Fresh Start
Forbes Woman Africa|March - May 2019

Marygrace Sexton sold her orange juice company, then watched it start to spoil. A rescue operation was needed.

Chloe Sorvino
Fresh Start

ACROSS TOWN FROM Tropicana’s factory in Fort Pierce, Florida, which swallows dozens of truckloads of oranges each run and fills the air with the sting of bitter peel oil, Marygrace Sexton is walking through the considerably smaller juice plant she owns. At 7PM, the first of six semis rolls up with 50,000 pounds of fruit. Workers check each orange for bruising before a claw-like machine juices it. By 3AM, 30,000 gallons will start flowing into bottles.

While Tropicana’s juice can remain for a year in million-gallon tanks covered with a blanket of nitrogen, Sexton’s product is shipped out later that morning. “Feed your body like you want it to treat you,” the tan, athletic 60-year-old says. “We were making fresh juice before it was chic.”

It was in 1989 that Sexton was inspired to compete with the preservative-laced cartons on supermarket shelves. With $20,000 she had saved from a job as a radiologist’s receptionist, she installed two 1,000-gallon stainless steel tanks and a juicer in a shack surrounded by groves and borrowed a butcher’s refrigerated truck to deliver the first pallet herself. Thus was born Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice Co., Natalie referring to Sexton’s first child, born nine months before.

“In those early days, I had a terrible fear of poverty,” says Sexton, who was raised by a single mother who worked as a maid. Sexton herself started working at a movie theater at age 14, and later as a waitress, to help pay her family’s electric bills. “Knowing what poverty does,” she says, “I was just so driven.”

Natalie’s now sells 25 flavors — from tangerine to matcha (green tea) lemonade — in 42 countries and 5,000 U.S. supermarkets and makes private label juice for chains like Pret A Manger. Sales last year topped $60 million on a volume of 7 million gallons.

Bu hikaye Forbes Woman Africa dergisinin March - May 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye Forbes Woman Africa dergisinin March - May 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

FORBES WOMAN AFRICA DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
Well-Grounded
Forbes Woman Africa

Well-Grounded

Coco Cachalia, whose mother Amina was among the 20,000 in the Women’s March of August 1956, made a decision to stay away from politics – and succeed in business instead.

time-read
3 dak  |
August-September 2017
Art Becomes Her
Forbes Woman Africa

Art Becomes Her

A celebrated international fine artist, Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi overcame the struggles of apartheid, and her work is grounded in her past.

time-read
3 dak  |
August-September 2017
'Not Just Pro-Women But Pro-Progress'
Forbes Woman Africa

'Not Just Pro-Women But Pro-Progress'

South Africa’s Minister of Women Susan Shabangu on the significance of the 61st anniversary of Women’s Day, and the role men can play in ending gender violence in South Africa and creating an equal society.

time-read
6 dak  |
August-September 2017
Diversity And Inclusion Are Part Of Baker Mckenzie's DNA
Forbes Woman Africa

Diversity And Inclusion Are Part Of Baker Mckenzie's DNA

According to Law360’s 2017 Glass Ceiling Report, women make up around one-third of the attorneys in private legal practice. Among the law firms surveyed, just below 23% of partners are female.

time-read
3 dak  |
August-September 2017
We, Men For Women
Forbes Woman Africa

We, Men For Women

South Africa still has a long way to go for gender justice in business and in life, but with more men openly stepping forward to be a part of the discourse, FORBES WOMAN AFRICA speaks to two male entrepreneurs, a CEO and a social activist. They acknowledge diversity makes smart social and economic sense that will benefit all.

time-read
10+ dak  |
August-September 2017
What, After All, Does Feminism Have To Do With Men?
Forbes Woman Africa

What, After All, Does Feminism Have To Do With Men?

According to the seminal African-American writer bell hooks (her name is not capitalized), feminism is for everybody.

time-read
3 dak  |
August-September 2017
Blood, Setbacks And Tears
Forbes Woman Africa

Blood, Setbacks And Tears

Two sisters with common failures and a dream to eventually succeed.

time-read
2 dak  |
August-September 2017
Fighting To The End
Forbes Woman Africa

Fighting To The End

In May, 82 more Chibok girls were released in exchange for Boko Haram prisoners. Oby Ezekwesili, a strong advocate in the campaign to bring them back, has vowed to never stop fighting. 

time-read
2 dak  |
June-July 2017
Not Just Hard Work, But Heart Work
Forbes Woman Africa

Not Just Hard Work, But Heart Work

As incidents of gender-based violence increase in Africa, those like Nigeria’s Kemi Dasilva-Ibru, are trying to bring relief to stigmatized victims.

time-read
5 dak  |
June-July 2017
Going Down The Spice Route
Forbes Woman Africa

Going Down The Spice Route

Essie Bartels worked several odd jobs she hated before opening a company selling mouth-watering spices and sentiments to the world.

time-read
4 dak  |
June-July 2017