The Truth About Juice: Jamba Juice Survey Reveals Most Americans are Closely Inspecting Nutrition Labels and Demanding to Know "What's in My Juice?"

Results Report Natural versus Added Sugar as a Core Issue

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Jun 04, 2014, 09:15 ET

EMERYVILLE, Calif., June 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Jamba Juice Company (NASDAQ:JMBA), a leading healthy, active lifestyle brand, today announced the second round of results of a three-part survey about freshly squeezed juice. Conducted by YouGov, the survey polled a representative national sample of more than 2,200 Americans, revealing consumers' rising interest in the makings of juice drinks and how ingredient transparency and whole food nutrition pave the way to the most trusted juice source.

Jamba Juice confirmed people are knowledgeable that not all juice drinks are made the same, and as a result, are approaching their purchase and consumption with a careful eye with through a new survey conducted by YouGov. The study shows juice drinkers are paying closer attention to labels and regularly inspecting their ingredients with 78 percent of Americans admitting to reading juice labels. The survey corresponds to Jamba Juice's national roll out of an expanded fresh-squeezed juice menu made with whole fruits and vegetables. (PRNewsFoto/Jamba Juice Company) (PRNewsFoto/Jamba Juice Company)

The survey, which corresponds with Jamba Juice's national roll out of the expanded fresh-squeezed juice platform, confirms people are knowledgeable that not all juice drinks are made the same, and as a result, are approaching their purchase and consumption with a careful eye. The results of the YouGov study confirm juice drinkers are paying closer attention to labels and regularly inspecting their ingredients.

More than half of Americans assume that something has been added to the juice they buy;
78% read juice labels at least sometimes, 54% read them often or always;
Only 9% of people never read juice labels, and;
1 in 3 (32%) people who read juice labels do so to make sure they are not buying "from concentrate" juice.

In addition, the transparency and purity of fresh-squeezed juice made with real, whole foods seem to be trumping juice drinks made with added sugars, such as high fructose corn syrup, and artificial sweeteners.

Americans are very concerned about sugar and 64% of those who read labels do so to see how much is in the juice they buy;
However, Americans are discerning about sources of sugar: 89% say the natural sugars in juice are good for you;
80% percent believe fruit and/or vegetables should be the main ingredients of a juice drink;
Parents of children under 18 are 25% more likely than non-parents to strongly believe that juice should contain no other ingredients besides fruits and/or vegetables;
Added ingredients in juice that Americans don't trust include: high-fructose corn syrup, other forms of sugar, such as anything ending in "-ose", artificial sweeteners, and generally, anything they can't pronounce, and;
Only 7% of Americans say they don't care what is in their juice as long as it tastes good.

"Being thoughtful about what we put into our bodies is nothing new, and added sugar has never been a hotter topic, or a more confusing one, than it is right now," says Elizabeth M. Ward, M.S., R.D., and Jamba Healthy Living Council member. "It's important to remember that research links relatively large amounts of added sugar in the diet - not the naturally-occurring kind in foods such as fruit - to negative health effects, including a higher risk for heart disease."

Ward says the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommend limiting foods with added sugars, such as regular soda, sports drinks, and sweets; not fruit and other foods with natural sugars, like plain milk. The guidelines also specifiy that reducing the consumption of these, and other sugar-added foods, lowers calorie intake without skimping on nutrients. That's because foods with natural sugars provide vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, while most foods with added sugars are very low in nutrients and provide little but calories.

For many Americans, the notion of blending whole fruits and vegetables is a welcome and familiar idea.

52% of adults said they had heard of whole food juice (i.e. with whole fruits and/or vegetables blended in);
28% are consuming whole food juice at least once a month, and;

While 89% of U.S. adults believe that whole fruits and vegetables are better than juice, 68% say drinking juice is more convenient.

"From our Freshly Squeezed Juices and Fresh Juice Blends to our Whole Food Nutrition Smoothies and Fruit & Veggie Smoothie options, Jamba offers an array of choices for our consumer to enjoy. For label scrutinizing juice lovers, Jamba Juice's Freshly Squeezed Juices, made to order at Jamba Juice, are the perfect option. They are a blend of whole food ingredients like kale, carrots, apples, oranges, pineapples, bananas and beets, packed full of nutrients that are wholesome and nourishing," said Julie S. Washington, senior vice president and chief brand officer of Jamba Juice. "At Jamba Juice, we believe it's important to make healthy living as easy as possible. We plan to continue doing exactly that without sacrificing taste, value and most importantly, real whole food goodness."

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, and teas, hot oatmeal, breakfast wraps, sandwiches and Artisan 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+).