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There are two basic ways to increase revenue at a health club. One way is to sign up more members increasing the collection of initiation fees and monthly fees. The other way is to increase the dollars spent by each existing member.
Adding a juice bar to an existing health club is a perfect way to increase dollars spent per member. A juice bar not only generates income, it provides a value added service to it's members and staff. A typical juice bar customer is health conscious, active, and typically convenience oriented. Does this customer profile sound familiar?
Even though the health club member profile is very similar to a juice bar customer profile, not every health club in America should have a juice bar. If you have 150 people per day using the facility, you may not have enough foot traffic to justify the cost of putting a juice bar in your club. However, if you have 400 people or more coming through your door on a daily basis, a juice bar may be just the thing to maximize your revenue potential and provide an extra service your members will appreciate.
Here are some reasons a juice bar is a perfect fit with a health club or gym.
Increased Revenue
Juice bars in health clubs typically have a capture rate of 15-25%. This means that 15 - 25 out of every hundred people that are walking out the door will purchase products from the juice bar. If you have 600 people per day working out, that equates to 90 - 150 juice bar customers each day. With an average sale of $4, a juice bar program can add $360 - $600 in extra revenue dollars per day and $10,800 - $18,0000 per month.
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Added Value
In marketing for new clients, you can advertise having a juice bar as an added service, which may help with new sales. By having a juice bar in the club, you are now offering both exercise as well as proper nutrition as a way to help your customers reach their fitness goals. This is a great way to stay ahead or keep up with your competition.
Proper Nutrition
There have been many studies over the past several years showing that the optimal time for absorption of nutrients is within a 10-40 minute window after heavy exercise. Having a juice bar on sight will help your clients get the nutrients and refreshment they need after a tough workout.
Member Retention
People are creatures of habit. If your clients can work out and then grab something that is healthy and tastes fantastic, they are more likely to get into a routine and make coming to your facility part of their daily ritual. This is added revenue in your pocket.
Social Benefits
A good juice bar has tables and chairs and is a place that members can sit down to relax and hang out with each other after a tough workout, swim, or game of basketball. When people support each other with proper eating habits, they will see better results.
Great Way To Sell Supplements
Selling functional smoothies with protein, fat stripper, or energy boosts is a great way to sell supplements on an individual basis. If you sell retail supplements by the box or the bottle, (which is also highly recommended) a juice bar is a great way to have people try the supplements before they buy. With the right supplement program and proper training, selling supplements out of the juice bar is another way to stimulate revenue growth.
The ideal place for a juice bar in a health club is near the exit so the members walk by it as they leave. This is the perfect time to grab a protein packed smoothie to replenish those working muscles, a bottled water to re-hydrate, or an energy bar to munch on in the car.
There are several ways to add a juice bar to your existing health club. The first way is to build a permanent juice bar in the corner of the lobby. You will need to build a counter, run plumbing and electricity, post menu boards, and install equipment. Depending on the menu and the size of your club, a juice bar will typically need an area of 75 - 200 square feet for the kitchen area as well as some space for a customer area with tables and chairs. Extra refrigerator and freezer storage may be required depending on the products you are serving and the frequency of product delivery in your area. A typical built in juice bar can cost anywhere from $10,000- $50,000 depending on materials used, equipment needed, and extra bells and whistles.
Another option is to add a pre-built juice bar cart or kiosk. A juice bar kiosk can come already built with an electrical and plumbing system built in and is completely portable. This can be a great option as an entire smoothie kiosk can be leased and requires little money invested up front. A full juice bar kiosk typically costs anywhere from $18,000-$24,000 with another $4,000-$6,000 in other start up costs.
Doing the Math
If you think a juice bar may be a good fit for your health club ask yourself a few questions such as: how many members per day are coming into the club? With a capture rate of 15-20%, how many juice bar customers is that per day? If an average sale is $4, how many dollars per day does that generate? What products would I like to serve at the juice bar and what equipment is needed to prepare those products? Are the health club customers going to a juice bar after they leave the club and would the customers buy from a juice bar in the club?
Getting Started
If a juice bar looks to be a good match for your club, you must work backwards to set up the juice bar properly. The first step is to determine the menu you want to serve. How many smoothies, what kind of smoothies, and how much space you have to work with will determine a lot about your business. Once the menu is put together, an equipment list can be generated. From there, you can layout out the equipment for efficient product preparation and production flow.
Many stand alone juice bar companies look to locate near high volume health clubs because they know that the health club members are the same target market customers as the juice bar market and will generate sales for their company. If you have a member base of more than 400 people per day walking into your club, explore opening up your own juice bar inside your facility. You will increase revenue and your members will love you for it.
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