Jamba’s Jumpin’

According to The Wall Street Journal, Nestlé USA will start selling two types of Jamba Juice fruit drinks at grocery stores in eight Western U.S. states next year in a move that will advance Nestlé’s push into ready-to-drink beverages.

For Jamba Inc., operator of the Jamba Juice chain, the licensing deal will mark the juice brand’s first foray beyond its retail stores. “We’ve always felt the Jamba Juice brand was highly extendable,” says Paul Clayton, chief executive of Jamba Juice, based in Emeryville, Calif. “It was just a matter of us finding the right partner.”
Nestlé USA, a unit of Nestlé SA, Vevey, Switzerland, will manufacture and distribute the drinks. Nestlé may eventually sell Jamba Juice beverages in other countries, where the company now mostly sells powdered drinks.