Juiceblendz International Smooth Plan

Juiceblendz International says the time is right to expand its locations in the Southeast. An aggressive franchise plan is part of the company's growth strategy.

Although the smoothie and juice bar industry is growing, many parts of the country have untapped opportunity. Adam Ogden, founder and CEO of Juiceblendz International, says recent reports indicate that smoothie and juice bars "" already a $1.5 billion industry "" will reach $2.5 billion by 2010.

"It's one of the fastest-growing industries in the restaurant sector,"� Ogden explains. "Retail units of smoothie and juice bars are up 100 percent over the last few years, and there is still a lot of opportunity."� Although smoothie and juice bars are very popular in California, Ogden says Florida has a lot of potential. "Our goal is to develop the state of Florida and then expand into the Southeast market,"� he explains. "We don"�t want to sporadically expand our company. At this point, our focus is to become a household name in Florida, but we are excited to expand throughout the U.S. Our goal was to start on a regional level to cluster our stores, build synergy and really focus our marketing dollars. The timing for the smoothie industry could not be any better."� Headquartered in Weston, Fla., Juiceblendz began franchising in 2005. The company has four locations open and 22 in production. Ogden says Juiceblendz is opening a new location every eight weeks for the remainder of the year. Stores currently in production are slated to open by 2008. "Our goal is to have 50 units in Florida open by 2010,"� he adds.

Although major coffee and doughnut chains offer smoothies and blended drinks, Juiceblendz stands apart. "Smoothies and fresh juices are our specialty,"� Ogden stresses. "Our revenues are increasing month over month, and our stores perform exceptionally well. The demand for smoothies and blended drinks is there, and the industry continues to grow. With the warmer weather, consumers are really looking for delicious and nutritious smoothies."� Juiceblendz offers more than 25 smoothies, with names such as Strawberry Samba made with strawberries, real bananas, fat-free yogurt, skim milk and a dash of honey. Orange Blendz, a summer favorite, is made with freshly squeezed orange juice, strawberries and orange sherbet. The Dr JB is another popular item, made with orange juice, juiced organic carrots, a shot of wheat grass, garnished with an orange slice and presented on a silver platter.

"We"�ve also added eight new healthy paninis, baguettes and wraps,"� Ogden states. "It's not an extensive food menu, but it's an exceptional complement to our smoothie offerings. The demand for high-quality, fast, casual food is universal. We"�ve added a select group of unique items to add to each franchise unit's overall growth. Like our smoothies, we make our wraps and sandwiches fresh at each store."� Juiceblendz's stores are modern and inviting to the consumer, featuring stained concrete floors, custom glass shelving, lofted ceilings and exposed air conditioning duct work accented by orange and lime green décor. Customers are greeted by upbeat world music and various electronic displays. "We blend our real fruit smoothies in a state-of-the-art kitchen,"� Ogden notes. "It's a fun, friendly and neat environment."� Technology plays an important role in Juiceblendz's operations by helping to automate the back-end processes. "We are able to monitor all of our locations"� sales, schedules and attendance using biometric scanning, as well as performing other important back-office management duties,"� says Executive Vice President Nick Boariu. "Biometric scanners identify each employee by their individual fingerprint for time clock punches, ringing up customers and tracking employee productivity."� Offering support to franchisees is one of Juiceblendz's top priorities. The company assigns a corporate trainer to oversee each new franchise location for the first month. "We want our management in the stores, in the trenches with the franchisee to ensure their success,"� Boariu explains, noting that after the first 30 days the operations manager visits each location once a month.

Juiceblendz targets franchisees with industry experience, interest and the capacity to operate multiple units. "Some of our best franchisees are multi-unit operators from other national chains,"� Ogden says. "We"�re looking for business-minded people, accredited investors with an entrepreneurial mind who are looking to grow with us. Although we prefer people with experience, we will award a franchise to college graduates or someone from another field if they have the passion, a positive attitude and a great work ethic."� The company takes a grassroots approach to marketing. Juiceblendz donates both money and smoothies to local religious organizations, businesses, foundations and schools. Ogden says the company contributes to fundraisers, and often sells smoothies at youth sporting events or on school campuses.

In April, Juiceblendz announced Miami Dolphin's player Jason Taylor will serve as Juiceblendz spokesperson and president of franchise development. When the announcement was made at the flagship store in Weston, Taylor blended and served smoothies for fans and reporters.

"Teaming up with Juiceblendz is a no-brainer,"� Taylor said in a statement. "We have a strong business model, a great product and run a first-class operation. I look forward to helping Juiceblendz expand the brand throughout Florida and eventually the Southeastern part of the United States."�

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