Leading Smoothie, Superfruit Bowl and Raw Juice Chain Poised for 2024 Success Following Significant 2023 Achievements in Menu Innovation and Franchise Development
Juice It Up!, one of the nation’s leading handcrafted smoothie, açaí bowl and raw juice chains, has proudly concluded a successful year marked by strong sales and a robust development pipeline. In 2023, systemwide sales surged past $43 million – up 38% over five years. The top 20% of Juice It Up! locations reached an AUV of nearly $817,000 in 2023 – a 45% increase since 2019. This impressive metric earned the brand status as having the fastest-growing AUV compared to direct competitors based on FDD information. In addition to the smoothie and bowl chain’s sales success in California, Juice It Up!’s out-of-state unit growth continued to accelerate with an increase of more than 7% last year.
“Consistent sales and franchise growth, segment-leading menu innovation and remarkably effective marketing initiatives made 2023 another extremely successful year for Juice It Up!, fueling significant brand momentum and increasing national recognition,” said Chris Britt, Co-Chairman and Co-Owner of Juice It Up! “We continue to be motivated by the results we achieve each year, and everyone associated with this premier legacy brand is eager to build on the momentum in 2024 – reinforcing Juice It Up!’s standing as the go-to destination for balanced smoothies, juices and superfruit bowls delivered with top-notch customer service.”
Juice It Up! opened five new locations in 2023, growing in three existing communities while introducing the brand to two new markets, including the city of Ehrenberg in Arizona and San Diego County in California. The Ehrenberg location not only marked Juice It Up!’s debut in The Grand Canyon State, but also its first foray into travel centers. After a strong opening, the Ehrenberg store is performing above system AUV and has laid the groundwork for Juice It Up!’s unique and non-traditional store models.
On the development side, the growing smoothie and bowl chain inked 13 development deals in 2023, resulting in nearly 50 additional stores in production. Impressively, approximately 75% of upcoming locations are being developed by existing Juice It Up! franchisees growing their portfolios with the brand. Additionally, Juice It Up! has seen an amazing growth in development, seeing an 82% increase in deals signed in the past five years. On track to surpass the 100-unit milestone in 2024, Juice It Up! expects to open 13 new locations, expand its footprint throughout California and Arizona and add more than two dozen new stores to the development pipeline through new franchise deals.
“Our steady growth is a testament to the execution of the talented Juice It Up! development team, which is equally committed to identifying qualified franchisees as it is to fostering relationships and growth with our existing franchisees,” added Ed St. Geme, Co-Chairman and Co-Owner of Juice It Up!. “Our dedicated franchisees are pivotal to the success of our brand, especially since they share the Juice It Up! DNA with their communities and serve as custodians of the brand’s well-earned reputation as a healthy, innovative smoothie, juice and superfruit bowl concept.”
As has been the case for the nearly three decades it has been in business, product innovation was paramount to Juice It Up!’s success in 2023, rolling out several menu items that catered to – and resonated strongly with – fans seeking both flavor and functionality. Cementing its top position among a competitive juice and smoothie segment, the brand brought 13 successful limited-time offers to consumers last year – seven of which were new. Juice It Up! launched its limited-time Berry-Lavender Smoothie, a uniquely formulated, antioxidant-packed blend that highlighted lavender’s fragrant and floral flavor, making Juice It Up! one of the first brands to incorporate the ingredient into a smoothie. Performing at the top of the plant-based category two years in a row, The Greentox also was added to the permanent Juice It Up! menu along with the ever-popular Mighty-C Immunity Juice. While other brands touted pumpkin spice and peppermint-flavored drinks for the holiday season, Juice It Up! brought back its appealing Horchata Smoothie for the fourth consecutive year, also adding two seasonal varieties to the beloved Horchata lineup: the PB Horchata Smoothie and Strawberry Horchata Smoothie. The brand also launched a Salted Caramel Smoothie and Salted Caramel Apple Smoothie in Q4 as indulgent seasonal treats, blending innovation and flavor.
“Once again underscoring our longstanding commitment to blending flavor with functionality, Juice It Up! experimented last year with trending ingredients such as lavender and aloe vera, and we brought back – or expanded on – our lineup of limited-time offerings we knew our guests already loved,” said Susan Taylor, President and CEO of Juice It Up! “2023 was such a banner year for the brand on so many fronts, but our product innovation really soared, and we’re excited to catapult into the new year by rolling out more innovative products that deliver our signature flavor-function combination that’s been a Juice It Up! hallmark for nearly 30 years.”
As Juice It Up! continued to delight guests last year with ingredient innovation, the brand also implemented major digital developments to better serve guests. Juice It Up! completed a total overhaul of its app and loyalty program in March, launching new tiers and more benefits for dedicated fans. Following the revamp, Juice It Up! experimented with six app-exclusive menu items available only for rewards members, which helped increase app registrants by 30%. Combined digital orders (mobile, web-based and third-party) accounted for 21% of total sales in 2023. Over the past three years, digital sales have become an important segment of the business and have contributed over $20 million in additional sales.
2023 also saw Juice It Up! step to the plate in the professional sports world when it became a Proud Partner of Angels Baseball and launched several guest-friendly activations, fan promotions, community events and in-stadium concessions. Throughout the 2023 baseball season, Juice It Up! offered app rewards members a free small Classic Smoothie every time an Angels pitcher recorded an official “Save” during a home game, which boosted the brand’s already-strong digital sales. The partnership also included the opening of a popular and well-trafficked Juice It Up! concession stand inside Angel Stadium, which brought the brand’s fan-favorite Açaí Berry Bowl and Dragon Fruit Bowl to the iconic ballpark.
Last year proved to be another successful year of industry recognition and acclaim, as Juice It Up! was once again acknowledged on top industry lists for its impressive efforts and achievements. The brand was recognized as one of America’s Favorite Restaurant Chains by Newsweek, claiming one of only 10 spots in the extremely competitive “Juices & Smoothies” category. Juice It Up! also was named a Top Franchise for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) by Entrepreneur. President & CEO Susan Taylor was honored as a finalist in the Los Angeles Times Orange County Inspirational Women Awards for her commendable leadership and commitment to growing the brand. Juice It Up! also was ranked on the Fast Casual 2023 Top 100 Movers & Shakers and jumped up 10 spots from its prior-year standing on the Franchise Times 2023 Top 400 List.
The brand’s ownership and leadership team continue to pursue development with new and existing franchise partners in California, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Oregon, Nevada and throughout the Western U.S. With a proven franchise business model carefully sculpted over the past nearly 30 years, record sales and brand momentum, Juice It Up! is looking to partner with passionate single, multi-unit and multi-brand franchisees interested in joining a highly recognizable, successful and market-leading healthy fast casual concept. For more information about the Juice It Up! brand and available franchise opportunities, visit JuiceItUpFranchise.com.
Juice It Up!, one of the nation’s leading handcrafted smoothie, superfruit bowl and raw juice chains, was founded in 1995 with its Franchise Support Center now located in Newport Beach, California. Juice It Up! designs every menu item focused on equal parts flavor and functionality to offer products that not only taste great, but also support a healthy and active lifestyle. With 100+ locations open or under development across California, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon and Texas, the company is showcasing a new restaurant design, strong new digital mobile ordering technology, a heavier focus on functional products and ingredient transparency, and a menu refresh that reflects the brand’s active personality and motto to “Live Life Juiced!” For more information about becoming a Juice It Up! franchise partner, visit JuiceItUpFranchise.com.
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