It seems that the old saying is true; if you spend time with a perfume seller, like it or not, you’ll end up smelling good. This is the story of Ricky Bahtiar, and how he started Segara Juice.

What’s so special about juice, you may ask? There should be nothing special if the juice you produce doesn’t commit to wellness and waste through every bottle of juice you craft. Juice is just a drink made of fruit if there’s no added value you offer. But Ricky, Ricky gives added value to Segara Juice, his initiative.

The story began when he do the college and while working in Yogyakarta. He mentioned that the highly positive environment with people caring about the sustainability and healthy lifestyles, sparked his interest in building this business.

“With the many brands and people I met in Jogja who have already started to apply sustainability in their programs or products, I thought I wanted to start something like that in Lombok, beginning with small things,” he said.

Simple. He hopes to contribute through the business he is building. I hope to continue contributing. But, not just through business, but more than that, he hopes to create greater impact for both the environment and people’s health.

Today, Segara Juice consists of Ricky as the owner, and some of his close friends who he also involved in this business. He said that with different backgrounds, they are striving to be there for the goals they want to achieve.

Like most businesses in general, until he found the right form, Ricky shared that he searched for recipe references through social media. In addition, he also tried to learn the benefits of each ingredient from articles and related journals.

“We did several rounds of trial and error with different recipes to get the right taste,” he added.

As the owner, Ricky is fully aware that Lombok has abundant resources. He knows that working with local farmers is a checklist he must do while running this business.

“We always try to prioritize ingredients from local farmers. Our hope is that in the future we can work directly with them,” Ricky explained.

Besides that, maybe what makes this juice Ricky offers special is not simply fruits chopped into small pieces, tossed into a blender, then sweetened and served. Ricky didn’t take that path. Segara Juice is a cold-pressed juice. Not a new thing, but Ricky knows very well that through this method, he adds value to his product.

“Because according to several studies, juice extracted using cold-pressed methods is claimed to have higher levels of antioxidants and bioactive compounds compared to juice extracted using regular centrifugal methods.”
Additionally, Ricky explained, through this method he hope to help people who don’t like vegetables enjoy them in a different and more interesting way.

In terms of packaging, using plastic bottles should have been the step Ricky could take. From a business point of view, that method is easier and certainly cheaper. However, he didn’t take that path. Instead of using plastic bottles, Ricky chose to use glass bottles.

“Reusable,” he said.

He explained that returned bottles will go through a sterilization process so they can be reused. He also try small things such as bringing his own shopping bags when picking up ingredients to be processed.

As additional information, according to various sources, plastic cups take decades, even hundreds of years to decompose. In addition, he said that he lso involved in the Lombok Eco Market community, where he can contribute and hoping to support sustainability programs through it.

Ricky then commented on how to balance health, sustainability, and business growth. He elaborated that there are two main challenges he face. First, educating customers or the public on the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle while also staying aware of the environment.

More to that, he said, what he does is what he can for now and hope to get involved in related programs in the future. Second, he mentioned about pricing issues. He said, choosing to use sustainable materials raises basic costs, and this affects the selling price of our products.

Considering these challenges, one of the things that keeps him excited to continue this project is the fact that he receives positive responses. He mentioned that for now, the feedback he had received has been very positive.

“We’ve received good reviews both in terms of taste and sustainability,” told Ricky.

Regarding the impact he hopes to have on health and the environment, he said that first, he hope to gradually educate customers about healthy living and sustainability programs.

As of now, he already seeing many people becoming more health conscious. But he underlined that regarding in more sepecif way on environmental awareness, “it’s still very low—trash is scattered everywhere, and one of the consequences we’ve seen is the flooding that happened recently.”

For this, he hope to collaborate or get involved in environmental sustainability programs for a better future.

In line with that, he further explained their involvement in Lombok Eco Market. Besides that, h’ll be taking part in a market held by Nusa Alam School, which will be their first sustainability program, so there’s no reason not to get involved and support the event fully.

Moreover, he said, he is looking forward to more collaborations in the future.

And personally, for Ricky as an individual, he explained that of course, there’s a lot I’ve gained since starting Segara Juice. Starting from small things—even the way he see what he eat and use—it turns out they can have a big impact on the planet we live on. Meeting many people who share the same vision is also very rewarding.

Looking ahead, Ricky explained that there will be new products, but the main goal now is to open a store as soon as possible. Because from there, he hope not only to sell, but also to provide education and build collaborations related to health, education, and the environment.