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Jamba Juice

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Jamba
Company typeSubsidiary
Nasdaq: JMBA
FoundedSan Luis Obispo, California, U.S. (1990; 34 years ago (1990))
FounderKirk Perron
Headquarters
Atlanta, Georgia
,
United States
Number of locations
864 (2019)
Key people
Nathan Louer (Chief Brand Officer)
ParentFocus Brands
Websitewww.jamba.com

Jamba Juice, doing business as Jamba, is an American quick-service restaurant and juice bar chain that sells blended fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies and other food products. The first Jamba Juice location, originally named Juice Club, opened in 1990 in San Luis Obispo, California.[1] Jamba is owned by GoTo Foods, an affiliate of private equity firm Roark Capital Group, which completed its acquisition in 2019.[2] The company has more than 850 locations operating in 36 states in the United States, and also has locations in Australia, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, and Indonesia.

History

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Jamba Juice was opened by Kirk Perron at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Perron, who worked as a supermarket manager and was also an avid cyclist and healthy-lifestyle advocate, opened the restaurant because he was dissatisfied with the quality of post-workout snacks, saying, "The marketplace was mostly filled with fat".[3] The first restaurant, named Juice Club, opened on March 31, 1990, in San Luis Obispo, California.[4] It was incorporated in 1990 as Juice Club, Inc. in San Luis Obispo.[5][6][7][8] By 1991, Juice Club had expanded to 19 locations by franchising, but Perron later abandoned the franchise model in favor of company-owned stores. In 1995, the chain was renamed Jamba Juice, drawing from a West African word for "celebration".[3][9] Jamba Juice acquired Zuka Juice, a rival juice bar, on March 24, 1999.[10]

On March 13, 2006, Jamba Juice was purchased by Services Acquisition Corp. International for $265 million. A special-purpose acquisition company that was headed by Steven Berrard, the former CEO of Blockbuster Inc. Upon completion of the transaction, the publicly traded Services Acquisition changed its name to Jamba, Inc.[11] In June 2006, Jamba, Inc. announced it had completed a $35 million convertible preferred stock transaction.[12]

The funding was led by a $19.55 million investment by Mistral Equity Partners, a private equity fund focused on consumer products and services companies. The remaining $15.45 million investment was made by a company controlled by the Serruya Family, a successful entrepreneurial Canadian-based family who founded the Yogen Früz frozen yogurt and smoothie chain.[13]

A Jamba Juice store located along the CityWalk in Universal Studios Hollywood

In June 2009, Jamba began to shift its focus from smoothies and began selling wraps, sandwiches, and flatbreads.[14]

In July 2009, Jamba Juice was criticized for running an advertising campaign, which was described as a "ripoff" of the work of cartoonist David Rees.[15] 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."[15]

In May 2016, Jamba Juice announced the move of its corporate headquarters from Emeryville, California to Frisco, Texas, indicating the high costs of living and conducting business in the San Francisco Bay Area.[16][17] In 2019, Jamba Juice was acquired by Atlanta-based Focus Brands.[18] Also in 2019, the chain changed its name to Jamba to reflect its expanded menu and negative health connotations around the word "juice".[19]

On August 4, 2020, Jamba opened a location in Tokyo, its first in Japan.[20]

Product expansion

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In December 2007, it was announced that Jamba would partner with Nestlé to lend its name to a line of healthy, pre-prepared beverages under the Jamba brand.[21] On December 19, 2008, a press release from Nestle USA and Jamba Juice announced the suspension of Jamba pre-prepared products due to "...challenges ... with manufacturing on a consistent basis, resulting in inventory and out-of-stock issues."[22]

In 2014 Jamba Juice expanded its Fresh Juice menu, and began making juices blends to order with fresh ingredients such as kale, beets and ginger.

Innovation Bar

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Jamba Juice Innovation Bar
Map
General information
LocationOld Pasadena, Pasadena, California, US
Address60 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91105
Coordinates34°8′44.232″N 118°8′56.8248″W / 34.14562000°N 118.149118000°W / 34.14562000; -118.149118000
Construction startedSeptember 2015[23]
OpenedJuly 14, 2016 (2016-07-14)
ClosedJanuary 2017
OwnerJamba, Inc.
Design and construction
Architect(s)Barbara Bestor
Architecture firmBestor Architecture
Website
Innovation Bar

In July 2016, Jamba opened a concept store, the Jamba Juice Innovation Bar, Located in Old Pasadena. The Innovation Bar replaced their nineteenth store with one that was roughly double the size of a typical Jamba Juice store.[23][24] Along with smoothies, the location also sold many other foods, including quinoa bowls, artisan hummus toast with vegetables, homemade potato chips, and various vegan foods.[23] It was also the first location with a larger Wi-Fi dining area.[25] Matt Kafka, the senior director of operations at Jamba, described it as a "cool and hip place in Southern California".[23] The store was also adorned with mirrored wall art and photographs of various fruits, and a set of television screens that showed various video greetings.[23] On January 3, 2017, the Innovation Bar shut down and became a standard Jamba location.[26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Surprising things you didn't know about Jamba Juice". The Daily Meal. 2016-11-25. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  2. ^ FOCUSWPAdmin (2019-09-13). "Focus Brands Completes Acquisition of Jamba Juice". Focus Brands LLC. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  3. ^ a b Steinhauer, Jennifer (1997-02-22). "Operators of Juice Bars Hope to Match Success Of the Coffee Chains". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  4. ^ About Jamba
  5. ^ "Gregg H. Hawkins | A Recipe For Success". Archived from the original on 2012-08-19. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
  6. ^ Jamba Juice: UFOC
  7. ^ "History of Jamba Juice Company". Funding Universe.
  8. ^ "Jamba Juice" (PDF). Coriolis Research.
  9. ^ "Jamba Juice Celebrates "25 Years of Healthy Living" with Free Juice and Smoothie Giveaway on April 23rd in Stores Nationwide*". www.businesswire.com. 2015-04-20. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  10. ^ [1], freefranchisedocs.com
  11. ^ JAMBA JUICE COMPANY AND SERVICES ACQUISITION CORP. - INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCE MERGER, SEC
  12. ^ "Jamba, Inc. Completes $35 Million Convertible Preferred Stock". Bloomberg.com. 2009-06-16. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  13. ^ "Press Release". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  14. ^ Jennings, Lisa (June 11, 2009). "Jamba Juice to offer sandwiches and salads". NRN.com.
  15. ^ a b "Has Jamba Juice's Controversial Ad Just Pureed Its Billion-Dollar Dreams?", FastCompany
  16. ^ "Jamba Juice Announces That It Will Move To Texas." Bay City News Service at SFGate. Thursday May 5, 2015. Retrieved on May 7, 2016.
  17. ^ Carlisle, Candace (May 5, 2016). "California's Jamba Juice to relocate headquarters to Hall Office Park in Frisco". Dallas Business Journal. American City Business Journals.
  18. ^ "Focus Brands completes $200m acquisition of smoothie chain Jamba Juice". Verdict Foodservice. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  19. ^ Valinsky, Jordan (2019-06-06). "Jamba Juice is dropping 'juice' from its name | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  20. ^ Nagase, Youka (3 June 2020). "Jamba is opening its first Japan store in Shibuya on June 18". Timeout Tokyo. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  21. ^ "Nestle USA and Jamba Juice Blend Their Expertise to Create Healthy Ready-to-Drink Products", Jamba Inc., Business Wire 2007, available at http://ir.jambajuice.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=279609.
  22. ^ "Nestlé USA and Jamba Announce Suspension of Jamba Ready-to-Drink Products," Jamba Inc., Business Wire 2008, available at http://ir.jambajuice.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=355145.
  23. ^ a b c d e "Jamba Juice Unveils One-of-a-Kind Concept Store In Pasadena". Pasadena Now. Retrieved 2017-02-03. ("The Jamba Juice Innovation Bar opens its doors after ten months of preparation this Monday.")
  24. ^ "Jamba Juice opens new Innovation Bar in Pasadena, Calif". Nation's Restaurant News. 14 July 2016. Retrieved 2017-02-03.
  25. ^ "Jamba Juice Innovation Bar Opens in Pasadena". The Daily Meal. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 2017-02-03.
  26. ^ REPORTS, From STAFF. "Pasadena Now » Old Pasadena's Jamba Juice Innovation Bar Shuttered, Location Closes Its Doors for Good | Pasadena California, Hotels,CA Real Estate,Restaurants,City Guide... - Pasadena.com". Retrieved 2019-10-28.
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