Jamba Juice, a smoothie and healthy lifestyle chain which offers fruit and vegetable smoothies, bowls, and juices, was founded in California in 1990. It has since grown to nearly 900 worldwide locations, including 26 US states, Mexico, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand and the Philippines.
It was previously acquired by Services Acquisition Corp. International in 2003 for $265m which then changed its name to Jamba, Inc.
Focus Brands already owns similar fast-casual restaurant chains like Cinnabon, Auntie Anne’s, Carvel and Moe’s Southwest Grill. It operates more than 5,500 locations in 54 foreign countries and US territories.
Steve DeSutter, CEO of Focus Brands Inc., said "Benefiting from an extremely loyal customer base and strong franchise operators, Jamba Juice is one of the category leaders in the fast growing smoothie and juice category. We are excited to welcome Jamba Juice with such an iconic heritage into our family of well-known and highly loved ’fan favorite’ brands.”
Dave Pace, CEO of Jamba, Inc., said “We are delighted to have reached this agreement with Focus Brands and are confident that it will result in a positive outcome for our guests, our franchisees and our employees. Over the last few years, we have worked hard to strengthen our foundation and reposition this iconic brand for the future. Partnering with Focus Brands will allow us to build on this work and further accelerate the company’s growth.”
Over the last decade, Jamba Juice has worked to expand its brand beyond flavored smoothies and juices to offer a line of breakfast wraps, sandwiches, baked goods, oatmeal and flatbreads. The deal with Focus Brands is expected to be finalized in the third quarter of 2018.