Food & Beverage News: F&B Specials - Convenience is the name of the game with Booster Juice

Booster Juice is a North American Smoothies and Juices chain that has over 220 stores between Canada, USA, Netherlands, UAE and Saudi Arabia. A unique combination of quality, health and convenience, the smoothies are great for today’s fast-paced, active and health conscious marketplace, says Anoop Sequeira, CEO, Brand Calculus in an interview with Nandita Vijay. Excerpts:

How has Brand Calculus fared in India with Booster Juice?
Booster Juice launched its first store at Select Citywalk in Delhi on Aug 15, 2008, and in early 2009 two stores were added in Bangalore at HomeStop Magrath Road and the Total Mall on Old Airport Road. The second quarter of 2009 saw store launches at Garuda Mall and Forum Value Mall at Whitefield. The response has been very encouraging at all stores and we are witnessing a high degree of repeat customers. We feel that this is indicative of the response that the brand will receive in other major markets too.

What kind of investments are slated for your next phase of expansion to other cities in India?
Brand Calculus will focus on launching Booster Juice outlets in only the metro cities in the first phase of expansion in India. The investment per store ranges from Rs 20 lakh for a kiosk to Rs 35- 40 lakh for a standalone / inline store.

What has been the impact of the global recession on this segment?
With the brand being new to India and offering a range of new products (Smoothies) in the Indian market there has not been any adverse impact in-spite of the brand being launched in difficult times. There is an element of freshness with the brand being one of the very few to be launched in the QSR segment during the downturn.

Do you think the product is affordable going by the pricing of Rs 49-99 for juices and Rs 77-129 for smoothies? There are so many products in the country available at Rs 10 in Tetra Paks. What is the edge you have with your range.
Our smoothies are priced from Rs 69 to Rs 129 and offer tremendous value. Look at our ingredients – we work with only the best fruits from around the world. Our IQF berries come from Europe and South America. We are the only smoothies or juice business to offer Acai, the Brazilian wonder berry from the Amazon forests. We are the only business to offer a pure fresh wheatgrass drink. Our product portfolio is differentiated.

The juice Tetra Paks available in the range of Rs 15-20 do cater to the retail market but a Booster Juice product is highly differentiated by the fact that the product is freshly made in front of the customers using fresh ingredients, with no added sugar, synthetic syrups or water.

Today's consumers have transcended the more immediate physical or economic needs as a result of developed lifestyles and they are now seeking higher levels of experiential pleasure and sensation from products. Our smoothies represent the best of this transcendence – Just as the coffee bar phenomenon defined the “where” of hanging out with friends in the last decade, smoothies will do this for the next.

In India which is your fastest growing product?
Our most popular products in the respective categories are: Fresh Juices – Orange and Tahiti Squeeze, Smoothies – Strawberry Sunshine and Brazilian Thunder Super-foods – Wheatgrass and Acai

What is the marketing strategy adopted to gain an Indian market share?
One of the major problems associated with innovating successfully is capturing consumers' imagination. This is where Booster Juice is able to score by offering customers a delicious and healthy thick fruit drink that contains no additives, no added sugar and even no added ice. Booster Juice fills a niche for the customer by giving him or her, a tasty and healthy choice to a coffee at the coffee bar. Our marketing communication will focus on educating the consumers on these product differentiators. The FM radio will be the desired route to reach the consumers on a mass platform.

Globally how is the Booster Juice faring and which is the most promising market for the company?
Booster Juice is Canada’s No.1 Juice and Smoothie business and perhaps the fastest growing Smoothie business in North America with over 200 stores.

The smoothie market has experienced rapid growth by delivering consumers healthy convenience. This trend is evident from North America, through UK and Australia. Booster Juice is at the vanguard of the smoothie movement in India.

What according to you are the visible trends in India for juices?
Consumer awareness of the link between diet, health and fitness has increased dramatically and with that has come the expanded awareness of the role of fruit in their diet through the vitamins and antioxidants that it provides. Most Booster Juice smoothies provide the 5 portions of fruit that doctors are recommending as vital for an individual, in a healthy diet today. Fruits and juices have started to play a vital role in the Indian consumer’s diet and this trend will only grow further in the next few years.

What are the challenges before companies like yours to succeed in India?
Like most companies in the F&B segment brand Booster Juice also relies on the availability of fresh ingredients through a well serviced chilled / frozen supply chain. It will be equally critical for us to build a good supply chain system to support the front end in every city that we launch in India. The availability of good A-grade locations at reasonable rentals will also be critical for the success of our brand in India.

What are the future efforts of the company with Booster Juice and would there be any effort to look at development and launch of other products?
We have recently launched a Mango Mania Smoothie specifically developed in India for the Indian consumers. We have also worked closely on the back end support to ensure the availability of the fruit right through the year for the Indian consumer to enjoy a fresh Mango Smoothie right through the year. This is a path breaking initiative in the Indian Juice and Smoothies market. Development of such products that will cater to local market will be an ongoing effort. Our competitiveness will come from the great smoothies that Booster Juice provides, our fantastic commitment to customer service and the great partnerships that we hope to build with our customers, franchisees and suppliers. Our future efforts will target to achieve success in all these areas.