As a smoothie lover, health enthusiast, and graphic designer, Jamba Juice’s rebrand did not come unnoticed to me. Although there wasn’t as big of controversy as Burger King’s new rebrand is, many people are slowly noticing it. It rolled out in the summer of 2019 but didn’t do a huge promotion or ads for the revamp. Instead, they subtly started updating their logos at their store locations. Jamba Juice is an original pioneer for juice and smoothie shops. Last year was Jamba Juice’s 30th year anniversary and to celebrate they did a whole brand facelift to keep up with their audience. From left to right is their original logo which was made in 1990 versus the new one made in 2019. Jamba’s new logo leaves me with an unsatisfied taste.
A problem that Jamba was facing was that they were losing customers to smaller, hip, and healthier drink shops. Jamba has previously been associated with using too much refined sugar in their drinks. Their reputation was tarnished when people learned that they used some sorbets and ice creams in their “healthy” smoothies. To combat this controversy they are adding more nutritious ingredients and eliminating others. They wanted to evolve as a brand which includes an updated menu and logo.
I had mixed feelings the first time I saw the logo. I remember I was out running errands and we happened to be driving by our local Jamba Juice and my friend and I noticed they changed their logo. The shop inside looked relatively the same but the front sign and cups had the new updated logo. My friend was absolutely repulsed by the new logo. It took me a second to realize what I thought of it. Now I think it’s kinda how you say “pugly”, both ugly and cute. The way pugs are viewed essentially. I liked the modern color palette but the thing that was most off putting to me is the slant of the ‘j’ against the swirl is not at the same angle.
With further in depth analysis of the logo, I noticed they changed almost every aspect from the original logo. The only two things that I noticed stay the same are the swirl symbol and jamba spelt in all lowercase. I feel like the more I look at it the worst it gets. Even though they kept the swirl they changed it to pair with the script font. It currently follows all the new modern trends for a logo which include a script font, flat color (not 3D), and trendy colors. The things that really turn me off is how the designers italicized the letters. To me it looks just barely imperfect. I either would want those lines and circles to be perfect and equal or even more organic.The justification as well as the thick and thin of the letters feels off. Something that went right over my head was the fact that they dropped the juice part of Jamba Juice and are now only going by Jamba. This is another trend that Dunkin’ did before. I honestly think it’s fitting since they are most well known for their smoothies not juices.
Looking over the new designs including the menu, I almost feel as though this is “greenwashing”. “Greenwashing” means, “marketing using the color green to evoke the idea of good health. Green is a handy shortcut for “good” or “better for you” since the color has come to mean “good for the earth.” Now, food companies are using the color in their marketing sometimes to signal that their products are healthier, and sometimes to indicate they are using earth-friendly practices”. Jamba using this marketing strategy isn’t the worst but still it’s not entirely true. Smoothies, juices, and bowls that they serve aren’t the worst for you but they are also not the best. They should be consumed more of a treat rather than a meal. After all, eating the actual fruit is much more nutritious than drinking blended up sugar. This goes along with the reason why they changed their color palette. Jamba states, “The new logo and whirl is a modern interpretation of our classic Jamba logo and features clean, handwritten script, new emerald green brand color and our evolved “Whirl” that draws from the beautiful hues of the fruits and vegetables we use every day”. Which is why their new colors feel more natural, modern, and muted.
Overall, I am a huge fan of the whole branding as a system but the logo itself could use much improvement and tighten up. I am appeased by the logo for now but expect more. It fits in with the current trends of today. Something that should be of concern is the fact that they try so hard to fit in with the trends that in a few years or decades the logo will very soon be outdated. Brands should be aware that trends come and go at the speed of light. The logo is successful at “greenwashing” marketing but looking at the technical design aspects needs further exploration.
