The addition of freshly squeezed juice options at the Juice It Up! smoothie chain has significantly boosted same-store sales, offering further evidence that consumer interest in juicing is growing.

Frank Easterbrook, chief executive of Juice It Up! management services company Balboa Brands Inc., said Tuesday that year-over-year same-store sales rose 19.3 percent for the Irvine, Calif.-based, mostly franchised chain.

“It’s not all attributable to raw juice, but it’s played an important role in that,” he said.

Juice It Up! began retrofitting its units in August 2011 to install raw juice bars offering blends made with ingredients like fresh fruits, kale, spinach, celery, cucumber, carrots and lemon. The move attempts to tap into growing demand for fresh juices as meal alternatives, commonly known as “juicing,” in which consumers drink their fruits and vegetables in the place of food.

Juice it Up

“It’s a very habitual product,” said Carol Skinner, Juice It Up! senior director of marketing and business development. She noted that many customers buy two or more drinks at a time — one to drink immediately and another to cover the next meal.

“We want to meet the demands of people who juice on a regular basis,” she said. “But we’re also really seeing a shift toward a healthier lifestyle with consumers looking for healthy products.”