Cherries: Healthy body, healthy profit

By Farnoosh Torabi, Special to amNewYork | amSmallBusiness@gmail.com

July 16, 2007

John Davey, founder of CherryPharm. (Handout Photo / July 15, 2007)

Forty-five cherries a day might keep the doctor away -- and former Wall Streeter John Davey is hoping he can bank on it. T

The self-financing founder of CherryPharm, Davey, 43, bottles and sells all-natural tart cherry juice, primarily to the New York Rangers, Division I college teams and the USA Squash team.

"What we've done is figure a way to bring the benefits of cherry to consumers in a convenient way, a bottle of juice that they can have year round," said Davey.

The 8-ounce CherryPharm juices equate to about 50 cherries. Research has found that approximately 45 cherries a day may speed up the healing process to within hours. Natural compounds in cherries, Davey said, block the body's enzyme that causes pain.

Originally from Michigan, the state hailed as the unofficial cherry capital of the world, Davey returned in the summer of 2003 from New York to heal a back condition known as spondylolisthesis.

It was there that he had his epiphany. In addition to taking some anti-inflammatory medicine, he was loading up on about a half pound of cherries a day, as he'd heard the fruit was a natural pain reliever.

"I honest to goodness could feel the pain going away," he said.

Three years later, following a sponsored research program at Cornell and more clinical research at Lenox Hill Hospital, Davey developed the formula for CherryPharm juice.

CherryPharm's core clientele are physically hip, nutritionally conscious and educated people.

"It's people concerned about getting an all-natural product in their bodies," he added. "The Rangers have told me they feel less sore. They recover quicker," said Davey.

The company also sells cases of the juice to individuals via CherryPharm.com. "We're also talking about getting into specialty retail health food stores, spas, fitness centers," he said.

And for those not in the know, CherryPharm is committed to spreading the word. Davey said his company's biggest challenge has been educating the mass public about the health benefits of cherries.

"Typically the consumer is familiar with sweet cherry which has a short window of availability."

The company, still in its infancy, has a ways to go before operating in the black. "We are projecting down the road we'd like to break even and then approach profitability," said Davey.

Contact Farnoosh at amSmallBusiness@gmail.com.