Dive Brief:
- Jamba is developing a new prototype, which it calls “Hello Sunshine,” in an effort to standardize store layouts, reduce costs and refresh the brand’s identity, according to a press release issued Monday.
- The new model includes self-order kiosks and digital menu screens, an update for the brand.
- The smoothie and juice brand said the prototype was meant to offer “strategic cost efficiencies and financial incentives,” and can be consistently built out across a wide range of store types, from endcaps and inline units to hospital and airport locations.
Dive Insight:
This real estate flexibility could help the chain reverse its unit loss of recent years. According to Jamba’s most recent franchise disclosure document, from 2021 to the end of 2023, the chain’s store base in the U.S. shrank by 33 locations, from 767 to 734.
Jamba Juice’s median net sales were fairly low, $669,495 in 2023, according to its FDD, while competitor Tropical Smoothie Cafe boasted $944,699 in median net sales in that year, per its FDD. TSC’s store base also grew by more than 450 units between 2021 and the end of 2023, and reached 1,500 in 2025.
A change to unit economic models could help change Jamba’s competitive position and capture some of the consumer desire for healthy-seeming snacks and drinks.
Nathan Louer, the chain’s chief brand officer, said the design “enhances the customer experience while driving operational and cost efficiencies. We are committed to providing our franchisees with the resources and incentives they need to thrive, ensuring the continued growth and revitalization of our iconic brand.”
To support that growth, the brand is offering development incentives — discounted royalty and ad rates for the first two years — to operators who sign up before Dec. 15.
Jamba’s new store has the brand’s orange color palette throughout, with products and interior spaces designed to reflect the brand’s aesthetics. The prototype will employ freestanding digital kiosks and dedicated grab and go areas for orders.
“Digital order pickup zones further enhance convenience and decrease wait times, providing a designated space for the growing volume of online orders,” the chain said in the press release.
Despite this emphasis on frictionless transactions, Jamba has designed the stores with some degree of intentional friction.
The prototype has “strategically placed ‘pause points’ that encourage customers to engage with products and brand messaging,” which encourage add-ons and theoretically drive average check growth, according to the press release.
The brand also intends for stores built according to the prototype to have an experiential element: customers can watch workers making their orders.
“This theater of preparation is integral to Jamba and its ‘Hello Sunshine’ ethos, demonstrating the freshly prepared products ensuring an engaging front-of-house experience,” the brand said.
While brands with line-assembly, like Chipotle and Cava, incorporate production into the front-of-house customer experience by necessity, other concepts are looking to shift their store designs to create an element of theater. Pizza Hut, for example, is working on a store design that lets consumers see pies being prepped.
