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Opportunities

This potentially global market is growing rapidly in the US and the UK, with most other countries still wide-open for cool new mass brands with smooth marketing. Both franchise and start-up possibilities seem plentiful!

Smoothies are a billion dollar market in the US. What about the rest of the world?

These fresh fruit drinks (usually a blended mix of fruit juices with yoghurt or crushed ice) are now a 1 billion dollar market in the US (according to the Juice and Smoothie Association (JASA). Anticipating an ever growing need for fresh, healthy products, smoothies have become a branded alternative to soft drinks and traditional fruit juices/lemonades. They also prove to be the perfect vehicle to get consumers to swallow supplements that will help them with their diets, sports performance and general well-being. Smoothie bars cater to those who want to replace other snacks and light meals with the fruity alternative, while in-store placements by consumer brands serve grocery shoppers and quick-buy customers. Players such as US-based Fresh Samantha (Fresh Samantha was purchased by Odwalla in 2000. In 2003, the decision was made to phase out the Fresh Samantha line in order to focus on building the Odwalla brand), Snapple, and Naked, go for in-store placements, a strategy that Innocent Drinks has successfully mirrored in the UK. General Nutrition Centers (GNC), the largest US specialty retailer of vitamins and supplements, is opening up as many as 300 GNC Smoothie Bars in 2002 as branded elements of its company-owned and franchise stores.

Opportunities

This potentially global market is growing rapidly in the US and the UK, with most other countries still wide-open for cool new mass brands with smooth marketing. Both franchise and start-up possibilities seem plentiful!