Booster Juice opens 200th franchise store

Date AddedJuly 02, 2009 03:13:21 PM

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Booster Juice opens 200th storeSherwood Park-based company sets sights on 400 Canadian stores, and charities to encourage activity in kidsPosted By Tessa Clayton News StaffPosted 2 days ago
Booster Juice welcomed the newest edition to its ever-growing family last Friday in Ottawa.
The new store is number 200 for the franchise, which is quite an accomplishment considering the company has only been in existence since 1999.
"It's phenomenal to think that we've opened 200 stores in under 10 years," said Booster Juice Founder and CEO Dale Wishewan. "It's quite an accomplishment for a franchise born in Canada."
Booster Juice has stores throughout Canada, the United States and several international locations, making it the biggest franchise based out of Western Canada. Wishewan hopes to have about 400 to 450 in Canada alone.
Wishewan said that when Booster Juice first started here in Sherwood Park it was their goal to provide fruits and vegetables to people on a convenient basis.
"It's very hard to get your required fruits and vegetables in a day," Wishewan said. "I try to eat very healthy but it's pretty hard to think of grabbing an apple, an orange, a banana - the average person just won't think of consuming fruit in that way.
"We evolved on the premise of trying to have something that was for people who are active, on-the-go and starved for time. It's hard to get good nutrition from the typical fast food outlets out there."
Wishewan said he knew it would be a good business, but that when he started the company years ago he didn't know how quickly the growth would ensue. Based on consumer response, Wishewan said that he knows the public enjoys the wide variety of smoothies and healthy food choices Booster Juice offers because stores are busy and doing well all across Canada.
Booster Juice also announced the formation of its new charitable organization, Booster Juice Fit Kids, at the new store opening. The organization will primarily focus on child obesity and awareness around that issue.
"Right now there's no real charity or foundation across Canada that is doing anything with childhood obesity and it's one of the greatest - I don't want to call it a disease but it is a form of a disease - things that is happening right now in Canada," Wishewan said.
"We think it's something that can somewhat be prevented more so than the cancers or diabetes - which you have no means of controlling. We think obesity can be controlled, so if we can help through the form of education and funding through our foundation it was just a natural tie-in for us."
The organization is still in its early stages but Wishewan said he hopes that besides having days where all proceeds from sales go towards the foundation that it will evolve into providing lunch programs for schools, educational information on healthy living and eating and celebrtity association among other things.
"We want to have some inspiring stories for kids so that they can recognize that they're not stuck with this in the same way that maybe they would be with cancers or diabetes," Wishewan said. "Right now, we're just scratching the surface with all the possibilities we can do witht this."
Wishewan said that Booster Juice will be using Dr. Mark Tremblay, chief scientific officer for Active Healthy Kids Canada, as a resource in deciding where the funds that Booster Juice Fit Kids should go to.
The original Booster Juice location opened on November 13, 1999, in the Broadmoor stripmall here in the Park. Since then both the franchise and Wishewan have been the recipients of numerous awards and distinctions, including Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2005 and Top Fresh Juice and Smoothie Bar in Canada.
There are two locations in Sherwood Park, one on Broodmoor Boulevard and the other on Granada Boulevard. You can check out Booster Juice's website at www.boosterjuice.com for updates, menus, and nutritional information.
tessa@sherwoodparknews.com