The Story of How We Started TurnBerry Acai - The Berry Best Acai Montreal Has Ever Seen
We are typical Montrealers, we spend our winters in Miami - how else can we survive the snowstorms and unbearable cold... Every trip to Miami, our diet consisted of Acai Bowls and... even more Acai Bowls. Just like caffeine, we quickly realized how addictive and delicious ah-sah-ee really is.
In January 2023, while sitting in South Beach, we made a promise to each other "once we come back to Montreal, we HAVE to start the best acai bowl company Montreal has ever seen". It was a promise that extended beyond our own selves, it was a promise for our hometown that gave us unimaginable opportunities. We knew that Montrealers have been screaming for years for Acai that doesn't taste like a fruit bowl diluted with water.
As you all know, words are meaningless unless massive action is taken. We underestimated how HARD and PAINFUL the challenge of starting a business really is. They tell you "don't start a business with your friends", we quickly understood the meaning of this sentence.
If any of you watched our launch video, you saw the raw emotions of our journey - we were lucky enough to push through the hardships, which led us to November.
One night in November, we were contemplating dropping the ball and calling it quits. At 2 AM on a Thursday, I (TurnBlazer Joe) came across a Mid-Day Squares video that talked about their hardships, therapy, and how Leslie almost quit the team - but she didn't, she pushed through and they went on to be the stars of Costco in our hometown. This was the inspiration that we needed, I quickly showed David the video - and we went to WORK...
After almost signing our lives away in a mall that even ghosts disappeared from, we quickly shifted to our very first ghost kitchen in Saint-Laurent/Mont-Royal. We had 3 weeks to make it happen - we yelled, we cried, but we finally made it happen on December 11th...
It was an ABSOLUTE hit, our community showed up, and gave us purpose and life. We underestimated how much Montrealers love acai, but more importantly how supportive they are of their very own entrepreneurs.
Here we are, 5 months in with over 6000 orders and a community that keeps on getting stronger. I will repeat this quote a GAZILLION times "without you, we are absolutely nothing". You gave us life when we could not see the light, you believed in us when we were about to quit - and for this we are forever grateful.
Thank you for making our dreams a reality, thank you for continuously believing in us. Time to make Montreal #TurnBlazing !
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