KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 — A good café has always been about more than coffee. It is about creating a place people return to.
For conversation. For comfort. For food and drinks that leave them feeling just as fresh as they are full.
For Surender Kumar and Emma Jasmin, the married founders of Ruits Juices, nothing exemplifies that idea better than their Pixie Dust Smoothie Bowl.
A vivid blend of mixed berries, banana, coconut water and yoghurt. Crowned with the café’s crunchy golden granola, made in-house. Scarlet berries tumble across its surface, contrasting with slices of banana.
This is the sort of breakfast that looks indulgent even as it celebrates fresh ingredients.
But their particular story did not begin with cold-pressed juices and smoothie bowls, however.
Long before these beverages and dishes became fixtures in their cafés in Malaysia, the couple were talking about coffee.
Rather, it was during a conversation thousands of miles away, inside South Coast Roast in Bournemouth, England, that the first seeds of Ruits Juices were planted.
Emma was still based in the UK then, contemplating her return to Malaysia and considering her next career move. As they spoke about the future, one question lingered.
“While we were both in the coffee industry, we realised there was a gap in the more balanced options available in cafés in Malaysia,” Emma recalls.
“We were talking about future plans and wondering why juices were not part of Malaysian café culture. Having been in the coffee industry, we knew we had a way in.”
Today, Ruits Juices Malaysia has grown from those early conversations into a venture with outlets at The Linc KL, Radia Bukit Jelutong and JAM PJ.
From freshly-made smoothies to top-notch coffee, there is something for almost everyone. Behind the counter, bottles of jewel-toned juices line the refrigerated shelves while espresso machines hiss.
Those looking for a quick pick-me-up gravitate towards juices such as Hot Stuff, a citrusy blend of orange, lemon, grapefruit and ginger; Beet It, combining beetroot, apple and carrot; or Glow Up, which brings together apple, cucumber and spinach.
Blenders whirl frozen fruits into thick smoothie bowls finished with generous handfuls of house-made granola and fresh seasonal fruit.
Among the favourites are the Mean Green, blending mango, banana, spinach, avocado, coconut water and coconut milk, and the Elvis, a comforting combination of banana, peanut butter, cinnamon and almond milk.
Alongside them are hearty salads dressed with recipes developed in-house, and café fare that emphasises fresh produce over processed shortcuts.
For Surender — better known in coffee circles as Suren — the transition from championship barista to juice entrepreneur was more connected than it might first appear.
Crowned the 2023 Malaysia Barista Champion and a representative at the World Barista Championship, Suren had spent years refining his palate and learning from everyone he met. Those lessons now shape every aspect of Ruits.
“My journey in specialty coffee taught me that quality is never accidental. It comes from understanding ingredients deeply, respecting the work involved and constantly refining the final experience for the customer,” he says.
When Ruits first launched, the duo noticed that many options in the market carried unintended barriers.
“While there were options available, many felt either overly complicated or disconnected from everyday lifestyles,” says Suren. “We believe food should be enjoyable and approachable, while removing the stigma that eating well has to be restrictive or difficult.”
This philosophy is personal for Emma, who grew up during the early days of social media. She recalls, “Tumblr, Twitter and the era of ‘nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.’ Like many people from that generation, I struggled with an eating disorder.”
Fortunately Emma eventually realised restrictive diets could damage both her mental and physical health.
She says, “Recovery led me to whole foods, superfoods, and a deep personal study of nutrition. That experience is the reason Ruits is built around real, wholesome ingredients.”
The challenge, of course, extends beyond simply offering different alternatives. For many consumers, nutritious food still conjures images of bland salads, punishing diets and expensive routines.
Ruits has responded by prioritising flavour first.
Emma shares, “Every one of our flavours contains an ingredient I don’t like, but it is paired with one of my favourite fruits to make it pleasant and something I would actually drink again and again.”
She adds, “When we introduced our salad bar at The Linc KL, our main priority was to make salads less intimidating and easier to eat.”
On weekday afternoons, office workers queue beside gym-goers while regulars stop in for salads before heading back upstairs.
It is the sort of steady lunchtime trade the founders had hoped to cultivate: customers dropping by not for a once-in-a-while indulgence, but as part of their everyday routines.
Like many food and beverage entrepreneurs, the founders quickly discovered that passion alone was not enough.
“One of our biggest challenges was balancing ambition with limited resources,” says Suren. “In the early days, we had to be extremely careful with every decision, from managing inventory and production to building brand awareness with a modest budget.”
Emma adds, “The early days of Ruits were the most challenging. We were home-based and I was working six to seven days a week, 10 to 16 hours a day. It was physically exhausting, but at the time it was necessary to take us to the next level.”
The opening of The Linc outlet brought fresh challenges.
“We faced renovation hiccups and delays, a lack of staff, and all of this came while I was still adjusting to my existing responsibilities at our central kitchen,” says Emma.
“I also underestimated how much marketing would be needed to bring people to the shop. I was definitely naïve going in, but I know I grew so much from it all.”
Their experiences have also made the couple cautious about growth. Rather than chase outlet numbers, they prefer measured expansion that preserves consistency and quality.
“Whenever we evaluate new opportunities, we ask whether they align with our mission,” says Emma. “If an idea does not support that, we are comfortable saying no, even if it appears attractive in the short term.”
Looking ahead, the founders hope Ruits can contribute to a broader shift where fresh, flavourful food is not viewed as separate from our country’s beloved culinary traditions.
Suren says, “Instead, I believe there is an opportunity to create options that complement the way Malaysians already eat and live.”
Even as the menu continues to evolve, it reflects the couple’s belief that familiar flavours and carefully sourced produce can happily exist side by side.
Beyond their own business ambitions, the couple envision a community built on trust and care.
“We want to push the limits of whole foods and explore how far you can make something nourishing taste genuinely delicious,” says Emma.
“We want to create a culture where grabbing a refreshing drink or a meal does not make you think twice about how it will make you feel afterwards.”
One can’t help but cheer them on. Beyond flavour and familiarity, this dynamic duo is making healthy food fun again.
Ruits Juices
The Linc:
1-6-AF First Floor, The Linc,
Jln Tun Razak, KL.
Open daily 10am-9pm.
Radia:
UG-03A, Radia Retail,
Persiaran Arked, Bukit Jelutong,
Shah Alam.
Open daily (except Sun closed) 9am-5pm.
JAM PJ:
Lot LG16, No. 15B,
Jalan 13/6, PJ.
Open Mon-Fri 10am-8pm, Sat-Sun 9am-8pm.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruitsjuices/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruits_my/
For more food fables and café chronicles, visit Life for Beginners.
