The Truth About Juice: Jamba Juice Survey Reveals Green Juice "Fear Factor" and Why Americans Will Overcome It

EMERYVILLE, Calif., Feb. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Jamba Juice Company (NASDAQ:JMBA), a leading healthy, active lifestyle brand, today announced the first results of a three-part survey about freshly squeezed juice.  The survey, conducted by YouGov, polled a representative national sample of more than 2,200 Americans, revealing consumers' views on juice, and in particular, how people's perspectives on green juice vary.

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Overall, the results suggest that despite the recent surge in popularity of green juice, there is still a great deal of confusion surrounding it. Many of those who participated in the survey believe green juice to be the most nutritious juice, but are skeptical that it could also be great-tasting.

• More than one-quarter (28%) of U.S. adults say they "fear the look" of green juice;
• Green represents the juice people drink least often
• 32% say green juice is the one they like the least, and;  
• Only 9% of people like green juice best.

However, while many consumers "fear the look" of green juice, they tend to think it is among the healthiest juice options available and also a convenient way to incorporate fruits and vegetables into their diets. 

• 32% think green juice is the healthiest juice;
• More than 1 in 5 Americans say they would prefer to drink beets (21%) and dark leafy green vegetables, such as spinach (23%) and kale (20%), in juice rather than eating them whole; and,
• While 89% of U.S. adults believe that whole fruits and vegetables are better than juice, 68% say drinking juice is more convenient.

"Just like we should be enjoying a wide range of all the colors of the rainbow in the food we eat, drinking colorful fruits and vegetables is an easy way to satisfy your daily requirements, too. Juices made from ingredients like kale, spinach, beets and chia seeds are powerhouses of good nutrition and they can actually taste good," said Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, LD and member of the Jamba Juice Healthy Living Council. "Jamba Juice's new Whole Food Nutrition smoothies and freshly squeezed juices use unique combinations of whole foods that are delicious, easy, convenient and an excellent way to blend in more fruits and vegetables on-the-go."

In fact, according to Jamba Juice's most recent sales results, the best-selling new product on its expanded smoothie and juice menu is green! The Kale-ribbean Breeze™ smoothie, which contains kale blended with mangos, passion fruit-mango juice, nonfat Greek yogurt and Chia seeds, is outselling other flavors of the brand's new Whole Food Nutrition™ line launched in January.

The results of the YouGov study also highlighted a discrepancy between Baby Boomers' and Millennials' views on juice. Not only were Millennials more open to green juice, but also to the broader notion of drinking vegetables. 

• Millennials are twice as likely as Boomers to think that vegetables taste better in juice (39% vs 18%);
• Millennials are twice as likely as Boomers to prefer green juice (13% vs 6%); and,
• Millennials are twice as likely as Boomers to most often drink green juice (13% vs 6%).
• Combined, two-thirds (66%) of Americans believe fresh-squeezed juice is healthy.

"We weren't surprised when we learned that one-third of American adults, especially Millennials, say they are consuming more vegetables in juice than they did 10 years ago - but the fact is, they are still not consuming enough," said Julie S. Washington, senior vice president and chief brand officer of Jamba Juice. "According to a 2013 report published by the USDA based on MyPlate serving suggestions, men, women and children are only eating 1/3 of the fruit (33%) and 2/3 of the vegetables (63%) they need each day. We want to help eliminate Americans' fruit and vegetable deficiency and inspire healthy living. And we promise to never sacrifice taste while doing it."

About Jamba Juice Company
Founded in 1990, Jamba Juice Company (NASDAQ:JMBA) is a leading restaurant retailer of better-for-you, specialty beverage and food offerings, which include great tasting, whole fruit smoothies, fresh squeezed juices and juice blends, hot coffee and teas, hot oatmeal, breakfast wraps, sandwiches and mini-wraps, California Flatbreads™,  and a variety of baked goods and snacks. As of December 31, 2013, there were 851 Jamba Juice store locations globally. Jamba is a proud sponsor of "Team Up for a Healthy America" in the fight against childhood obesity and encourages fans to join the Team Up community of celebrities, athletes and other leaders committed to getting kids active and involved at www.myhealthpledge.com. Fans of Jamba Juice can find out more about Jamba Juice's locations as well as specific offerings and promotions by visiting the Jamba Juice website at www.JambaJuice.com or by contacting Jamba's Guest Services team at 1-866-4R-FRUIT (473-7848).

About YouGov
YouGov is a full service market research agency, a pioneer of Online research since 2000. As well as consulting services, YouGov offers daily brand tracking, surveying 5,000 people a day on over 1,200 brands, and can provide survey results of a representative 2,000 person sample in 48 hours.

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2248 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 7th - 9th January 2014. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all US adults (aged 18+).

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SOURCE Jamba Juice Company