What began as a childhood friendship has grown into a business partnership.

Last week, Healeo juices made their way onto Homegrown store shelves at the Mercer Island and South Lake Union locations. The Seattle-based juice company specializes in serving juices and smoothies with a focus on the concept of serving food as medicine.

The partnership traces from a local connection for the two businesses. Healeo is owned by Justin Brotman and managed by Mercer Island High School alum Bobby Mahdavi, the latter whom grew up with Homegrown founders Ben Friedman and Ben Gillis on Mercer Island.

“They were a few classes behind me,” said Mahdavi. “We’re all local boys trying to reach our dreams, and we’ve banded together.”

Mahdavi said Healeo juices are highly functional, formulated exclusively from natural, whole-food ingredients. Organically grown and processed to preserve natural vitamins and nutrients, Healeo juices are organic and 100 percent vegetarian.

Brotman founded Healeo in 2008, and Mahdavi became Brotman’s business partner in 2012. Mahdavi said the juice company’s food as medicine concept was one he initially met with skepticism. It wasn’t until his younger brother and former professional football player, Ben Mahdavi, used the food as medicine concept while recovering from injuries that he became more of a believer.

“It fascinates me that people believe, ‘If I eat a certain way, it will cure me,’” Mahdavi said. “I never heard about this, I never believed it. I thought it was kind of voodoo, but you see people go through these transformations and see people cure themselves.”

Mahdavi said he knew Friedman and Gillis through Hebrew School, and they grew up playing basketball together at the JCC as kids. He said it’s a pretty special feeling working in food with two other local homegrown friends from the same community.

Through Healeo, he looks forward to participating in the whole experience of food as medicine with those who try his juices.

“I think the most exciting part is that we’re measuring our success not on how much we make, but on helping others,” Mahdavi said. “To me, Healeo is about creating a culture and a lifestyle instead of a place where people can grab a juice or a smoothie. That to me is most exciting.”

Healeo juices are currently available at various Cafe Vitta locations, Central Co-op and will soon debut in Whole Foods locations.

For more, visit their website at www.healeo.com.