Jamba Juice
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Jamba, formerly known as Jamba Juice, 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 location, originally named Juice Club, opened in 1990 in San Luis Obispo, California.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Jamba is owned by GoTo Foods, an affiliate of private equity firm Roark Capital Group, which completed its acquisition in 2019.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.
HistoryEdit
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.”<ref name="nytimes">Template:Cite news</ref> The first restaurant, named Juice Club, opened on March 31, 1990, in San Luis Obispo, California.<ref>About Jamba</ref> It was incorporated in 1990 as Juice Club, Inc. in San Luis Obispo.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Jamba Juice: UFOC</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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”.<ref name="nytimes" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Jamba Juice acquired Zuka Juice, a rival juice bar, on March 24, 1999.<ref>[1], freefranchisedocs.com</ref>
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.<ref>JAMBA JUICE COMPANY AND SERVICES ACQUISITION CORP. - INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCE MERGER, SEC</ref>
In June 2006, Jamba, Inc. announced it had completed a $35 million convertible preferred stock transaction.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In June 2009, Jamba began to shift its focus from smoothies and began selling wraps, sandwiches, and flatbreads.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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.<ref name="fastcompany1">"Has Jamba Juice's Controversial Ad Just Pureed Its Billion-Dollar Dreams?", FastCompany</ref> 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.”<ref name="fastcompany1"/>
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.<ref>"Jamba Juice Announces That It Will Move To Texas." Bay City News Service at SFGate. Thursday May 5, 2015. Retrieved on May 7, 2016.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2019, Jamba Juice was acquired by Atlanta-based Focus Brands,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the same year the chain changed its name to Jamba to reflect its expanded menu and negative health connotations around the word “juice”.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On August 4, 2020, Jamba opened a location in Tokyo, its first in Japan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Product expansionEdit
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.<ref>"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.</ref> 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."<ref>"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.</ref>
In 2014 Jamba Juice expanded its Fresh Juice menu, and began making juice blends to order with fresh ingredients such as kale, beets and ginger.
Innovation BarEdit
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.<ref name="PasadenaNow"/><ref name="NRN">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="PasadenaNow"/> It was also the first location with a larger Wi-Fi dining area.<ref name="Daily Meal">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Matt Kafka, the senior director of operations at Jamba, described it as a "cool and hip place in Southern California".<ref name="PasadenaNow"/> 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.<ref name="PasadenaNow"/> On January 3, 2017, the Innovation Bar shut down and became a standard Jamba location.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Focus Brands Template:Fast-food chains of the United States