Clean Juice, the first juice bar chain to be USDA certified as organic, offers a high-quality, simple menu featuring cold-pressed juices, fruit and vegetable smoothies, acai and oat bowls, cold-pressed shots and small bites such as avocado toast.
The Charlotte, N.C.-based chain opened its first store in June 2015 and is on target to end this year with 75 stores in 15 states. The plan is to quickly have stores open “from coast to coast,” says co-founder and CEO Landon Eckles.
Each store has a $32,000 cold-press juicer that can churn out 200 to 300 bottled juices during an eight-hour shift. Stores also have a table-top juicer in case a customer wants a freshly made juice with their own choice of ingredients.
Smoothies and acai bowls are made to order in front of customers. “We wanted the guests to see all the ingredients as well as to see that we weren’t adding anything else,” Eckles says. “We want to be fully transparent.”
Prices range from $5 to $10 with an average check of $13. Most people buy a juice and a shot or a juice and a bite, Eckles says.
The average Clean Juice is about 1,200 square feet, though there are prototypes for 400-square-foot kiosks and a 1,600-square-foot prototype with a drive-through is slated to open soon. Most locations are near large organic supermarkets and gyms.
The focus “is to create a strong brand with strong franchisees,” Eckles says. “We really believe that when we open a Clean Juice in a community, that community is better because we’re there serving healthy, organic, on-the-go options.”
Clean Juice
Charlotte, N.C.
Co-founder and CEO: Landon Eckles
Co-founder and chief branding officer: Kat Eckles
Locations: 30