FLINT, Michigan — Sa’eed Littlejohn, founder of the fresh juice brand Healthy Side, hails from Flint where he grew up on the city’s south side. He completed his education at Southwestern Academy before moving to California where he married and started a family. During his time there, the thought of juicing fruits and vegetables was far from his mind.

However, between the ages of 30 and 40, he underwent a significant life change by converting to Islam and becoming a devoted Sunni Muslim, also entering into a new marriage. The proud father of eight soon returned to his hometown of Flint where he now resides.

Littlejohn embarked on his juicing journey in 2020 when the pandemic prompted a reevaluation of his family’s eating habits. Initially, the juicer remained underused after its purchase, but eventually, his children became his enthusiastic critics and testers.

A variety of juices Healthy Side offers. (Jerimiah Whitehead | Flintside.com)
His wife, meanwhile, bolstered his efforts by sharing videos of others juicing fruits and vegetables, spurring him to experiment with new recipes and even consider selling his creations. Through persistent trial and error and thorough research, he refined and perfected his juicing recipes.

Healthy Side offers a variety of juices, including 'The Getup,' an energizing orange-colored juice; 'Beets,' a red juice rich in iron for the blood; 'Money Green,' a detoxifying green juice; and 'Blue Breeze,' a delightful blue juice often compared to blue Kool-Aid due to its flavor. His apple lemon juice is crafted with children in mind as it's the perfect blend of sweetness and the familiar taste of lemonade.

Aside from selling fresh juices, Littlejohn also helps customers with specific preferences and health concerns create a personalized regimen tailored to their needs and lifestyles. Flintside met up with the health-focused entrepreneur to discuss his juicing journey, picking the right ingredients, balancing business and fatherhood, and plans for the future.

Sa’eed Littlejohn outside of Comma Bookstore in downtown Flint. (Jerimiah Whitehead | Flintside.com)Flintside: What do people assume about you because you promote a healthy lifestyle?

Sa'eed Littlejohn: “I think the misconception comes from people being overly aggressive. With me, I’m not trying to do that. I’m trying to balance and have something where we can implement something healthy and still taste good.”

Flintside: What made you want to start selling juices?

S. Littlejohn: “My cousin’s a truck driver and he used to go across the country and drink juices at juice bars. He used to come to my house all the time and it’ll just happen that I’ll be juicing. He told me I should sell my juices and that they were just as good or better than the ones he tried elsewhere. So, one day, I set up my juices outside of where I pray and said I would try it. As the people came in to pray, I was like, ‘taste this.’ So they were tasting it. They were buying it, and they liked them. So that’s how it popped off, man.”

Flintside: I see one of your juices contains beet juice. What made you include that in your recipe?

S. Littlejohn: “I always wanted to get beet juice to our community because the majority of Black women have low iron. As a community, [our] iron is low, but [you] don’t know it if you’re not going to the doctor. So I was like, I have to get this beet juice to the community but nobody eats beets. I finally got it to taste right and that’s when I knew I was on to something. After drinking it, an hour later, people called me and asked, ‘What did you put in here? Why do I have energy?’ It’s because your iron was low.” 

Sa’eed Littlejohn toasts to good health with one of his fresh juices from Healthy Side. (Jerimiah Whitehead | Flintside.com)Flintside: How has fatherhood impacted your life and your business?

S. Littlejohn: “It’s a lot of responsibility. In Islam, the man is responsible for [his wife, kids, mother] and himself. I’m 53. I’m in a good space right now but I’ve always been a provider. My kids can never say we didn’t have food and clothes. I should have handled some stuff differently when they were growing up. I was too hard on my older sons. I was thinking that’s what’s going to help them be a man but it should have been something else. It’s a job [being a man]. It’s a struggle but it’s a good struggle once you figure it out. You’ll know how to navigate it better. It’s a maturity thing. Some people get it sooner than others, though.”

Flintside: How can your juice bar restore Flint?

S. Littlejohn: “When you’re healthy, your mind is healthy. My juices make you feel better which in turn makes you be better to other people instead of thinking violently or angry all the time. If your body is healthy, your mind will be, too. I think I can play a part in helping the community by changing our eating habits — the way we eat, the way we drink — and make it more peaceful.”

To learn more about Healthy Side and to place an order, visit the website or text or call: 810-226-0829. Also, stay connected with Healthy Side on Instagram for updates and offers.