Following a $200 million sale to FOCUS Brands, announced last summer, nearly 30-year-old Jamba Juice is refreshing its image across the board—and even changing its name. The 850-unit chain, founded in San Luis Obispo, California, in 1990, will now go by just “Jamba,” accompanied by the tagline, “Smoothies, Juices and Bowls.” It’s also touting a new app, updated store design, and elevated customer experience.
Jamba said the simplified name is intended, similar to Dunkin’s decision to ditch “Donuts,” to reflect a wider array of offerings.
“It’s one of many steps to support the brand’s renewed commitment to more balanced ingredients that will include expanded plant-based options and reduced sugar selections among other innovations,” the company said.
“We’ve been offering balanced ingredients on the go for almost 30 years and must continue to evolve to meet our guests’ ever-changing definition of wellness,” added Jamba’s president Geoff Henry in a statement. “We’re staying true to our heritage as an innovator in the space and refreshing the brand to stay focused on how we can make it easier, better and faster for guests to live a more active lifestyle. We’re proud to have launched the smoothie and juice category three decades ago and can’t wait to join our guests’ wellness journey for decades to come.”
Jamba isn’t getting rid of juices by any means (just like Dunkin’ didn’t drop donuts from shelves). It simply wanted to highlight a menu that’s evolved along with its concept in the past three decades. A juice shop signaled something completely different in 1990. Today’s version includes smoothies, bowls, boosts, and on-the-go bites.
Additionally, guests have called the brand just Jamba for some time. The chain made it official June 6 with updates to its website and menus. New packaging and store signage is expected to follow later in the summer.
Also starting Thursday, Jamba debuted a new, modernized menu of smoothies, juices, and bowls catering to a broad spectrum of customers.
One key change was spotlighting clear categories on the menu for guests to access: Power (enhanced smoothies), Classic favorites, and expanded Plant-Based items, are among the call outs.
The menu brings in new additions such as the plant-based Vanilla Blue Sky Smoothie and Bowl with naturally occurring blue sporilina. The Watermelon Breeze Smoothie made its return as well.
Jamba said the new menu was crafted with help from an on-house registered dietitian “to feature fresh, high quality whole-food ingredients that are free from high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, artificial flavors, and artificial colors.”
New menu additions will launch throughout 2019, including expanded plant-based options, reduced sugar selections, nutritious breakfast additions, and seasonally inspired items.
This summer also marks the introducing of a modernized design, complete with new logo, as well as a refreshed restaurant experience.
The new store features an “authentic and approachable ambiance inspired by our local juice shop roots,” the company said. It includes touches of light wood, freshness cues, and “colorful and expressive elements,” as a backdrop.
Jamba’s fresh logo and whirl is a modern interpretation of the classic logo, and promotes clean, handwritten script, and a new emerald green brand color. The evolved “whirl” draws from hues of fruits and vegetables.
Existing store remodels will begin adopting the new look and logo later in the year, Jamba said.
On the tech front, Jamba plans to revamp its e-commerce platform to become more responsive and easier to access. The new website is mobile friendly and the app was built from the ground up to include the customization and personalization features guests asked for, the company said. This included order-ahead capabilities, nutritional preferences, integrated gift cards, and a new loyalty program powered by Punchh.
