DU E DI L I GE NC E
J O E I S M O R E I M P O R TA N T THAN HIS JUICE JO E & T H E J U I C E / VAL E DO
Since its founding in 2002, Joe & The Juice has experienced exponential organic growth, currently boasting a turnover of DKK 200 million.
Since its founding in 2002, Joe & The Juice has experienced exponential organic growth, currently boasting a turnover of DKK 200 million. The Danish juice bar chain has expanded its operations and is now serving freshly squeezed juice with a wink and a smile at over 50 locations throughout Northern Europe, including Scandinavia, Germany and the UK. However, the rapid expansion came as no surprise to founder and CEO Kaspar Basse. He and his team had ambitious plans for international growth, and in 2013, they set out to establish a strategic partnership that would help the company realise its goals. They found such a partner in Swedish private equity firm Valedo, which became the majority shareholder in December of last year.
CUSTOMER PERCEPTIONS OF THE JOE & THE JUICE CONCEPT
+50% emphasised the “cool vibe”
(loud music, cool and flirty guys, modern design, youthful atmosphere) —
~40% emphasised “the good stuff”
(tasty food, fresh ingredients, high quality and refreshing juices) —
<10% mentioned “healthy”
(nutritious, low fat, vitamins as key elements of the concept)
WHO IS JOE AND WHAT’S IN HIS JUICE?
To fully assess the strength of Joe & The Juice’s value proposition, a deeper understanding of the customers and their perception of the juice bar was needed. Joe & The Juice’s value proposition is health, quality products and a cool vibe that caters to a younger customer base. But who exactly made up this customer base, what were their preferences and how did they interpret the Joe & The Juice concept? A comprehensive customer analysis was completed with several hundred respondents across the store network who had just visited a Joe & The Juice bar. Contrary to what might be expected, the cool vibe was clearly the most important part of the juice bar’s concept, while only a few of the respondents mentioned the health aspect of its products. Although the juice bar attracts a demographically diverse customer group, there was a clear trend towards a younger female audience. In fact, a majority of the female customers were below the age of 30 and frequent users, visiting more than once a week or several times a month. In other words, Joe & The Juice’s value proposition is to a great extent dependent on the atmosphere of its juice bars – Joe is more important than his juice. This highlights the strengths and uniqueness of the concept, but is also a potential risk factor for the sustainability of the concept over time; where continuous rejuvenation is key to maintaining its “coolness” and appeal to a younger audience. Currently, however, the sky seems to be the limit for Joe and his juice.
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