Juice Bar Financing
The people have spoken, and what they have all unanimously said is that they are sick and tired of being sick and tired – which is why the juice and smoothie bar industry is booming. Assuming the juice and smoothie bar owner is staying on top of the constantly shifting consumer preferences. In a $5 billion dollar industry, staying on top of consumer demands is essential to keeping these businesses afloat today.
This industry was expected to be a fad that would simply blow over in a few years, but with people today becoming more and more health conscious, it looks like this industry is here to stay! The juice and smoothie bar industry is also growing largely in part to consumers today constantly being on the go. American’s truly believe there is not enough time in the day to simply sit down and eat a salad, so they are more than willing to pay the $12-$16 cost of a cold pressed juice and smoothie. But with this fad transitioning into a staple, business owners are noticing an influx in the amount of new juice and smoothie bars popping up on every corner. Seriously, there is a juice or smoothie bar on every corner of Los Angeles today. So how does a business owner stay ahead of the intense competition in this industry? By staying on top of the top consumer demands.
Industry Trends for the Juice and Smoothie Bar Industry
Regardless of the booming evolution of the juice and smoothie industry, juice and smoothie bars are still finding ways to grow sales and profits, while creating innovative ways to stay competitive in this large and diverse market. Some of the major trends that juice and smoothie bars are shifting towards to stay competitive in this diverse industry are:
- Build Your Own Juice or Smoothie: Remember how the build your own yogurt ice cream bowl with all the toppings you want idea took off? Well juice and smoothie bar owners who have incorporated this style option into their menus are seeing major profit increases.
- Healthy Extra Supplements/Nutrients/Boosters: The health craze surrounding juice and smoothie bars has exploded, especially when juice and smoothie bar owners offer added bonus ingredients such as protein, superfoods, supplements, and so much more.
- All Vegetable Juices and Smoothies: Consumers are not only becoming more health conscious, but are also realizing the major impacts from sugar, even natural fruit sugars. The new trend that every juice and smoothie bar owner is seeing is fruit free juices to eliminate added sugars.
- Global Inspiration: Indian Lassi, Spanish Horchata, and South American Matcha are being incredibly popular smoothie and juice innovations in the United States today, mainly due to the major health benefits attributed to these delicious drinks.
- Spices and Herbs: Consumers are looking for fun and creative ways to spice up their juices and smoothies, so a major growing trend that juice and smoothie bar owners are seeing today is the incorporation of a variety of spices and herbs into their juices – turmeric being the number one spice being demanded today. With more and more positive health effects being contributed to the use of turmeric and other spices, consumers are demanding the implementation of these products into already health conscious juices and smoothies.
- Vegan, Organic, and Non GMO Options: While this is not a niche for everyone, and there are many successful businesses that are not selling these options, we are now in a generation dedicated to knowing everything about what we consume. Offering these options can be a huge sales booster.
Why Would a Juice and Smoothie Bar Business Need Financing?
- Technology is at the forefront of every business owner’s mind, even in the juice and smoothie bar industry. However, many juice and smoothie bar business owners have reaped the rewards in the past few years by integrating more efficient technological components into their stores. However, replacing old equipment can be quite expensive today, so considering different finance options can help make this necessary transition.
- Inventory is a necessity in every industry. Inventory is one of the top expenses for every juice and smoothie bar, especially if that particular juice and smoothie store is focusing on organic, GMO free, and/or vegan options. Let’s face it, wholesome fruits and vegetables are not cheap.
- Equipment is another major priority for juice and smoothie bars today. Many consumers do not want blender made juice products, forcing juice and smoothie bar companies to invest in cold press juicing machines. Consumers care more today than ever before about the who, what, where, when, why, and how of products – so having the best equipment to produce the most nutritious juice and smoothies is essential. Replacing or adding new equipment however, can be incredibly expensive up front costs that many smaller and medium sized juice and smoothie businesses cannot afford, but remembering that there are always finance options available to juice and smoothie bars can help.
- Renovations and upgrades are not a necessity, but can benefit many juice and smoothie stores looking to stay relevant and up to date. Unfortunately, people do judge books by their cover, so make sure to have a good looking establishment should be a priority. This venture can be pricey up front, there are always different loan options to help cover these costs.
- Expansion is always a consideration for business owners in any industry that have seen positive revenue growth – especially in high traffic areas like Los Angeles and New York City that have endless amounts of juice and smoothie bars on every corner. Expanding a juice and smoothie bar to offer more services to stay ahead of the competition, or to simply add more store front locations, is always a possibility, so considering the variety of financing options available to the juice and smoothie bar industry is always a possibility.
- Marketing and advertising, as every competitive juice and smoothie bar owner knows, is vital to growing a business no matter the industry. Focusing on a social media presence is vital in today’s society. People value local juice and smoothie bars over large name brand locations, but will do first hand research online before choosing which juice and smoothie bar to spend their money at. Creating a savvy social media presence is vital to growing a juice and smoothie bar when competing against the big name brands in the juice and smoothie bar industry.
- Mobile websites, apps, and online promotions (such as groupon or other sales), is a great way for juice and smoothie bar owners to get their brand name out there. As mentioned above, technology and social media are dominating every industry in the United States today, so every single juice and smoothie bar should be implementing a creative and engaging website and app for consumers to utilize when picking what juice bar to visit. In a society dominated by first impressions and quality experiences, having easily accessible and convenient information about a juice and smoothie store is key in gaining an advantage in this large industry.
- Compliance is also a big issue for many juice and smoothie bars today. Some bigger juice and smoothie businesses are focusing on producing products to ship to areas that do not have juice bars on every corner but are looking to jump on board with this quickly evolving health trend. There are many things that can go wrong in production due to the high amount of rules and regulations put in place for juice and smoothie bars to prevent spoilage issues; typically a product only lasts a few days. Staying on top of the necessary rules and regulations is incredibly important.
- Payroll, hiring new employees, and other miscellaneous taxes and fees is a huge concern for many businesses today, especially when business gets slow. There are always different loan options available to juice and smoothie businesses that need help covering these unavoidable costs.
Types of Juice Shop Loans
| Types | Rates | Terms | Funding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank | 6-10% | 3-7 years | 14-30 days |
| SBA | 6-10% | 3-7 years | 10-30 days |
| Line of Credit | 5-15% | 1 – 3 years | 7-30 days |
| Alternative | 6-25% | 1-5 years | 5-7 days |
| Cash Advance | 1.16-1.55 | 3-24 months | 1-3 days |
Juice Shop Bank Loans
Traditional bank loans and lines of credit are the best form of finance for juice and smoothie bars, assuming the business has good credit and sufficient business and personal financial documentation. Simply put, traditional bank loans have the best rates and terms.
- Rates: 4-10%
- Terms: 1-5 years
Juice & Smoothie Shop SBA Loans
SBA loans are always another good option juice and smoothie bar owners. If the juice business has decent credit and documentation, but has been unable to obtain a traditional bank loan for their juice shop, considering a loan backed by the Small Business Administration should definitely be considered because of the competitive rates and extended terms.
- Rates: 6-8%
- Terms: 7-25 years
Alternative Juice & Smoothie Shop Loans
If you are unable to get a more traditional form of financing (like a bank or SBA loan) then alternative business lending may be a good option (or only option) for juice and smoothie bars because they require less documentation and lower credit scores than traditional lenders require.
- Rates: 9-16%
- Terms: 1-5 years
Asset Based Lending For Smoothie Shops
Lets say you don’t have the best credit, but you do own your commercial real estate or personal residence. You can use that real estate (or land) as collateral for asset based commercial lending. An asset based lender may be willing to loan up to a 3rd position on the commercial or residential property.
- Rates: 8-25%
- Terms: 6 months – 3 years
Juice Bar Equipment Financing
Running a juice bar requires using equipment, some of which may be very pricey. If you own a juice or smoothie bar and would like to obtain equipment without paying the full price for the equipment upfront, a good choice may be to lease the equipment.
- Rates: 6-20%
- Terms: 1-10 years
Juice & Smoothie Bar Cash Advance
A merchant cash advance (or ach advance) juice and smoothie bars are good options for business owners that have low credit scores, lack sufficient documentation, would like unsecured business loans or need financing immediately.
- Factor Rates: 1.16-1.50%
- Terms: 4 months – 2 years
