Chapter 1 - Midlife Crisis
This is Phil and he works in something called marketing! Approaching his 40th birthday he had an utter freak out and had a complete midlife crisis! Most people when they do this buy a sports car or look at some sort of cosmetic surgery! Instead he opened a café and called it Cow Juice!
Why? Don’t know! but he had this burning urge to do something completely different with his life.
Chapter 2 - Build It
So Charlie (Phils long suffering wife) and Phil sunk everything they had into building Cow Juice, they dreamed of the day when their kids would come into the shop and people would come from far a wide to visit a place built to be a relaxed, fun and especially very welcoming place to children.
We wanted it so that families could come in and think, oh thank goodness my kid can draw on the wall and no one will judge me.
Chapter 3 - The Cows
How do you get people to come to your shop? You hide 14 little cows across Tring for those that find them receive free Milkshake for life… The town was torn apart and Phil couldn’t leave the house for two days!
Chapter 4 - The Kettle
So none of our equipment arrived in time for opening so Phil being the nutcase he is opened anyway with a kettle and a toaster! But the people kept coming! And after a day of serving Tea & Toast the gang knew there was something special about Cow Juice!
Chapter 5 - Standing Room
The word got out and Cow Juice quickly became popular and it was terrifying but completely wonderful all at the same time! We built up a loyal following and a big fan club. People really loved the shop and the messaging behind it.
Chapter 6 - Enter Daisy
We started delivering on Just Eat and needed a Van so with the help of David our investor got Daisy and suddenly everything changed! We got really, really busy! In fact throughout the month of January which is supposed to be quiet Phil couldn’t actually take a day off because of all the deliveries needing to be taken out.
Chapter 7 - ATW
Daisy wasn’t just a delivery van, she could also make drinks and when a chap called James came in for breakfast one day and after a long chat over a cuppa we teamed Daisy up with his events company at ATW, It was, and still is awesome and we love them!
Chapter 8 - The Landlord
So everything was going well and we were starting to become a really cool little company… Then the electric bill for the cafe arrived. Phil, after he had thrown up, couldn’t believe it when the bill read over £2000 for electric! Non of the rent made sense and the bills just kept coming without any real understanding of what they were for! But rather than just roll over and pay them, which would have meant not being able to pay staff, Phil took on Joe to confront him about these weird bills and after lots of swearing, by Joe at Phil… They changed the locks to Cow Juice the night before Phil turned 40. And we were done… Or were we?
Chapter 8 - The Hard Bit
Phil and Charlie got through his 40th as best they could. Now we know there are worse things going on in the world than Phil loosing his shop but when you have a wife, kids and a home, loosing everything you have that supported it is pretty bloody depressing. It got so bad in fact that Phil was going to take his own life hoping that on his death his family would be looked after… We know non of that makes sense but when you are in such a bad place and you can’t see a way out… Please talk to someone! Phil did and it saved his life!
We put that photo in because it is the only one we have from that time and he looks bloody tired!
Chapter 10 - God Bless Daisy
Throughout all of this Daisy kept going to ATW events! Phil had brushed himself down and teamed up with a friend called Paul to help him and Charlie rebuild Cow Juice! ATW kept them busy and it was then we met Dainis and his family who said… ‘We love your Van and we would like one’, Enter Fluffy!
Named by their kids
Chapter 11 - Fluffy
Dainis bought a rather large horse box that Phil, Paul and Keiron ‘our builder', turned into Fluffy! A much bigger version of Daisy and maybe the start of a small herd of Cow Juice Vans!
Chapter 12 - Bluebell
Bluebell was taken on by Tom in Northampton to be a static version of Cow Juice on their farm, She is currently being built in a shipping container on their farm!
Chapter 13 - What’s next?
Phil, Charlie and Paul will keep building the Cow Juice brand wherever they can to help farmers, support people wanting to start their own businesses and having lots of fun along the way… But one question remains.
Will there ever be a Cow Juice Cafe in Tring again?
Yeah probably.
Chapter 13 - Fluffy Goes Home
Katrina & Dainis are our first franchisers of Cow Juice and will start getting out on the road to spread the love! And Milkshake!
If you are in the milk business and can help us get our milkshakes made please get in touch!
We are looking for a partner farm to make Cow Juice Milkshakes but struggling to find anywhere able to make them.
If you know or are a farmer in a position to help and earn from it please get in touch here