Lisa Baker and her husband Undray know two things quite well: franchising and the Los Angeles market.
It’s that knowledge that led them to signing a new six-unit agreement with Juice It Up, expanding their partnership with the brand that began seven years ago. The Bakers have three Juice It Up locations open in California, and it’s just one of the brands in their portfolio.
“We’ve been franchising now for a little over six years,” said Lisa Baker. “We started with Subway and was in there for quite a number of years. Today, we have Wing Stops, Juice It Up and a Cajun brand as well.”
The Bakers will operate the Juice It up units through their company BMB Foods Inc., with the first location expected to open this year. Lisa Baker said they originally joined with the brand and chose to expand with it because of their love of the product and its ability to scale up.
“We also looked at how Juice It Up appealed to the masses,” Lisa Baker said. “Knowing kids, teens and adults all enjoy it made it a brand we could get behind. Their team was also open to our ideas, and that’s been nice and refreshing to have some input.”
A smoothie, acai bowl and juice concept, Juice It Up was established in 1995 and has since grown to 86 locations. The brand got started in southern California and according to Carlo Verdugo, the vice president of operations and business development, the western United States has been and will continue to be the target for growth.
Juice It Up VP of Operations and Business Development Carlo Verdugo
“We’ve grown a lot in the western states,” Verdugo said. “Along with California, we’ve opened in Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon and Texas. We’re also looking to get into Nevada and Utah in the near future as well.”
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Verdugo said the company began accelerating its growth a few years ago, and now has a goal of reaching 200 units in the next five years.
“That’s roughly developing 20 to 40 stores per year,” Verdugo said. “But we’re on track to do that right now, and the development in California is still key for us to do that.”
Los Angeles in particular is still a market that Juice It Up’s franchisors and franchisees see potential for more growth.
“We’re both from Los Angeles, we know it like the back of our hand,” Lisa Baker said. “We’ve seen the growth in this city. There’s additional development taking place, so we thought what better place. We can do it here in our back yard, because we know the areas, the people and the upcoming developments.”
“There are other markets inside Los Angeles that we’re also developing with other franchise operators, new and existing,” Verdugo said. “It’s a very highly populated market.”
The interior of a Juice It Up unit. More are expected in the Los Angeles market thanks to a new agreement.
The LA deal with the Bakers will have the units open over a five-year period, but Lisa said they will work to have them open faster.
“We want them to all be open by 2028,” Lisa Baker said. “We’re certainly shooting for a quicker timeline, but sometimes development can take a while. We also want to make sure we’re selecting the right location for each unit.”
Regardless of the timetable, though, Verdugo said the brand has confidence in the Baker’s ability to operate the additional six stores.
“We’re fortunate to have such great operators in BMB Foods,” Verdugo said. “They’ve already proven successful as multi-unit franchisees. They’re passionate, not just about their operations, but also the people. It’s exciting that they’re going to continue developing this market, because they’re going to do it right.”
The initial investment for a Juice It Up location is between $226,000 and $426,000.