Jamba Juice
...it has grown to become one of the nation’s best-known smoothie chains, emphasizing the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and because the company is looking for international expansion opportunities. We chose Spain as our target country for expansion of our product due to its current economic status and economic growth forecasts for the future. This combination provides the firm with an opportunity to offer our product to a growing economy and marketplace.
Company Background and History
Jamba Juice takes its name from the African word jama, which means ‘to celebrate’. It was the creation of Kirk Perron, an avid cyclist and graduate of Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, who wanted to develop a replenishing energy drink for after long bike rides (Sarkar, 2006). He opened his first store in 1990, which he called the Juice Club, but after expanding and opening up several more stores in California, Perron changed the name of the company to Jamba Juice in 1995 and to Jamba in 1996. In 1997, Jamba entered into an operating agreement with Whole Foods Market and in 1999 acquired Zuka Juice Inc. all in an effort to expand brand recognition. Zuka was a prominent smoothie company at the time and its acquisition made Jamba the nation’s best-known smoothie chain. In 1996 after posting sales of 345 million in 2005, Jamba merged with Services Acquisition Corp. for 265 million and went public on the New York Stock Exchange trading under the symbol GMBA (TMFOpie, 2006). In 2007, the company joined with beverage maker Nestle USA to market Jamba-branded juice drinks and smoothies through grocery stores and other retail channels. It hopes the licensing deal will continue to increase consumer awareness of the Jamba Juice brand. Today there are 670 Jamba Juice ventures, consisting of 470 company-owned and 200 franchises in 26 states. Sites include both freestanding units and kiosks in high...
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