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All About The Fresh Monkee — Our History/Mission/Philosophy

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At The Fresh Monkee, we’re all about handcrafted shakes made with high-quality protein, whole fruits and veggies, natural butters, and other real ingredients. Our truly healthy protein smoothies serve up the kind of deliciousness that’ll make your brain do a double-take and ask, “Wait, this is good for me too?

Heck yeah, it is! We’re answering the call for healthy eating on the go by serving made-to-order protein shakes overflowing with whole foods and clean protein so you can recover from your workout, replace meals or snacks, and maintain your active lifestyle.

With the health and fitness market predicted to grow more than 13% to reach $294B in 2023, more people than ever are looking for convenient, delicious, and healthier grab-and-go food options. We fit the bill: our protein shakes are handcrafted with fresh, all-natural ingredients for on-the-go nutrition that’s incredibly wholesome and delicious. 

Why We Exist

We’re not like typical smoothies – we’re cool protein smoothies. The Fresh Monkee was created to revolutionize healthy shakes by offering unpretentious, nutritious, and deliciously fun meal solutions anyone can enjoy. 

Our naturally flavored shakes blend the goodness of protein, fiber, and minimal added sugar to make a balanced and tasty healthy snack, meal replacement, recovery drink, or treat. We build our recipes from the protein up to optimize taste, texture, and customer experience. Then, we add one a dairy or unsweetened non dairy milk of choice along with unsweetened, flash-frozen fruit. We set out to make the smoothies we wanted for ourselves and our families – truly healthy, grab-and-go shakes that keep you full until lunch.

Our healthy protein shakes are:

Naturally Flavored

Our high-quality, natural ingredients, namely fresh fruits, nuts seeds and other whole foods, do all the heavy lifting when it comes to flavor. We’ve crafted incredibly delicious blends that’ll keep you coming back for more.

Made with Simple Ingredients

Our shakes feature simple ingredients: milk, protein, fruits, veggies, natural types of nut butter, and minimal added sugar. No artificial flavors or syrups either, so they’re just like homemade – but better. Our milk choices are unsweetened, and our fruit is flash-frozen fresh and doesn’t sit in sweetened syrup: our “fun” sweetened ingredients are Nutella and marshmallows.

Wholesome

Our shakes pack a punch when it comes to high-quality whey protein and ample fiber. These wholesome ingredients help keep you full by delivering a steady and clean energy release – unmatched by any other grab-and-go meal.

Made to Order

Each shake is made to order just for you, with love and attention from our baristas, ensuring it’s nothing short of perfect. You can count on a unique and satisfying experience with every sip. We believe in full transparency, so from beginning to end, you can see your order transform throughout the process, from simple ingredients to a healthy shake in just a few steps. 

Good for Everyone

Our shakes and smoothies are good for everyone! Whether you’re looking for a treat, a meal replacement, or a recovery shake after your workout, our high-protein, low-sugar, whole-fruit, and vegetable smoothies are just what you’re looking for with the important fiber left in for satiety and digestion. Athletes, parents, kids, grandparents – you can feel good about what you’re serving your family and customize your shakes with clean add-ons. 

 

The Fresh Monkee Baristas

Our History

The Fresh Monkee is here to make your shake fresh and real and is made with whole foods” 

– Judy Flynn, Founder, The Fresh Monkee

Judy Flynn was on a mission to find healthy shakes for herself and her family in 2014 when she became disenchanted with sugar laden, questionable flavor shots and artificial ingredients. She challenged herself to bring fresh, all-natural ingredients to the public with the goal of being transparent about each one added to our shakes.

Born from a desire for something greater

Judy found most juice bars stripped away beneficial fiber from fruits and vegetables. Smoothie stores were no better, as they relied on sugary fruit blends and mystery powders. The same could be said for coffee shops, whose beverages are loaded with sugar and empty calories. Judy knew she could do better.

Judy started developing recipes for every shake by beginning with high-quality protein and adding good carbs, healthy fats, and real ingredients to round out the nutritional profile. But how do you make them fast, convenient, and healthy? Making each shake to order became the solution: customers can see the process, learn about ingredients, and be encouraged to try something new next time. 

 

From humble origins to devoted followings

Judy opened her first location in Wethersfield, CT, armed with a 650 square-foot space, 10 recipes, and less than $5 thousand to work with. She made do with a pre-owned refrigerator, freezer, IKEA shelving, and a fresh coat of paint. And in 2014, The Fresh Monkee was born.

In 2015, a second location in Glastonbury, CT, opened, followed by a food truck in 2017. And in 2018, three additional stores opened in Berlin, Southington, and Manchester, CT. Our journey has been driven by the support of our customers and our dedication to delivering fast, convenient, and healthful meal options. 

We’re proud of the growth we’ve achieved by winning over the hearts (and taste buds) of customers of all ages across the many communities we serve. We love seeing regular customers who visit not only daily but sometimes twice a day, almost as much as we love serving new customers for the first time and completely blowing them away.

Our loyal and committed fanbase stems from our simple, straightforward product. Our truly healthy protein shakes are beloved by everyone, from children to fitness enthusiasts, college students to busy professionals seeking a healthier option than pizza, burgers, or subs. 

Whether you’re looking for a fresh start with our Ultimate Green (water, splash of pom juice, spinach, cucumber, green apple, banana, chia seeds, flax seeds, pineapple, and ginger), want to celebrate the season with a Chocolate Pumpkin (milk, chocolate protein, pumpkin puree, spices, banana, vanilla extract, low-fat graham cracker, and Nutella), or prefer a sweet treat like our signature Chunkee Monkee (milk, chocolate or vanilla protein, banana, and natural peanut butter), you’re bound to find a healthy yum that satisfies all your cravings.

We’re on a mission to bring our healthy and delicious shakes to communities across the country. Check out our locations and stop by – we can’t wait to see you! 

Contact us today to learn more about how The Fresh Monkee is shakin’ things up with our truly healthy protein shakes!

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