business spotlight - hue vegan café
We’re seeing more and more businesses incorporate Kangen Water machines into their offerings. From cafés, to gyms, to restaurants, to farms, and hair salons - business owners are recognizing the value that these machines have and how much they can contribute to their products and customers.
One of those business owners just so happens to be one of Know Your Why’s very own mentors, Loany Garrido. We took the opportunity to interview Loany about her experience adding a Kangen machine to her food cart business, Hue Vegan Café.
Tell us about yourself + the café! Who are you, and who is Hue?
Hi, my name is Loany! I currently live in Portland, Oregon, and grew up in Minnesota. I love meeting new people, cooking meals, going for hikes, reading, trying new things, and spending time with my family.
I moved to Portland to open the food cart business with my best friend who grew up in the area. We met when we were overseas doing volunteer work in the Marshall Islands. We did some traveling together and always talked about opening a little café or food stand, and in 2019 we decided to go for it.
Currently, we have two food cart locations. Both are located on the west side of Portland in Beaverton. There really aren’t a lot of vegan options on the west side, so we thought opening the carts here would give people good, healthy, vegan options to enjoy. We opened our first location in March 2020 - the worst time possible. But, we have endured through all the challenges and continue to operate. Our focus has always been to share vibrant, fresh, healthy, vegan food with the community around us and most importantly, to make it accessible. A lot of vegan places can be expensive, so we wanted to keep prices reasonable so that financial situations wouldn’t be an obstacle for people to try vegan food and enjoy what we have to offer.
When did you first learn about Kangen Water and when did you purchase your machine? Was the intention initially for personal use or was the intention always to use it for the food truck?
I first learned about Kangen Water back in 2016 through a friend. I was visiting her in California and since she knew I was super picky about water she was so excited to show me that her mom had a Kangen Water machine. The whole week I was at her house I drank Kangen. The water tasted great, and I was definitely curious about it. But, once I found out about the price, I lost interest. I was a broke college student, but I kept the machine in the back of my mind to purchase in the future.
A few years went by and in 2018 I saw that my friend Emily had started an online business working with Kangen machines. Instantly, a light bulb went off in my head and I remembered first seeing the machine back in 2016. This time I decided to ask more questions and see what it was all about. I was really interested in the health benefits of the water and decided to purchase the machine.
When I purchased my machine, it was originally intended for personal use and to share with my family. Once I opened my business though, I knew that I wanted the machine inside the food cart.
How do you currently use Kangen Water for your business? Has the way you use it evolved over time?
I had to wait a few months to get the set up right, but it’s now installed in one of my carts. I wish I had one in both! We use the different pH settings for pretty much everything. We use the 8.5 pH for tea, the 6.0 pH to cook pasta, and 9.0 pH to cook other food like soups, rice, beans, etc. We also use the 11.5 pH water to wash produce, the 2.5 pH to sanitize, and of course the 9.5 to drink. We pretty much use the water for everything.
We sell the water to customers in cups or in jugs. We are working on setting up a water fill-up system. It’s currently a bit tricky with covid restrictions, since we are not technically supposed to bring outside containers into the cart. The K8 is inside the cart on top of the 3-compartment sink, so it is difficult for customers to fill up on their own. However, once we figure out an efficient way to sanitize containers, and an easy process for customers to fill-up, we will get that up and running.
Did you find it easy to integrate it into your menu and offerings?
It was definitely easy to integrate the water into our menu and food cart operations! We use water for pretty much everything and having quality water just makes everything taste better. The set up was a bit tough because counter space is so limited inside the cart, but once that was set up, it was straight forward! It’s easy to replace tap water with Kangen Water.
What has the response been from your customers? How do you let them know that you use it and that it's available to them?
For the most part, most customers aren’t really aware of the difference between tap water and high quality, hydrogen rich water. Most people aren’t exactly the most concerned with that. Probably because they assume that if they go to a food cart, they will just get regular tap or bottled water. So, they only ask when they stand in line waiting for their food and read the posters we have up that have info on the water and how we use it, or if they see me fill up their cup of water.
We have 2 big windows that open up, so most people can see inside our cart. We have also posted about the Kangen machine and the ways that we use it on social media. People always like that we care about the water we use. Specifically, when it comes to washing produce.
Do you give your customers the option to come fill up and try the water?
Not yet. But that is definitely the goal in the next month or so. The idea is to have a water dispenser outside that they can easily use themselves without us having to bring their water containers inside the cart. We are planning on creating a membership and hope that many people will be interested!
What's your personal favorite way to use the water?
I love using the water to wash the produce inside the cart. It’s so satisfying to wash away the pesticides! I feel good knowing that I am serving customers fresh, clean produce. And I love using it to clean the surfaces, windows, appliances, etc. It’s such an easy way to sanitize and not have to use bleach. And of course, drinking the water. You gotta stay hydrated, especially in the summers when it is 10 degrees hotter inside the food cart!
Have you been able to replace any other products that you would otherwise be purchasing for your business?
I have been able to replace cleaning supplies and produce sprays to wash produce! Those are the main two.
Did you bring the obtainability and knowledge of Kangen Water to your area? Have you had the opportunity to educate your customers about it and have your customers expressed curiosity once learning you offer it?
The customers that see me fill up their cup of water when they buy water, always ask about the machine and what kind of filtered water they are getting. There is definitely curiosity around it. I’ve had customers even come back and tell me that the water tastes so good and I am always happy to share more and have a conversation with them about it. I have also been able to share some of the knowledge with other owners and employees of the pod. Now that I’ve made more connections with other business owners in the neighborhood, I am definitely planning on sharing the water knowledge with them and letting them know how they can use it in their business.
Do you currently offer water trials and if not do you plan to do so in the future?
Currently we don’t offer water trials, but we have sold water by jugs & have had some water conscious people ask about filling up. So, we are working on building a list of those customers to reach back out to once the fill-up station is up and running.
Anything else you'd like to add about Kangen water and using it in your personal life or your food truck!
The K8 is one of the best investments I have spent my money on. I feel so good drinking the water, using it inside my cart, and sharing it with people whether that be through a cup, washing produce, in tea, or in food! I think having this water ionizer makes us stand out, and customers who are aware of it can tell that we care about all areas of our business. I am hoping to share the water in more ways in the near future. I know what a big difference it has made in my life, and I definitely don’t want to keep that to myself!
