Made in Virginia 2015: LUMI Juice, Charlottesville

LUMI Juices

Hillary Lewis believes fruit and vegetables do their best work under pressure. Lewis’ Charlottesville-based LUMI juices—an acronym for “Love U, Mean It”—are created using a high-pressure processing machine, which Lewis says “looks like a giant spaceship,” to pack two pounds of produce into every 16-ounce bottle. Lewis, 29, had the idea for LUMI while in business school at UVA. After graduating in May 2013, she launched the business that July, had products on shelves by October and now has LUMI in approximately 300 stores and growing. The organic produce is first sliced by a rotating blade then slowly squeezed by a hydraulic press, extracting nothing but juice. Instead of settling for the traditional heat pasteurization process, which Lewis says “kills 40–60 percent of naturally occurring nutrients,” her NASA-looking machine kills bacteria with extreme water pressure, preserving the juice without damaging the flavor or nutrients. The result is a powerful bottle of liquid produce in alluringly alliterative flavors like Piedmont Pineapple and Miami Mango. $3.25–$7.99. LUMIJuice.com


See all the Made in Virginia 2015 Winners!

Overall Winner

Fern and Roby, Richmond

Home

Monolith Studios, Charlottesville (category winner)

Huger Embroidery, Richmond

Duvall Designs, Millwood

Owen Suter’s Fine Furniture, Richmond

Style

Shockoe Atelier, Richmond (category winner)

Rockbridge Guitar Company, Charlottesville

Melissa Lew Jewelry, South Riding

North End Bag Co., Virginia Beach

Drink

Belle Isle Craft Spirits, Richmond (category winner)

Early Mountain Vineyards, Madison

Texas Beach, Richmond

LUMI Juice, Charlottesville

Food

Brown Dog Handcrafted Premium Ice Cream, Cape Charles (category winner)

S. Wallace Edwards & Sons, Surry

Swover Creek Farms, Edinburg

Pennacook Peppers, Virginia Beach


Click here to see 2014 winners.

Click here to see 2013 winners.

Click here to see 2012 winners.

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