One local entrepreneur is putting a new spin on summer marketing to bring in new customers.
Nasr Nasr, owner of Ottawa’s Juice Dudez, said inspiration for the marketing idea struck him while he was in Dubai.
“I worked for a few months to find a way to bring it to Canada, so that was the inspiration. The real reason I wanted to do it is because I wanted to do something fun for our customers and for Ottawa,” Nasr said, adding that he’s always looking for new ways to bring clout to his brand.
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Enter the “smoothie bike,” a colourful stationary bike with a blender attached to the front. A customer orders a smoothie, the ingredients are placed in the blender, the blender is attached to the bike and the customer hops on the saddle. The faster the customer pedals, the quicker the smoothie blends.
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“It takes a couple minutes until it’s ready,” Nasr said. “This way, you burn some calories before having your smoothie. It’s pretty cool.”
Currently only available on the patio of the Juice Dudez ByWard Market and Orléans locations, Nasr said the “smoothie bike” has already brought in many customers – most of them intrigued with how it works.
“People absolutely love it, especially the one in the ByWard Market. Everyone that passes by, they turn around and take a closer look. They try to make sense of it and, if there’s somebody blending a smoothie on it, they start shooting videos on their phones,” he said.
Nasr is no stranger to marketing tactics. He previously had a virtual reality experience available in his restaurants as a way to bring in more customers.
Now, the bike is just another reason why people are flocking to Juice Dudez’s patios, which Nasr said he’s “invested heavily” in to attract more customers.
“When we built our patios, we wanted people to feel like they’re on vacation while being at home in Ottawa. I think that really resonated with people. They come and take pictures and share it on their (Instagram) stories. Ottawa is known for having so many nice patios and we’re trying to put our twist on that,” Nasr said.
Since opening the doors to his first location in Westboro in 2019, Nasr has been able to grow his business to five locations across the city, with the latest locations opening in the ByWard Market and Orléans this January.
Nasr told OBJ that he has seen “overwhelmingly good” feedback on his businesses lately, based on the food and drinks as well as the atmosphere.
“We expected people to love it but what we’re seeing is a whole different level than what we expected. The amount of times that I get stopped in random places and people telling me, ‘We’re proud of you for what you guys are doing in Ottawa and how you’re expanding quickly and are always busy.’ It motivates us to do even more, stick to our values and maintain our standards,” he said.
Juice Dudez’s success has translated into extended hours so the business can become a place for people to hang out that doesn’t revolve around alcohol.
“This summer, we decided to take it up a notch. At the ByWard location, we’re open until 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and 1 a.m. every other day … We wanted to offer people a nice place to have a healthy drink, delicious desserts and have a good time,” he said.
“When you want to go out at night, you only have one choice and it’s having alcohol. I love it, I don’t want to bash those businesses but sometimes you want to have a good time while having something healthy and that’s why we’re here.”
