Slimming down by juicing up

November 21, 2015 11:00 pm • Last Updated: November 25, 2015 1:16 pm

By Lee Howard
Business Editor

Biologic+ co-founders Courtney DeBlasio, left, and Carlos Reyes, center, visit with customer, Dechen Zezulka at their business in Stonington's Velvet Mill earlier this month. (Dana Jensen/The Day)
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Stonington — Local real estate agency owner Judi Caracausa practically waltzes on air as soon as she reaches the home of a new business at the Stonington Velvet Mill that she says changed her life by improving her nutrition.

"I have so much more energy it's amazing," said Caracausa, who regularly visits the production site of Biologic+ co-founded by Carlos Reyes and Courtney DeBlasio.

Reyes and DeBlasio have replicated a business that has worked well in larger cities such as Los Angeles and New York City, where all-natural cleanses, smoothies and detoxes are often embraced by models and actors as a healthy way to slim down while maintaining high energy. The products are composed of juices, vegetables, herbs and other natural ingredients, most of which address people's need to reduce acidity in their system.

DeBlasio, a yoga instructor, and Reyes, a fitness and nutrition advocate, opened their business in January after researching competitors. Reyes said his nutritional background allowed him to create better products built on addressing individual people's needs.

"We make everything to order," Reyes said. "I will put this up against any juice bar in L.A. or New York City."

Caracausa said she used a juicer at home but ended up throwing out a lot of the product because she had to make it in large quantities. Now, she can buy only what she needs from Biologic+, she said.

"The prices are a deal for the quantity of the product," she said. "There's absolutely no waste."

The Rise and Shine cold-pressed juice concoction, which goes for $9.50, is among the priciest individual offerings and includes cucumber, pear, apple, spinach, kale, parsley, lemon, chard and mint. Reyes figures most of the drinks include 3 to 4.5 pounds of fruit and produce.

"We're passionate about food," he said. "It's the food that makes you happy. After a while you don't want to eat the other way."

His partner DeBlasio said some people try to go all day on one of Biologic+'s body cleansing mixtures, but at 1,600 calories they are generally not quite enough food for an adult who tends to require 2,000 calories. So she recommends eating a meal in addition to the cleanses.

"It's not fasting; it's not a starvation diet," she said. "It's about pressing reset."

Recommended Biologic+ cleanses run anywhere from one to five days and cost $58 up to $360, according to the company website. Everything provided by the company is organic while also being free of glutens and genetically modified organisms.

The company has two employees in addition to the owners, and promises to deliver free of charge anywhere within a 10-mile radius. Biologic+ cannot sell in retail stores because its products are not pasteurized.

"That's what we believe in," DeBlasio said. "Additives and preservatives right now kills it for me."

In addition to juices, the company offers a few food treats, including a tahini dip, tabouleh salad, gazpacho and chard wraps. Biologic+ also offers special drinks for children, including pirate punch, chill-out chocolate and superhero splash.

The partners have been getting out the word through yoga studios and other health and fitness businesses as they work on revamping their website. But mostly they are expanding through word-of-mouth referrals as locals start getting wind that a little bit of Hollywood has descended on a borough in eastern Connecticut.

"It's growing organically," Reyes said. "The response has been really really good."

l.howard@theday.com

Twitter: @KingstonLeeHow