James White advises entrepreneurs on 'The Mentor'
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Lisa Jennings
Restaurant chief executives appear to be some of the hardest working actors in television these days.
James White, president and chief executive of the Jamba Juice smoothie chain, will make his small-screen debut Thursday in an episode of “Bloomberg The Mentor,” a reality series that pairs small-business owners with top CEOs. The episode is scheduled to air at 9 p.m. Eastern on Bloomberg Television.
Earlier this week, Johnny Rockets CEO John Fuller appeared in an episode of the CBS reality show “Undercover Boss,” which has also featured Don Fertman of Subway and Coby Brooks of Hooters.
In “The Mentor,” White spends time with the entrepreneurs Michael Landau and Alli Webb, siblings who founded Drybar, a Los Angeles-based chain offering hair blow-drying services — with the tagline “no cuts, no color, just blowouts” — for $35.
Though noting that he was unlikely to use the blowout services himself, White saw the Drybar concept as one that filled a void in the marketplace and became quickly popular — much like Jamba Juice when it first opened.
White, who was hired as CEO at the 742-unit Jamba Juice in late 2008, shared what he could about the experience before the show aired with Nation’s Restaurant News:
How much time did you spend at Drybar?
They got to spend a significant amount of time with me looking at their operations. I flew to Southern California to review their business plan and we spent time in a Jamba location. We talked about the Jamba experience, and walked through our location to reinforce certain points.
Can you tell me about your impressions of Drybar and what about the Jamba brand would be beneficial for their business?
I can’t really pre-empt the show. But the major analogs that might be helpful to the CEO of Drybar were the fact that Jamba has both company-operated and franchise units; we have multiple locations and multiple geographies. And the fact that we needed to have a pretty clear-headed blueprint from which we grew the brand.
Was there anything about this experience you took away that could be applied to Jamba Juice?
Any time you look at any business plan or business, whether in or outside the industry, you learn something. But, again, I can’t pre-empt the show.
We have seen several CEOs from the foodservice industry on TV lately. What are the benefits to doing these reality shows?
It’s really great exposure for the Jamba brand, and we learn a few things too. We get to expose consumers and potential franchisees to a bit of the strategy.
Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].
