Young Dunedin businesswoman Courteney Johnston has her hands full - quite literally.
Miss Johnston (25) is balancing her startup business The Design Juicery, producing cold-pressed juices, with motherhood. And sometimes, the two intertwine very closely.
About two and a-half years ago, she quit her job in Christchurch, where she worked in commercialisation of science businesses, and launched into some market research.
Having always been very health-focused, she had noted healthy juices were becoming a "massive international trend'' - and she had always wanted her own business.
She was also driven by her own desire for healthy fast food and a drink that was not packed with preservatives or sugar.
After doing some research, coupled with developing recipes, she began trading just over two years ago, initially in Central Otago and then moving to Dunedin several months later.
The shift to the city proved fortuitous, as she got a stall at the Otago Farmers Market and, in the past couple of months, branched into wholesale.
Dunedin business woman Courteney Johnston, with almost 5-month-old Cooper, and product from her...
She got her wholesale licence at the end of March and she and her partner welcomed son Cooper a month later, so it had been "quite a whirlwind'', she said.
She was making juice virtually right up until Cooper's birth, delivering juice an hour before going into labour. The next day, when asked by a stockist if she could get juice on the shelf, she agreed.
Since then, it had been "flat out'', with The Design Juicery's juices being stocked by Perc, Perc Exchange, Taste Nature and Marbecks.
Dunedin business woman Courteney Johnston, with almost 5-month-old Cooper, and product from her start-up company The Design Juicery. PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN
The juices, nut milks and bespoke cleanses were created in a small commercial kitchen in a community hall in Ravensbourne which was "perfect'' for what she was doing, she said.
Pre-baby, she imagined taking the new arrival to the kitchen, where he would sleep and she would work away, but reality was a little different, she said.
The arrival of Cooper had changed things "massively'' and her partner was doing a lot of the pressing at the moment.
Miss Johnston, who has a bachelor of science, with a masters in engineering management, came from the Waikato, but is happily settled in Dunedin. She said the city supported small businesses and was a "cool place'' to live.
Her vision was to have The Design Juicery's products "absolutely everywhere'' so people could easily access fresh juice.
The health trend was growing; people were aware of what they were putting in their bodies, and that was only going to increase, so she had "jumped on that at the right time'', she said.
