Your juice bar can be a profit-boosting ancillary product for your club if you do things the right way.
As the New Year begins so, too, does a new budget. For health club owners this means possibly updating your equipment, introducing the hottest new group classes, looking at personnel changes, etc; in general, trying to stay on the cutting edge while improving your bottom line. Once these decisions are in place, the only thing you can do is cross your fingers and hope that the new members pour in. Build it and they will come.
As in any industry, business owners must understand that no matter how precise their budgeting is there is never any certainty as to what new expenses a New Year will bring. No one likes to think about the possibility of any unforeseen losses, setbacks or other expenditures but they are an unfortunate reality. There are ways to strengthen your bottom line while minimizing the unforeseen.
Staying on the cutting edge is imperative to survival. Are you aware what folks in your area are looking for in a health club? Did you know that people everywhere are becoming more aware than ever that nutrition plays a crucial part in their healthy lifestyles? They just don’t know where to get the right products or advice. Juice bars are the logical and ideal place to bring it all together. There are other advantages too that will add new dimensions to your club; in the end, your bottom line benefits. Think about all of the great new products that you will see at IHRSA 2008, but when you are looking, keep your eyes open for juice bars.
Juice bars serve as mini profit centers for your club. They add value to your memberships by providing a way to help members to reach their goals more quickly while serving as a source of residual income for the club. As with any new concept, there are up front costs and a little bit of risk involved, which any business owner knows all too well. So my suggestion here is to be very selective when choosing a juice bar provider. All juice bars are not created equal and, in order to have a truly successful venture, you can’t just “sell some smoothies”. It requires a deeper understanding of what brings people to the juice bar, what products they’re really searching for and what products you should be providing to them. Since opening the doors to my own business in 1999, I have been involved with countless club owners. I have learned a great deal from them and their members. Here’s a short list that may help you make the right choices:
ONE Healthy Products
This is your most important objective. People read labels. Do your homework!
TWO Education
You cannot expect people to buy your products if they don’t understand the benefits of healthy eating and relationship between diet and exercise.
THREE Marketing
Keep your marketing fresh and new constantly. Proudly sample your products and create a fun and inviting atmosphere.
Be proactive in ’08 and set yourself up for a good year from the start by adding a juice bar to your club. Your members and your bottom line will thank you! v dan young
Dan Young is the owner of Performance Food Centers. He can be contacted at 866.632.1927, or by -mail at dyoung@performancefoodcenters.com , or visit performancefoodcenters.com.
