Opening doors is the way to scale; continuing to iterate on the in-store experience builds brands.
This duality in Nékter Juice Bar Inc.’s growth strategy is helping it notch big gains.
The Santa Ana-based company has seen $81 million in revenue for the 12 months through June 30, a 59% spike from the same period in 2017.
That two-year growth is good for No. 26 on the Business Journal’s list of the fastest-growing midsized private companies (see list, page 40).
Nekter currently has 148 locations, of which 42 are company owned. Whole Foods Market Inc. is helping with the growth as the two slowly roll out Nékter juice concepts within the Amazon.com Inc.-owned health food grocer. Three have so far been opened with an additional two Whole Foods locations in Long Beach and Tempe, Ariz. set to open this year.
Chief Executive and co-founder Steve Schulze said the Whole Foods business is doing well so far.
“I’ve always been a believer in proof of concept,” Schulze said. “We could have opened 10 [Whole Foods] locations easily, but my belief is we make sure that both we like them, and they like us.”
Discussions are now being had about where to open next year within Whole Foods, Schulze added.
“We’re being pragmatic,” in our planning, he said.
Other Linkups
Schulze doesn’t see inking deals with any other grocers, but potentially other businesses, pointing to airports, colleges and apparel retailers—all of which are ideas that have been presented to him.
“I think part of it is the evolution of retail is becoming much more experiential,” he said. “I want to make sure it’s worth it for us to make that sort of investment for the brand. So those conversations are ongoing. We certainly won’t see something in 2019.
“My guess is we’ll test one or two nontraditional retailers, and by nontraditional I mean nontraditional spaces, in 2020.”
The company is also continuing to revitalize its in-store design with the goal of creating spaces that encourage people to stay awhile. That means communal seating and having simple options such as USB ports to allow people to work inside Nékter.
“When we first started the brand, the concept was to make it the Starbucks of juice, so rather than sitting in a coffee shop with friends, people could meet in Nékter,” Schulze said.
The reality of noise from blenders made creating a hang-out space a bit difficult, but Schulze said the team has been making progress with vendors and suppliers on that front. Some locations have also hosted live music or guest speakers.
“All parts of life are becoming more experiential and the culture has changed how people view and live life and what they want out of it,” he said. “So I think that is our response: to provide new experiences for a guest to come in the door.”
Consumers will see some of the original locations updated to fit within this new design prototype, with about 10 set for remodels beginning in the first quarter.
Nékter also looks at diversity of the markets it moves into. While coastal and metropolitan cities are certainly viewed as being ahead of or on-trend, secondary and tertiary markets that are limited in their access to more directional concepts present opportunities.
The CEO tempered all this saying expansion will continue to be evaluated carefully.
“Across the country, there’s a thirst for living a healthier life, making it easier for people to do it and I think that really drives the growth,” Schulze said.
