How to Build Your Rainy Season Immunity Kit—One Juice at a Time

These days, keeping our health in check takes extra effort. Colds start making rounds, coughs follow, and before you know it, you’re down with a fever. We all know that bundling up with jackets, eating a well-balanced meal, and boosting our vitamin C intake can help prevent the flu, but homegrown brand Pure Nectar takes it a step further by bottling cold-pressed juices that not only support immunity, but also make healthy living more enjoyable.  

The science behind cold-pressing

Arielle Escalona Puno and Alan Escalona. Photo courtesy of Pure Nectar.

Pure Nectar is led by managing director Arielle Escalona Puno, who runs the brand alongside her family of doctors, including her father, a medical graduate-turned-entrepreneur who founded his own company, Fruit Magic, in 1993. As one of the pioneers of fresh fruit shakes in the Philippines, Fruit Magic was born out of her dad’s health-first mindset and business instincts. “From the start, it was a healthy household,” Puno shares. She was raised in a family that valued wellness and was also exposed to entrepreneurship early on, often helping out with Fruit Magic. 

Interestingly, Pure Nectar first began as a juice line under Fruit Magic. While Fruit Magic were fruit shakes crafted with blenders, Pure Nectar’s juices were first made in-store using a traditional juicer, where customers could pick their fruits and vegetables for fresh extraction. Puno explains that while quick and ideal, that method uses “centrifugal force, introducing heat in the process, which causes the juices to ferment quickly.” She adds, “We used to tell customers to drink it within 15 to 20 minutes to maximize the nutrients.”

But with cold-pressing, it all makes the difference. Puno explains, “We found a machine that is highly industrial. It doesn’t use any heat and it applies around 14,000 pounds of pressure to extract all the vitamins from the produce.” She says, “This is as close to actually eating the fruit itself, but with the convenience of a bottle.”

Inside the bottle

Photo courtesy of Pure Nectar

Apart from the method they use, what goes into each blend matters just as much. Pure Nectar’s formulations are created by Puno’s cousin, a practicing functional medicine doctor, who selects fruit and vegetable combinations that work best with each other. “Before, I didn’t know that some nutrients can actually cancel each other out. There’s a lot of science behind it,” she says. And while green juices may seem off-putting at first, that’s where Puno steps in to make sure their blends are delicious. “There’s a notion that if it’s green or if it’s healthy, it doesn’t taste good. So, I wanted to change that and create a good balance.”

One of their juices, the Alka Boost, combines kale, apple, pineapple, cucumber, spinach, and organic cane sugar. “It sounds intimidating, but the taste profile is actually very sweet. You wouldn’t even know it’s green juice,” Puno says. Other recommended introductory flavors by Puno are those with familiar profiles to the Filipino market. “For those who want to get into these juices, we also have bottles with calamansi, dalandan, buko pandan, coconut juice, and mango.”

Pure Nectar has also developed lifestyle sets, each made to target a specific need. For example, their Immunity Essential Set is perfect for the rainy season, with a bundle of eight vitamin C-rich juices. “These juices blend citrus and greens to help support the body’s immune system,” Puno shares. While there’s no strict way to consume them, she recommends drinking the juices first thing in the morning on an empty stomach for better nutrient absorption. She notes, “You can still drink it any time of day. It’s not medicine, there’s no prescription. We want people to indulge.”

And the best part? Pure Nectar is one of the few juices that claim to be 100 percent plant-based, with no added sugar, preservatives, or artificial additives. “We’re one of the very few who really stuck to it. It’s really hard to replicate,” Puno shares. “From choosing the right farms, timing the harvests, and cleaning off all the herbicides and wax, everything has to be just right before we even begin juicing.” 

To ensure everything is ready for consumers, Puno says that Pure Nectar operates in an FDA-approved facility and partakes in quarterly training with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), complying with third-party audits and investing in research and development. 

A balanced lifestyle 

Photo courtesy of Pure Nectar.

Part of Pure Nectar’s belief is guided by traditional Chinese medicine and naturopathic principles. Puno explains how the concept of yin and yang serves as a guide, how it balances aspects like fruits and vegetables, or warm and cooling ingredients to create blends that support digestion, circulation, and overall wellness.

Still, Puno emphasizes that Pure Nectar should not be a substitute for vitamins or a good diet, but serve as a supplement to a healthy lifestyle. “There are a lot of vitamins and minerals we can’t get solely from fruits and vegetables,” she explains. “Number one is protein.” For her, being holistic is key. “You need to move, eat intentionally, and make sure what you consume gives you energy to function.”

With the brand’s steady growth, Pure Nectar has now expanded beyond the Philippines and has moved into international markets. “It’s humbling to see that people everywhere are seeking better options, and we’ve been able to meet them where they are,” Puno says. As the season continues to pour, Pure Nectar serves as a reminder that there are many ways to strengthen immunity, and theirs is a healthy, tasty, and convenient option in a bottle. 

View the full Pure Nectar line at https://purenectar.co/. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram @purenectar.co