Our Story

Happy healthy moments.

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These are the three words that set the foundation for Zenblen's vision.

Like a lot of people, our team found it difficult to juggle healthy eating and trying to routinely exercise on a busy work schedule. Between long meetings, travel days, and additional commitments, we often don't have the time to make healthy choices.

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That is why we set out to create Zenblen - a network of tech-enabled smoothie bars. We provide the option to fuel your body with a fresh and healthy smoothie that's made right in front of you.

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Find happy and healthy moments with Zenblen!

The Team

Tom Xinyuan Zhang

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Tom is our Co-Founder and CEO. What started out as a daily protein shake for over eight years has evolved into the inspiration for Zenblen's smoothie portfolio. Tom previously worked as a strategy consultant, where he leveraged data driven recommendations to help clients grow their businesses. More importantly, Tom started the office tradition of Smoothie Fridays. Tom holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Chicago.

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Fun fact about Tom: He named himself Tom after the famous feline from Tom & Jerry when he emigrated from China.

Constantine Bovalis

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Constantine is the lead engineer at Zenblen. He joins us with extensive experience in mechanical engineering, robotics, and software development. In his free time, Constantine loves developing complex 3D puzzles, some of which have been sold around the world! He's sees the Zenblen kiosk as his next puzzle: a puzzle he's determined to solve to ensure we never have to clean a blender again! Constantine graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Northern Illinois University.

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Fun fact about Constantine: He has played the clarinet for almost 15 years and has been known to jump on stage with random Greek bands here in Chicago!

Connor McDermott

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Connor is Zenblen's in-house dietetics and nutritional consultant. Connor received his B.S. in dietetic sciences from Western Michigan University and is currently pursuing his masters in nutritional science at the University of New Hampshire. With more than half a decade of experience in the food industry, Connor ensures all our smoothies taste delicious and fuel your body with the optimal blend of nutrients. In addition, Connor has a passion for sustainable food and advises Zenblen on our ingredient sourcing.  

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Fun fact about Connor: He practices judo competitively and also volunteers at the Michigan Blind Athlete Associate to teach the sport to visually impaired youth.

Travis Wert

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Travis joins Zenblen to help with strategy and operations. He brings experience in strategy consulting, competitive analysis, and private investments, and also founded his own logistics startup while in college. Travis was also one of the first participants in Tom’s Smoothie Fridays and has since then grown his desire to bring accessible, healthy smoothies to market. Travis received his B.B.A. in both Finance and Applied Math from the University of Notre Dame.

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Fun Fact: Travis has traveled to over 20 countries and can make cacio e pepe that rivals most trattorie in Rome.

Stephanie Mellinger

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Stephanie is our Co-Founder and Head of Marketing and Sales. She joins the team having worked in Marketing & Sales at multiple Fortune 500 companies, gaining experience that helps her drive company growth. She also played rugby for over six years and has her Personal Training Certification. Fitness and health are always at the top of her mind as she usually starts her day leading a group fitness class or two! Stephanie received her B.S. in Marketing from Ferris State University with a minor in Spanish.

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Fun Fact about Stephanie: She is scuba certified and has dove in seven different countries.

Daniel "DJ" Weis

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DJ handles our finances, and crunches our numbers. As a former defender for the University of Chicago varsity soccer team, he is used to focusing on minor details to ensure nothing sneaks by his watch. DJ brings experience in asset management working for global financial institutions. He graduated with a B.A. in both Economics and Public Policy from the University of Chicago.

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Fun fact about DJ: He takes no prisoners when it comes to Dance Dance Revolution.

Leon Evans

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Leon helps on the consumer product and finance aspects of our business. He brings experience in sales, category management and trade funding from his time at General Mills, and M&A experience from his time at J.P. Morgan. Leon loves making and drinking smoothies and is an avid runner and triathlete. He graduated with an MBA from the Chicago Booth School of Business and got his  B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Florida.

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Fun fact about Leon: Just signed up for his first ultra marathon this spring after deciding 26.2 miles wasn't "long enough".

Ashley Scharff

Ashley joins the Zenblen team to help with operations. She brings go-to market, planning and product management experience as part of a global product operations team for a large financial services corporation. Prior to that, she worked with several Fortune 500 companies to optimize technology and operations as a management consultant. She holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

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Fun fact: She spends her free time traveling, exploring the outdoors, and teaching yoga.

Janine Zhong

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Janine is our product design intern. She received her Bachelor in Industrial Design from Dalian University of Technology, and she is currently completing her Master in Design Research and Strategy from the IIT Institute of Design. Janine was one of the incredibly talented students we worked with at IIT this past fall. She helped craft our beautiful kiosk design, and also played a major role in the design of the ordering screen. After the collaboration, she decided to join the team and continue developing the kiosk design using human-centered approaches.

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Fun fact about Janine: She can make restaurant-quality egg fried rice!