Case Study: BOOST Juice

While a prime reason for choosing any drink is to quench one’s thirst, it is when consumers continually demand a particular brand that marketers know they have done their job well. There are many ways in which we san slake our thirst, and large amounts of money are spent on positioning branded drinks in various categories – such as those competing in carbonated beverages, water and milk drink sectors – not to mention the sums spent on convincing us that we need to drink more of that type of drink. You might think there is very little room left to grow the market, or feel that the industry is overcrowded. After all, Australasia isn’t North America, which has almost ten times the local population. California alone has the same population as Australasia. Nevertheless, while there have been failures, juice bars targeting the health-conscious have sprung up in many different locations, particularly in shopping malls. A big player in this market, Boost Juice, was founded by Melbourne-born Janine Allis in 2000. It experienced 257% growth in 2003/04 and by then had 100 stores and a turnover of nearly $20 million. By 2007 there were 180 stores throughout Australia, with three in Chile, two in Indonesia, and one each in Kuwait, Singapore and Dubai, and turnover had risen to over $90 million. All this in seven short years! More than 150 of the stores are franchise operations. When high-profile investors such as the co-founder of Flight Centre, Geoff Harris, testify that they also see a market gap by putting their money at risk in such a new venture, we have to conclude that success will continue. Boost Juice has shown that brand equity can be built quickly if there is a gap in the market. Brand equity has allowed Boost Juice to be less resistant to price competition than it otherwise might be. After all, fruit juices have long been seen as a