The First Self Cleaning Juicer
A game changer in fresh squeeze orange juicers
Redefining Efficiency in Professional Juicing
As part of Zumex’s long-term innovation roadmap, I identified the need to redefine the professional juicing experience by addressing a core operational pain point: manual cleaning. The idea was not only to simplify a tedious daily task but also to position Zumex as a pioneer in automated hygiene solutions—a new strategic frontier in the foodservice equipment industry.
Zitrux, the world’s first self-cleaning and self-sanitizing juicer, represents a transformative leap forward in the fresh juice experience for food retail and foodservice.
Conceived through a design thinking process, the project combined deep user research, collaborative ideation, and iterative prototyping to address a key operational challenge: cleaning and hygiene.
Developed by a multidisciplinary team, Zitrux integrates a patented self-cleaning system that eliminates manual cleaning tasks, reduces downtime, and ensures consistent hygiene — meeting the highest industry standards.
This innovation sets a new benchmark in professional juicing, showcasing how user-centered innovation can solve real-world problems and deliver meaningful value to both operators and consumers.
Design thinking exploration
From Insight to Innovation
I led the development of the first self-cleaning professional juicer, coordinating design and R&D to create Zitrux technology, resulting in an international patent. The project followed a fast-track innovation process with user interviews, iterative prototyping, and close engineering collaboration. We designed a fully automated system that enhances food safety, saves time, and lowers ownership costs.
To find a better solution, the Zumex Innovation and Design team mapped the full user journey, identifying pain points in operation, maintenance, and interaction with citrus juicers. Combining user insights with technical feasibility, the multidisciplinary team explored multiple scenarios and iterated on solutions. The result: a breakthrough concept with a frictionless user experience.
Zitrux became the first self-cleaning citrus juicer on the market. Beyond automating cleaning — shifting from manual labor to a fully automatic cycle — the design introduced a more ergonomic fruit-loading system, reducing strain and improving workflow.
This project exemplifies how user-centered innovation and cross-functional collaboration can transform an entire category.
Designed Around the Experience
User-Centric Innovation for Food Retail
Zitrux was conceived with one priority in mind: the user experience. From the early research phase, the team focused on identifying the ideal interaction between people and machine — ensuring the solution would be not only effective, but also accessible, intuitive, and ergonomic.
The result is a user-friendly commercial juicer that resolves the main pain points previously faced by food retail operators — from complex cleaning routines to awkward, inefficient usage. Zitrux offers a frictionless experience for staff and an attractive, approachable interface for end customers.
Its integration with Zumex Connect technology brings an added layer of intelligence, enabling real-time performance monitoring and data-driven maintenance that keeps operations running smoothly with minimal intervention.
This is what happens when design, engineering and user empathy come together with a clear purpose.
Outcome & Market Impact
This innovation created a new category in the market. The product not only differentiated Zumex from traditional competitors but also expanded our value proposition to premium Food Service clients. It proved how deeply user-centric innovation can shift category standards and open new growth opportunities.
