Armed with vibrantly colored and highly caffeinated loaded teas, Rouge Nutrition opened five years ago and has been under the ownership of Greg Carroll for the past three. The store offers hundreds of flavor combinations, many different shakes and is currently in the process of putting together a coffee bar. It officially dropped its fall menu on Sept. 18 with drinks like “Fall Y’all” and Autumn Breeze.
Employees Heather Milner and Maddie Erikson both wake up at 5 a.m. to get ready for their 6 a.m. shift at Rouge Nutrition. Unlike many college students, they don’t sigh at their early wake-up time. The two said that they come into work excited because of the family they’ve made since starting work in the spring, even to the point where they come in on their days off.
“It’s not common that a college student would want to get up at 5 a.m., but it’s so fun working here that it’s worth it,” Erikson said.
Both Milner and Erikson are full-time students at LSU, balancing schoolwork and the job. They said they’re hoping to go beyond just adding more menu items by modernizing the store and amping up its presence on social media in an effort to “youth Greg up.”
Instead of just talking to someone at the register, making their drink and then watching them walk out the door, Erikson said they try to make themselves stand out compared to if a customer went somewhere like Starbucks. She said they try to make a connection with everyone that walks into the store, whether it’s a regular or a first-time shopper. Milner said she’s never seen her time there as a job.
Familiar faces include officers from the Baton Rouge Police Department, healthcare professionals from the nearby hospitals and so many more people from all walks of life, they said. During Hurricane Francine, the store stayed open for a few extra hours to make sure everyone was energized for the storm.
“We have so many regular customers that come in and we see their car, so we start making it because we already know what they are going to get,” Erikson said. “So I feel like there’s just that family aspect that is what sets us apart from every other place.”
Milner recalled a story she heard from the owner, Carroll, about a conversation he had with a customer. After making their drink and conversing, the customer looked at Carroll and told him that before he walked into the store, he planned on jumping off a bridge that day. They went on to tell Carroll that might have sounded a bit extreme, but that one conversation “saved them” because someone just asked how they were doing. It’s the little things like that, they said.
“We want to be your friends and everyone that walks into the door is so unique and different,” Milner said. “We try to give back to the community when we can.”
Milner said loaded teas don’t have the usual side effects of a usual energy drink like a Red Bull or Celsius. Each drink has 200 milligrams of caffeine, all from natural sources like stevia and guarana extracts. Milner said these ingredients, along with the absence of carbs and sugar make it so that the one drinking it doesn’t have a crash afterwards. Instead, they help with mental clarity and focus, she said.
Beyond just the regular drinks, customers can add on to their orders by putting supplements that have a range of benefits for hair, skin and nails. Many of their additions include protein, which draws in the attention of gym goers. These endless combinations have made over 700 different possible drinks, Milner said. Erikson’s personal favorite is the “Blackjack” and Milner’s is the “Jimmy Buffet.”
“Everyone can find something that they like here,” Erikson said.
Lily Wester has lived in Baton Rouge for all 21 years of her life and took her first sip of a “Bahama Mama” flavored loaded tea in her junior year of high school. She said that she was sick and tired of the taste of coffee, so her friend offered her a taste of the alternative. This had her hooked.
In the span of those four years, Wester said that she has seen the industry grow from about three stores in Baton Rouge to over ten, one of those being Rouge Nutrition. Now, she even makes them herself as these stores sell the ingredients to do so. Her go-to drink at Rouge is “Extreme Nerds.”
“I have shown a lot of my out-of-state friends loaded teas, especially within my sorority because we now have the stuff to make our own in the house,” Wester said.
As the store is growing and adding more drinks, stay updated by following them on Instagram @rougenutritionbr.
“We are more than just a nutrition club, we are a family,” Carroll said.
