Analysis of an Australian Entrepreneur - Boost Juice Founder Janine Allis - Case Study Example

ANALYSIS OF AN АUSTRАLIАN ЕNTRЕРRЕNЕUR JАNINЕ АLLIS FOUNDER OF BООSТ JUIСЕ Introduction to Janine Allis Janine is a renowned self-made businessperson; she successfully grew her smoothie and juice idea into an international brand with juice bars now located in 13 countries. Janine’s success story does not relate with academic achievements. Born in Melbourne, Janine ended up working in three jobs to achieve her life dreams. Firstly, she began working for a media advertising agency McCann-Erickson at the age of 17 after dropping out of school, other jobs she did include modeling and the role of a gym assistant. Working as a steward in a yacht owned by David Bowie shaped her extraordinarily. Other roles include the senior manager at a cinema in Singapore and the touring agent representing USA comedians. Her experience in different roles shaped her future entrepreneurship dream since she did not have any academic background in managing a business. The roles enabled her to tour the world and get a vast experience that will later shape her success in business (Warrell, 2015, p.72). Background Analysis Social and culture life Janine was born and raised in Melbourne and had many dreams, and one of them was to own a business. Her husband Jeff is the CEO and co-founder of Boost juice; she is a family person who treasures and values her family and friends. She is 50 years old and a loving and caring mother of four kids. Janine Allis does not attribute the success to academics; she was an average student in her class. In her teens, she used to go by the name “Ms. Average” true to her nickname as she dropped out of school when she was 17 years old. Her social life is instrumental in the growth of boost juice, her husband, on the other hand, is a PR specialist and with their determination, they were able to create an empire in the form of Boost juice. An experience in different roles builds one's character and perception of business management. The travels taught Janine problem solving skills and conflict management. Her diverse experiences with different cultures shaped her as an all rounded person, her drive and determination bore Boost juice. The mistakes she made in her journey taught her a lot concerning business management. The love of individuals around her gave her the motivation and happiness in her career choice (Tan & Smyrnios, 2011, p.55). From her interaction as a yacht steward, she learned that success in a career does not translate to success in life; this made her value social interactions and family support. Business development Janine did not foresee success or failure; her business was a learning experience. She solved problems when they occured and understood the nature of her business and came up with promotional activities (Hanke, 2016, p.18). The growth of her business was due to her focus on their current standing as it enabled her to plan for the growth. The company scheduled for an international expansion after it sold part of its shares to The Riverside Company a US private equity firm. The company targets customers who value their health and this contributed to the smoothie company success. Other juice companies sell unhealthy diets that lead to chronic health problems. The strategy by Janine saw a market growth and the company projects it revenue at $ 360.7 million by the end of the year. Through her role as a judge at Shark Tank Australia she was able to acquire a lot of investors who would later help Boost juice grow exponentially. The Shark Tank experience enabled Janine partner with business such as food delivery, underwear subscription service, and portable washing machines services. Janine attaches value to the percentage she owns. According to Janine, right partners in business does not guarantee success, a more important aspect is control. The reason that led to sell down of boost was poor financial management thus it is important for a business to manage its financial resources carefully to ensure smooth operations within the company. The company relies a lot on radio advertising due to wide listener coverage and powerful aspect of radio communication as it leads to more customer interest compared to TV channels. The success in promotional activities saw a strong market penetration. A perfect understanding of the market leads to customer-centered services since the Australian market is split between a localized campaign and national focus. Recently Bain Capital, a private equity company, acquired Retail zoo owner of Boost juice bars. The estimated deal value is approximately $185 million. According to Janine (2013,p 12), the initial meeting with Bain Capital proved that the company was a perfect partner in their growth strategy (Keating, 2014 p.3 ). Retail Zoo is a strong company and its strong customer relationship increases growth prospects for Boost Juice. Competitive advantage The company is not a monopolist given the open Australian market however; being a healthy juice producer it’s more of a monopoly in that segment. There are other companies selling juice brands and pose a challenge to Boost operations. However, Janine utilized the solid foundation created by Boost to counter her competitors and this enables Boost to maximize its growth potential. They expanded by purchasing stores like Salsas Fresh Mex Grill that enabled Boost to emerge in the entire Australia. Another store that Boost assimilated is CIBO Espresso an Italian franchise that had been a major competitor for 12 years. Janine perfected customer experience by training her staff and ensuring that they are good communicators and this gave her a competitive advantage over her rivals (Belbaly & Cheruy, 2013, p.47). Boost juice utilizes technology to reach most of it customers; this is evident with the availability of an app in Google play that helps serve and direct customers. Janine like any other normal person, who saw an idea, acted upon it, and did not let failure derail her ambitions. The recipe of success according to Janine is passion, commitment, and hard work; lastly, it is important to surround oneself with the right people. The success of a venture lies with the commitment that staff attaches to their service delivery. A successful business focuses on internal marketing, employees training, and customer service (Allis, 2013 p.14 ) Thus, at Boost “Customers are the King”, Janine insists that complaints do not last beyond 24 hours without being solved. She believes customers love nothing more than a business that values them and listens to them continuously and Janine has capitalized on customer service and pushed Boost juice to greater heights. Future Entrepreneurial Suggestions Ventures like healthy foods on top of its juice should be greatly considered by Boost juice. Healthy eating and living is an idea that has not been fully utilized and there is an increase the demand for healthy but tasty foods globally. This is an opportunity for Boost to blend its healthy juice business with tasty but healthy foods and expand its market share. Consequently, customer concerns for healthy foods make fruit and vegetable menus a market opportunity that Boost can venture into (Menzies & Orr, 2014 p.27). The lifestyle of milenials who prefer healthy foods, is an opportunity for companies offering healthy food options in the market thus a viable venture for Boost juice. Additionally, ventures like meatless options, healthier kid’s menus and ancient grains is an opportunity that Boost should invest in. The Juice Company needs to offer plant-based choices and additional vegetable and fruit options to meet millennial expectations and position its brand to the younger generations. The young generations prefer eating healthy foods since they avoid additives in industrially processed foods; they prefer organic choices since most of them avoid allergens in the diet (Warrell, 2015 p.34 ). An assortment of the menu from foods such as fruits, lean proteins, whole grains, and vegetables is a winning strategy that Boost Juice Company can venture into. Boost juice’s partnership with Bain capital is an outstanding entrepreneurial avenue. With joint ventures and market positioning Boost juice has an avenue to enable it expand to various global markets that are in need of healthy drinks. Australia enjoys a powerful economy thus offers a wide market for Boost products but it should consider entering into third world countries which offer opportunities for growth to companies operating in a beverage industry dominated by companies like Coca-Cola globally (Buchan, 2008 p. 23). With her strong customer service policies Janine Allis can propel Boost juice into horizons that will enable the company to compete with dominant players like Coca-Cola. Conclusion Janine Allis is an inspiration to many entrepreneurs; she bravely juggled between a start-up career and raising a family, and achieving the success that attracted many rewards. One gets to learn a lot from Janine, from going to understand personal strengths and weaknesses and creating strong relationships with employees at work. Boost Juice’s winning strategy is founded on strong customer service. Businesses needs to value its customers by attending to customer concerns promptly and using customer feedback to improve service delivery. One on one communication with the client creates an remarkable business world since customers prefer sharing their experiences on a product. Bibliography Allis, J., 2013. The Secrets of My Success: The Story of Boost Juice, Juicy Bits and All. John Wiley & Sons. Belbaly, N. and Cheruy, C., 2013. How Creative are Your Executives?.Available at SSRN 2449200. Buchan, J., 2008. Challenges that franchisees of insolvent franchisors pose for liquidators. Insolvency Law Journal, 16(1). Buchan, J., 2013. The Franchisee. In Franchisees as Consumers (pp. 41-68). Springer New York. Callebaut signed long-term, B., 2008. News Review. Lipid Technology, 20(3), p.51. Hanke, A., 2016. Rethinking business. Books+ Publishing, 95(4), p.16. Keating, E. (2014). Boost Juice changes hands as private equity group Bain Capital acquires Retail Zoo - SmartCompany. Retrieved September 07, 2016, from http://www.smartcompany.com.au/growth/42197-boost-juice-changes-hands-as-private-equity-group-bain-capital-acquires-retail-zoo/ Menzies, J.L. and Orr, S.C., 2014. Internationalization of Boost Juice to Malaysia. Asian Case Research Journal, 18(01), pp.175-197. Sherborne, C., 2008. Repo Man. Monthly, The, (June 2008), p.17. Tan, C.S.L. and Smyrnios, K.X., 2011. How do Australian fast-growth small-to-medium enterprises measure performance?. Journal of Enterprising Culture, 19(01), pp.41-60. Warrell, M., 2015. Brave: 50 Everyday Acts of Courage to Thrive in Work, Love and Life. John Wiley & Sons. Read More