How to start a juice bar in the US: rules, costs and ordering

To start a juice bar in the US, pick your format (counter, kiosk, smoothie bar or mobile), get a food permit after your health department approves your build-out, and decide early whether you'll only serve juice by the glass or also bottle it. That decision changes your rules. FDA's juice HACCP regulation doesn't cover the operation of a retail establishment that sells juice straight to consumers, but juice you bottle in your shop must either be treated to a 5-log pathogen reduction under a HACCP plan or carry FDA's "WARNING: This product has not been pasteurized" statement. Sell to other businesses and you become a juice processor under the full rule.

Not legal advice. Your state and county apply these rules through their own food codes. Check with your health department. Figures were read on the sources' own pages on October 20, 2026.

How the juice rules change with what you sell

Step 1: Choose your format and menu

A juice bar can be a counter in a gym, a kiosk in a mall, a café with smoothie bowls or a mobile cart at markets. Keep the menu short: 8 to 12 drinks you can make fast, plus a few add-ins. Fewer recipes means less produce to buy and less waste.

If you plan a mobile juice bar, read our food truck guide: mobile units need a commissary in most places.

Step 2: Cost your drinks and write a plan

Produce prices swing with the seasons, so cost each recipe from your supplier's current prices and recheck monthly. Use the recipe cost calculator and the menu price calculator; our food cost percentage guide explains targets. Add up start-up costs with the restaurant startup cost calculator.

Step 3: Register the business

Get the legal basics done before you sign a lease.

• Choose a structure (sole proprietorship or LLC).
• Get an EIN from the IRS online, free.
• Register for sales tax with your state if your drinks are taxable there.
• Open a business bank account.

Step 4: Build out a kitchen your health department will approve

Juice bars need serious washing and prep space. Under the FDA Food Code model, plans are reviewed before you build, and you'll need at least one handwashing sink, a three-compartment sink (or an approved alternative) for utensils and equipment, and refrigeration that keeps cut produce and dairy at 41°F or below. Separate produce washing from handwashing.

Ask about a dedicated prep sink for washing produce and about drain capacity: juicers and blenders create a lot of waste and wash water.

Step 5: Get your permit and food safety basics

Apply for your food permit at least 30 calendar days before opening (the Food Code's model rule). Expect to need:

• a certified food protection manager as the person in charge, unless the department rates you low risk;
• a written employee illness policy, new in the 2026 Food Code (released September 17, 2026);
• date marking for any ready-to-eat chilled food you prep ahead and keep over 24 hours: use within 7 days at 41°F.

Step 6: Decide whether you'll bottle juice

Cold-pressed bottles to grab from a fridge sell well, but they bring extra rules.

The FDA Food Code (3-404.11) says juice packaged in a food establishment must be either:

1. treated under a HACCP plan to a 5-log reduction (99.999%) of the most resistant microorganism of public health significance, or
2. labeled with FDA's warning statement: "WARNING: This product has not been pasteurized and, therefore, may contain harmful bacteria that can cause serious illness in children, the elderly, and persons with weakened immune systems."

FDA's labeling rule (21 CFR 101.17(g)) says the word "WARNING" must be capitalized and bold, and the statement set off in a box with hairlines, on the information panel or principal display panel. Bottled juice also needs a normal food label: name, ingredients, net quantity, your business name and address, and allergens. The free food label maker lays these out in a US mode.

Step 7: Know when juice HACCP applies

FDA's juice HACCP regulation (21 CFR Part 120) applies to juice sold as such, but it says processing "does not include … the operation of a retail establishment." It defines a retail establishment as one that provides juice directly to consumers, and not one that sells or distributes juice to other businesses as well.

So if you start supplying a gym or café with your bottles, you become a juice processor and need a full HACCP plan under Part 120. You may also need to register with the FDA as a food facility, because a business whose sales to other buyers outweigh its direct sales to consumers is no longer exempt as a retail food establishment.

Step 8: Hire and train staff

Juice bars run on counter staff who can make drinks fast and clean as they go. The BLS national median for fast food and counter workers was $15.00 an hour in May 2025; check your state minimum wage. Train everyone on allergens: milk, tree nuts, peanuts, soy and sesame often show up in smoothies, nut butters and protein powders, and they're among FDA's nine major allergens. Every hire needs a Form I-9.

Step 9: Take orders ahead

Smoothies take a minute or two each, so a morning or post-workout rush backs up quickly. Let people order ahead and pick up.

How Menuthere helps. Menuthere's Free plan gives you an ordering page and QR codes with 0% commission and 50 orders a month, with sizes and add-ins as options, table ordering if you have seats, and allergens and calories tagged on each drink. Lite (US$17 a month) adds unlimited orders, scheduled pickup times and card payments through your own Stripe account. See Menuthere for cafés and QR code menus.

Let the gym crowd order on the way. with 0% commission.

Create your free ordering page

Worked example: what two drinks cost you

Prices are the BLS U.S. city average retail prices for September 2026. Produce yields and portions are assumptions, and wholesale cases will usually cost less, so redo this with your supplier's prices.

The lesson: fresh-squeezed juice is produce-heavy and expensive to make, while blended drinks with a banana or milk base cost far less per cup. Many juice bars price straight juices higher and lean on smoothies for margin.

Your juice bar start-up checklist

• Format and short menu chosen
• Drinks costed from supplier prices
• Structure, EIN, sales tax, bank account
• Build-out plans approved; sinks and refrigeration in place
• Food permit; certified food protection manager; employee illness policy
• Decision on bottling: HACCP 5-log process or WARNING label
• No wholesale until you have a Part 120 HACCP plan
• Allergen training for staff
• Ordering page and QR codes ready

Related guides

Planning a full sit-down or counter-service restaurant? Read our step-by-step guide on how to open a restaurant, with a 6-month timeline. You may also want to read how to start a coffee shop and how to start a food stand.