what she’s observed, most juice bars skip out on essential ones: the quality of fruits, their storage conditions, whether they throw the fruit in whole, seeds and all, and whether they care to actually taste-test what they’re selling you.
Just Juice would rather lose a profit than serve bad fruit. They invested in cold-press machines to preserve the freshness of their produce. They curate their menu to be “something you’d want to drink, not just something you’re told is good for you.”
That’s why, she says, their prices are higher than others. But she assures everyone: what you pay for is exactly, to the tee, what you get.
When you get it depends on you, too. You can take it alongside your meals, replace lunch with it, or swap your regular coffee run with it. Would you want some sweetness? Request a splash of honey or agave. Do you need to meet your protein, beauty, or gut needs? You can ask them to add some whey, collagen, or probiotics.
Just Juice is your laboratory as much as it is Cherith’s. And what you choose to do there may just shape Cebu’s wellness culture.
Looking forward, Just Juice hopes to meet you where you are in all aspects: expanding their menu beyond drinks and into meals, finding more places and events around the city to sell their products in, and helping the Cebuano community realize that there are food options that are both healthy and enjoyable.
It’s a journey: what we choose to consume. Cherith started with milk tea, and now she’s here, healthier and more mindful. Your wellness journey can look the same — all it takes, really, is just juice.
Photography Kyrra Kho
