“Vision without execution is hallucination,” that is what Reinhardt and Rachel Scholtz would print on a T-shirt as advice for entrepreneurs. Having run their own online T-shirt business for four years they probably know what they are talking about. The pair founded JuiceBubble in 2014 for those who are fun, a bit mad and who don’t take life too seriously. If you’ve browsed JuiceBubble’s online store you will know the T-shirts and hoodies available are anything but serious with sayings like “Hedgehogs – Why don’t they just share the hedge?” or “Always give 100%, unless you’re donating blood.” Here’s their story.
Reinhardt and Rachel realised early on that ecommerce in South Africa was taking off and they wanted a piece of the action. Inspired by successful American and European online stores the pair founded JuiceBubble with the hope of it becoming South Africa’s most loved online T-shirt store. The name JuiceBubble is a combination of their two children’s first words and highlights the lighthearted philosophy of the company.
Initially, JuiceBubble was a side business which meant that the store had to essentially look after itself. Reinhardt and Rachel made use of their website building skills through their other business, Digital Consulting, to build their ecommerce store. They incorporated an intuitive browsing experience for their customers and a strong SEO strategy which were two must haves for the business.
Like any new business the first 12 months were rocky, however, at last JuiceBubble reached the elusive first page on Google ranking and suddenly JuiceBubble started receiving orders left, right and centre. With the increase in orders, JuiceBubble chose PayFast to process their online payments. “It ticked all the right boxes [by offering a] reliable and low-cost solution while catering for the numerous checkout options our customers would need,” says Reinhardt.
Today, JuiceBubble has grown to be a favourite among quirky T-shirt lovers in South Africa, through just an online store. The possibilities are endless. With summer on the way what better time to get browsing for an original (slightly off centre) T-shirt. Be warned though, you may end up buying a few as it’s almost impossible to choose just one.
