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Juice it Up finds new energy during the pandemicJuice it Up finds new energy during the pandemic

The 27-year-old brand is thriving with tech innovations including its app

Leigh Anne Zinsmeister, Managing Editor

May 25, 2022

Juice it Up, a quick-service franchise company based in California, is 27 years old but feels more like an emerging chain these days.

On Monday, president and CEO Susan Taylor sat down with Nation’s Restaurant News’ managing editor Leigh Anne Zinsmeister at the National Restaurant Association Show to talk about the restaurant chain and all of the challenges and innovations that have come with the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the industry has struggled, and Juice it Up has been no exception, the company has benefited from its quick-service segment and ability to pivot quickly. The company, which in early 2020 could only be accessed in person or over the phone, launched its app last year, giving customers all-new ways to reach the brand and order smoothies and acai bowls.

Taylor also talked about the benefits of being almost entirely franchised — Juice it Up has jut one company location — including the ability to test out menu-price changes as inflation impacts the country.

About the Author

Leigh Anne Zinsmeister

Leigh Anne Zinsmeister

Managing Editor

Leigh Anne Zinsmeister is a managing editor for Informa’s Foodservices Vertical, specifically Nation’s Restaurant News, Restaurant Hospitality, and Foodservice Director. Leigh Anne works on all of the brands’ special reports, including Nation’s Restaurant News’ annual Top 500 report and Restaurant Hospitality’s Best Cocktails and Best Sandwiches contests. She also manages the group’s digital engagement team, and was the managing editor for Supermarket News until December 2024.

Leigh Anne lives in New York City, but also claims Phoenix, Dallas and Cleveland as hometowns. Leigh Anne holds a bachelor’s degree in print journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, where she also studied European history.

Email Leigh Anne at [email protected]

Leigh Anne Zinsmeister’s experience:

Group Managing Editor, Informa’s Foodservices Vertical (Aug. 2021-present)
Group Content Manager, Informa Restaurant and Food Group (Feb. 2020-Aug. 2021)
Digital Content Manager, Informa Restaurant and Food Group (April 2018-Feb. 2020)
Digital Content Producer, Informa Restaurant and Food Group (June 2016-April 2018)
Community Moderator, Mail Online (March 2014-June 2016)
Wire Editor, Gannett’s Phoenix Design studio (The Arizona Republic, The Reno Gazette-Journal, The Statesman Journal, The Great Falls Tribune, The Visalia Times-Delta, The Tulare Advance Register, The Salinas Californian, The St. George Spectrum, The Desert Sun, The Coloradoan) (Jan. 2012-March 2014)

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