Most Profitable Juice Franchises to Consider

Introduction

Have you always dreamed about opening your own juice franchise?
In this article, we’re going to go through the juice industry as a whole, as well as a few different juice franchises that you might want to consider if you have your eyes set on opening up a juice franchise or a similar concept in the food and beverage segment. It can be a bit overwhelming.

There are so many smoothies, and juice franchises that have been around for years like Smoothie King, Red Mango, Tropical Smoothie Café, and Pure Green there are up-and-coming brands.
There are a lot of opportunities in the juice and smoothie segment. It’s important to understand how this industry is, as well as understand the general numbers for a juice and smoothie franchise. Brand reputation is super important for this industry. Generally, they’re catering to a kind of healthy crowd that those consumers that are really seeking a product that’s largely marketed as a healthy product for those that are fit, active lifestyle.

Brand Recognition

This point is really big to get the customers in the door as well as to build that loyal client base. Product quality is also a huge factor. Think about chains like Chipotle, where they had a major foodborne illness across many of their locations, and that killed their stock. And it really hurt the customer perception of that brand. Product development, product control, and how they source the products, are very important, and something that you should be asking franchisors, as well as the select franchisees that you decide to talk to about how the product is and how they maintain quality control for that product.

You’re really only as good as your weakest link. If you have franchisees in a juice franchise system that you recently entered that are cutting corners, and doing bad stuff with their product, or going around the franchisor and working with vendors that aren’t authorized, you could pay a big price if there’s some major episode and some negative PR piece.

The consumer is not going to think, “Oh, it’s just isolated to that one franchisee operating in Southern California.” They’re going to assume that the whole system has an issue and that’s going to negatively affect you as a franchisee. It’s important to understand, are all the juice franchisees on board? Are they maintaining that brand equity as well as are they on board with maintaining the product control and really not cutting corners?

One juice option to consider is Jamba Juice. As of 2021, they had over 700 locations, 762 locations that were owned by franchisees and another five corporately owned and managed locations. Now, for Jamba Juice, it’s going to set you back for the franchise fee of $35,000. Also with the build-out, rent, and all the other expenses you could expect to invest 250K up to 550K for your Jamba Juice.

Some Juice Franchise Cases

Jamba Juice

The failure rate for Jamba Juice over the past three years is 5%, which is less than the industry mean as well as for all franchises. In terms of system-wide sales, they’re averaging a volume about $750,000, and then the median, so there are some really top performers. The median’s a little lower right around $700,000. If you’re making $700,000 from your Jamba Juice and say you’re making a 15% profit margin, you could expect as an owner to be making about $100,000 per year.  If you invested 250K for your Jamba Juice, and you got that business open up pretty fast, that’s not a bad deal.

Depending on how much you invested, and how the business is doing, we could expect a payback period for a Jamba Juice at a pretty wide range, anywhere from three to seven years. Again, depending on a lot of factors, how much you originally invested, the time you’re dedicating to the business, and just how the business is performing based on your management team.

Kung Fu Tea

Another concept in the juice space or a parallel industry, I should say, is Kung Fu Tea. Kung Fu Tea, the franchise fee starts at about $25,000. And to open up a Kung Fu Tea, it’s gonna set you back anywhere from 160K to $375,000. They’ve grown pretty rapidly in the United States.

At the end of 2021, they had about 250 Kung Fu Tea locations across the United States, many operating in malls and strip centers across the U.S. People aren’t leaving Kung Fu Tea, very low franchise for sale rate at 3% over the past few years. And then also on the failure rate side, 0% failure rate over the last recorded year. Kung Fu Tea, we don’t have most recent financials. Definitely talk to franchisees to understand how they’re performing and if they would invest in Kung Fu Tea again.

Tapioca Express

Another concept to consider is Tapioca Express. The franchise fees are pretty low at $15,000, anywhere from $126,000 to $534,000 to open. They have about 40 locations throughout the United States. But one of the red flags with Tapioca Express, we saw their failure rates at 18% over the past three years that we have data for where you compare that to other franchises at just 10%. Definitely talk to franchisees of Tapioca Express, understand why the failure rate is a bit high, and also see how the locations have been performing post-pandemic.

Juice It Up

The final concept I wanted to go through today is Juice It Up. They have about 80 locations throughout the United States. The franchise fee is going to set you back $17,500, anywhere from $200,000 or $400,000 to open up a Juice It Up. The franchise for sale rate, so people that are looking to get out of a Juice It Up franchise was pretty high for the last three years that we have data for was 22%. That’s pretty high.

That’s nearly double the industry average. Usually, we see 10%, 11%, and 12% of people selling their franchises or being reacquired by the franchise war, where Juice It Up was 22% over the last three years. And the failure rate wasn’t so hot either at 18% for Juice It Up, and a franchise failure rate over a three-year period usually hovers around 10%.

The thing with Juice It Up, the franchisees, some are doing pretty well. And I have average unit volume at the Jamba averages even higher. And then you have the bottom 20% that’s doing average unit volume at 250K. The unit volume is all over the place that Juice It Up.

I don’t know if there’s an issue at brand uniformity, if they let some franchisees in that shouldn’t be in, or if it’s very location dependent, and they haven’t been on the third-party apps. But that’s definitely something to consider that there’s a pretty big variance in terms of how franchisees are doing, performing for Juice It Up, that is a lot wider than we see for some other similar concepts.

Pure Green

The Pure Green Franchise presents a versatile investment opportunity with an initial capital outlay ranging from $170,000 to $425,000, providing prospective entrepreneurs a spectrum of options to suit their budgetary preferences. In addition to the initial investment, franchisees are subject to a $30,000 royalty fee. The franchise offers a range of core products, including handcrafted, made-to-order smoothies, as well as acai and pitaya bowls, along with cold-pressed juice and shots, ensuring a diverse and health-conscious menu.

What are some key considerations when choosing a juice franchise?

In fact, the juice industry is a rapidly growing sector of the food and beverage market. With an increasing number of franchises providing fresh and healthy options to consumers. Whether you are looking for a green smoothie, freshly squeezed juice, or cold-pressed juice, there is sure to be a juice franchise that meets your needs.

With so many different types of juice available today, it can be difficult to navigate the ever-changing landscape. Find the right franchises for your business. Some key considerations when choosing a juice franchise include factors such as brand reputation, product quality, customer service standards, pricing models, and marketing strategies.

What factors should be taken into account when evaluating different franchises in this industry?

When it comes to choosing a juice franchise, brand reputation is an important consideration. Franchises with a strong reputation can provide you with a built-in customer base and positive media coverage.

In addition to brand reputation, product quality is another important consideration when selecting a juice franchise. Franchises that use fresh, high-quality ingredients are more likely to produce juices that taste great and offer health benefits. If you are looking for franchises that prioritize product quality.

So, what are you waiting for? Start your search today and find the best juice franchise for you!