Jamba Juice
Encyclopedia
Smoothie
A smoothie is a blended and sometimes sweetened beverage made from fresh fruit and in special cases can contain chocolate or peanut butter. In addition to fruit, many smoothies include crushed ice, frozen fruit, honey or contain syrup and ice ingredients...
restaurants, headquartered in Emeryville, California
Emeryville, California
Emeryville is a small city located in Alameda County, California, in the United States. It is located in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, extending to the shore of San Francisco Bay. Its proximity to San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, the University of California, Berkeley, and...
, with over 700 locations operating in 30 states, the Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
, Canada, Korea, and the Philippines. Over 500 locations are company-owned, with the remainder being franchised
Franchising
Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....
. For the Fiscal Year ending on December 29, 2009 sales were $302 million, which included sales of $296 million from company locations.
History
Jamba Juice was founded in April 1990 at the California Polytechnic State UniversityCalifornia Polytechnic State University
California Polytechnic State University, or Cal Poly, is a public university located in San Luis Obispo, California, United States. The university is one of two polytechnic campuses in the 23-member California State University system....
by Kirk Perron, along with co-founders Joe Vergara, Kevin Peters, and Linda Ozawa Olds. It was incorporated in 1990 as Juice Club, Inc. in San Luis Obispo, California
San Luis Obispo, California
San Luis Obispo is a city in California, located roughly midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the Central Coast. Founded in 1772 by Spanish Fr. Junipero Serra, San Luis Obispo is one of California’s oldest communities...
. It is known as one of the leaders in the quick-serve fruit and vegetable juice market nationwide.
Juice Club Inc. of San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
changed its store name to Jamba Juice in 1995. Said founder Perron:
In August 1997, Jamba entered into an operating agreement with Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market is a foods supermarket chain based in Austin, Texas which emphasizes "natural and organic products." The company has been ranked among the most socially responsible businesses and placed third on the U.S...
to sell only "natural" products inside some of the Whole Foods's locations, including Jamba's smoothies' ingredients. For this reason, offerings at Whole Foods sites may differ from those at stand-alone sites.
Jamba Juice acquired all nationwide Zuka Juice, Inc. stores in March 1999. Zuka Juice was founded in Orem, Utah
Orem, Utah
Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the north-central part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is about south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Utah and...
by Dave Duffin and also was a prominent smoothie company at the time. Since then, Jamba Juice has expanded to become one of the nation's best known smoothie chains, emphasizing the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.
Since entering the market in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in June 2004, Jamba Juice has opened 19 locations across the city, and it continues to open more locations. The first location was at Columbus Circle
Columbus Circle
Columbus Circle, named for Christopher Columbus, is a major landmark and point of attraction in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, Central Park South , and Central Park West, at the southwest corner of Central Park. It is the point from...
and 59th Street in the basement of the Time Warner Center
Time Warner Center
The Time Warner Center is a mixed-use skyscraper developed by AREA Property Partners and The Related Companies in New York City. Its design, by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, consists of two 750 ft towers bridged by a multi-story atrium containing upscale retail shops...
and is part of the Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market is a foods supermarket chain based in Austin, Texas which emphasizes "natural and organic products." The company has been ranked among the most socially responsible businesses and placed third on the U.S...
seating area. Other locations include one south of Union Square
Union Square (New York City)
Union Square is a public square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York.It is an important and historic intersection, located where Broadway and the former Bowery Road – now Fourth Avenue – came together in the early 19th century; its name celebrates neither the...
, Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
, Tribeca
TriBeCa
Tribeca is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York in the United States. Its name is an acronym based on the words "Triangle below Canal Street", and is properly bounded by Canal Street, West Street, Broadway, and Vesey Street...
, and one in the Port Authority Bus Terminal
Port Authority Bus Terminal
The Port Authority Bus Terminal is the main gateway for interstate buses into Manhattan in New York City...
.
On March 13, 2006, Jamba Juice agreed to be acquired by Services Acquisition Corp. International for $265 million. Services Acquisition is headed by Steven Berrard, former CEO of Blockbuster Inc. Upon the closing of the transaction, the publicly traded Services Acquisition changed its name to Jamba, Inc.
In reaction to the chain's decline in smoothie sales, Jamba, Inc underwent its biggest transformation in June 2009 when it started to offer a line of sandwiches, salads, and flat breads in all of its California stores and within the next year, all its stores nationwide.
In July 2009, in promoting its new line of products, Jamba Juice was criticized for running an ad campaign which was described as a "ripoff" of the work of cartoonist David Rees
David Rees (cartoonist)
David Thomas Rees is a left-wing cartoonist and humorist whose best-known work combines bland clip art with outrageous "trash talk" to incongruous effect...
. The ad campaign looked similar to Rees' "Get Your War On" series. Rees was informed of the Jamba Juice ads by a fan who sent in a letter. Rees stated that "Jamba Juice bit my style, with no credit, and it's kind of disrespectful."
Nutrition
Jamba Juice uses real fruit and processed fruit juices from concentrateConcentrate
A concentrate is a form of substance which has had the majority of its base component removed. Typically this will be the removal of water from a solution or suspension such as the removal of water from fruit juice...
. All smoothies, except for its "All Fruit Smoothies," contain another ingredient, as per the recipe: sherbet, frozen yogurt, sorbet, plain yogurt, low-calorie dairy base, chocolate base, or soymilk.
Jamba Juice is frequently criticized for selling smoothies with more sugar than is recommended by the USDA to consume in one day. Because of this, Jamba Juice introduced "Enlightened Smoothies" in 2004 with less sugar and fewer calories and carbohydrates. They have since been renamed "Jamba Light." The Lower-calorie dairy base (formerly called Enlightened Base) is made with Splenda
Splenda
Splenda is the commercial name and registered trade mark of a sucralose-based artificial sweetener derived from sugar, owned by the British company Tate & Lyle. Sucralose was discovered by Tate & Lyle and researchers at Queen Elizabeth College, University of London, in 1976...
, non-fat milk and Whey Protein.
In addition to the smoothies, Jamba Juice sells fresh-squeezed orange juice
Orange juice
Orange juice is a popular beverage made from oranges. It is made by extraction from the fresh fruit, by desiccation and subsequent reconstitution of dried juice, or by concentration of the juice and the subsequent addition of water to the concentrate...
and carrot juice
Carrot juice
Carrot juice is juice produced from carrots, often consumed as a health drink. Carrot juice has a particularly high content of β-carotene, a source of vitamin A, but it is also high in B complex vitamins like folate, and many minerals including calcium, copper, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, and...
, as well as wheatgrass
Wheatgrass
Wheatgrass is a food prepared from the cotyledons of the common wheat plant, Triticum aestivum. It is sold either as a juice or powder concentrate. Wheatgrass differs from wheat malt in that it is served freeze-dried or fresh, while wheat malt is convectively dried. Wheatgrass is also allowed to...
juice shots. Jamba Juice also offers a substitute to coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, for a caffeine fix, called Matcha
Matcha
refers to finely-milled green tea, most popular in Japan. The cultural activity called the Japanese tea ceremony centers on the preparation, serving, and drinking of matcha. In modern times, matcha has also come to be used to flavour and dye foods such as mochi and soba noodles, green tea ice cream...
Green Tea, which can be taken in a smoothie or as a small 4-ounce shot with soy milk, orange juice, or a mixture of the two, called a "Matcha Dream Shot". All of these are similar to an espresso shot with a more appetizing taste to some. Jamba Juice also offers boosts (dietary supplement
Dietary supplement
A dietary supplement, also known as food supplement or nutritional supplement, is a preparation intended to supplement the diet and provide nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids, or amino acids, that may be missing or may not be consumed in sufficient quantities in a person's diet...
s). Each smoothie and yogurt blend comes with the option of one free boost addition, from a selection of six such as Soy Protein, Immunity, Energy and Daily Vitamin. The Protein Berry Workout, Acai Super Antioxidant, Coldbuster and Strawberry Energizer each come with a boost, so upon purchasing, the consumer has the option of adding an extra boost in addition to the boost already added. Extra boosts, such as Matcha, Whey Protein, Antioxidant, 3G Charger, Flax & Fiber, Probiotic or another of any of the four free boosts may be added for fifty cents. Prices vary by region (a medium size smoothie ranges from about $3.85 to $5).
Any smoothie can be modified from its standard recipe. Every customer has the opportunity to remove ingredients and substitute others. This is recommended to customers who have varied dietary needs.
Jamba Juice debuted its new organic steel-cut oatmeal in January 2009. The oatmeal is freshly prepared every morning with soy milk and includes toppings such as brown sugar crumble, fresh banana, blackberry-blueberry, apple cinnamon and berry cherry pecan.
Flavors
Flavors as of November 2011:Classic Smoothies:
Aloha Pineapple,
Peach Pleasure,
Pomegranate Pick-Me-Up,
Razzmatazz,
Strawberries Wild,
Strawberry Surf Rider,
Orange-A-Peel,
Mango-A-Go-Go,
Banana Berry,
Caribbean Passion
All Fruit Smoothies:
Five Fruit Frenzy,
Mega Mango,
Peach Perfection,
Pomegranate Paradise,
Strawberry Whirl
Fruit and Veggie Smoothies:
Apple N' Greens,
Berry UpBEET,
Orange Carrot Karma
Probiotic Fruit and Yogurt Blend:
Strawberries Alive,
Vibrant Blueberry,
Thrivin' Mango
Pre-Boosted Smoothies:
Acai Super Antioxidant,
Protein Berry Workout,
The Cold Buster
Jamba Light Smoothies:
Berry Fulfilling,
Mango Mantra,
Strawberry Nirvana
Creamy Treats:
Chocolate Moo'd,
Coffee Craze,
Match Green Blast,
Mocha Mojo,
Orange Dream Machine,
Peanut Butter Moo'd,
Pumpkin Smash
2007 Nestlé deal and entrance into breakfast foods
In December 2007, it was announced that Jamba would be partnering with NestléNestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
to lend its name to a line of healthy, ready-to-drink beverages under the Jamba brand. They will offer two different products: Smoothies and Juices. On December 19, 2008, a press release from Nestle USA and Jamba Juice announced suspension of Jamba ready-to-drink products due to "...challenges...with manufacturing on a consistent basis, resulting in inventory and out-of-stock issues."
See also
- Booster JuiceBooster JuiceBooster Juice is Canada's largest chain of fresh juice and smoothie bars. The chain specializes in health-conscious smoothies composed of a pure juice, fruit sorbet or vanilla frozen yogurt, frozen fruit, fresh yogurt and ice...
- MilkshakeMilkshakeA milkshake is a sweet, cold beverage which is made from milk, ice cream or iced milk, and flavorings or sweeteners such as fruit syrup or chocolate sauce....
- Orange JuliusOrange JuliusOrange Julius is a chain of fruit drink beverage stores. It has been in business since the late 1920s. The eponymous beverage is a mixture of orange juice, milk, sugar, ice and vanilla flavoring.- History :...
- RobeksRobeksRobeks is a smoothie franchise chain headquartered in Los Angeles, California....
- SmoothieSmoothieA smoothie is a blended and sometimes sweetened beverage made from fresh fruit and in special cases can contain chocolate or peanut butter. In addition to fruit, many smoothies include crushed ice, frozen fruit, honey or contain syrup and ice ingredients...
External links
- Jamba Juice Official Website
- Podcast interview with Linda Olds
- Jamba Juice: Fiber Boost: What's in the Fiber Boost?
- Jamba Secret Flavors Unveiled Secret Flavor blog