July 18, 2025
Chris Goode spoke to AFROTECH on how he turned his grandmother’s legacy into a health revolution and business.
Chris Goode, founder of Ruby Jean’s Juicery, has transformed personal tragedy into purpose. The Kansas City, Missouri, native launched the health and wellness brand in honor of his late grandmother, Ruby Jean, who helped raise him and his siblings but passed away from complications related to chronic illness. Her story fuels his mission to bring healthier food options to underserved communities.
Ruby Jean’s influence looms large in Goode’s journey. “She didn’t speak much,” he said in an interview with AFROTECH, “but she showed her affection through cooking soul food. It was that same soul food that ended up leading to her demise, because she had chronic illnesses that are very commonplace in the Black community. And she eventually ended up on life support.”
Diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and other chronic conditions, Ruby Jean died after being taken off life support. Goode was only 14.
“The agony in myself and my mom and my siblings and my aunts—it’s something that I would never forget, and I still don’t forget it to this day,” Goode recalled. “And so I made a silent vow going from funeral to funeral that I was gonna tell people who my grandmother was one day.”
That vow became action after a transformative experience while working as a catastrophe insurance adjuster. On a trip to Los Angeles, he joined friends in watching the documentary “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead,” which explores the health benefits of juice cleansing.
Goode completed his own seven-day cleanse and stated that the experience inspired him.
“I had this clarity, this self-awareness that I had never experienced. I had been a collegiate athlete, but I never experienced this level of mental and emotional and spiritual awareness. And I said, ‘I’ve been doing life wrong.’”
From then on, Goode planned trips around visiting juice bars, carried a portable juicer, and started tracking menus and recipes. Eventually, he realized that consuming juice wasn’t enough—he wanted to bring it to others.
Despite earning over six figures, Goode left his job, tapped into his 401(k), took on debt, and opened Ruby Jean’s Juicery in Kansas City.
Since its launch in 2015, the business has experienced significant growth. Ruby Jean’s products are now sold at more than 100 Whole Foods Market stores across major cities, including Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, and Chicago, and served at venues such as CPKC Stadium and Loews Hotels.
Reflecting on the company’s mission, Goode explained, “I can always point to ways that we’re growing… taking this message of a healthier existence, a message that I wish my grandma had, and making sure that it’s delivered to people that are currently just like my grandmother was back then.”
According to the Ruby Jean Juicery website, Ruby Jean’s juices are made from fresh fruits and vegetables and prepared cold-pressed without the addition of water, sugars, or preservatives.
Not only is the product available in stores across the United States, but it’s also available for sale online.
Ruby Jean’s Juicery offers cleansing packages on their website, aiming to make health accessible to those just getting started.
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