Henry says average ticket sizes have risen significantly—like they have for many quick-serves—as solo occasions slide in favor of group orders. It’s been more than double-digits, he says.

Last year’s refresh helped in other ways as well. The store designs unlock updated features, like grab-and-go coolers that support digital convenience and access. Customers pull up and grab and go without needing to enter the store.

Other units have taken a makeshift drive-thru approach, especially in nontraditional venues. Operators purchased signs and cones, tables, tents, and set up an operation out front for consumers to pickup food.

This helped a lot of Jamba’s restaurants remain open from day one forward. Henry says more than 95 percent are up and running today, and the majority avoided temporarily closures throughout.

COVID inspired model innovation. Jamba launched its first food truck in Atlanta—providing franchisees with a lower-cost-to-entry opportunity. Henry says it’s also helped Jamba get the brand to more places and deliver food in new ways, an important lever as lockdown behavior limits travel patterns.

“If you were a franchisee and you were interested in a food truck, I think the best combination would be if you already had a store, the food truck would help you extend the reach in the marketplace and help build the brand and get the product in more places, and perhaps unexpected places,” Henry says.

“Obviously, time will tell what the ultimate impact of COVID-19 will be on behaviors and habits,” he adds of the food truck’s future. “But, certainly, I think the food truck and its capabilities are highly relevant for urban locations. I could also see it in suburban or more coastal locations.”

Consider it an extension of a new-look Jamba. The brand tapped a local Atlanta artist to create a mural and, like all food trucks, it’s serving as a roaming billboard for Jamba.

Looking ahead, Henry says there’s been a steady increased in franchisee interest. He believes COVID-19 and shelter-in-place mandates inspired a lot of people to start thinking about their future from angles they hadn’t before. And the helplessness of the situation, in many ways, shoved entrepreneurial-centric options in the spotlight.

Franchising fits the bill, as the pandemic’s impact on the workplace leads professions to reevaluate what they want to do and why they do it. “The industry is getting more attention for folks who have been looking at it for a while and now see it as potentially the right opportunity to step in or step in and learn before they expand,” he says.

Jamba’s inclusion in FOCUS Brands’ seven-unit portfolio (Moe’s, McAlister’s Deli, Cinnabon, Carvel, and Auntie Anne’s) stirs some unique possibilities. Jamba namely touts co-branding activations with Auntie Anne’s, but there’s also some tri-branding taking form with Cinnabon included.

“One, they’re small footprint,” he says. “Two, they’re designed for on-the-go. So there’s a lot of synergies, at least from an operations and design standpoint, relative to Jamba, which can make for a very efficient build-out, which is great for a guest experience.”

“While we have different product offerings and different frequency of loyal guest visits, it can certainty be the same guest but perhaps at different times,” Henry adds.

In more recent days with dine-in coming back, Jamba witnessed digital transactions hold after March and April spikes. Henry doesn’t believe customers’ sudden affinity for convenience and accessibility are going to fade when COVID-19 cases do. Consumers will continue to turn on the channels they leaned on during the pandemic, especially at brands built around speed and convenience to begin with (like a smoothie-focused chain).

Henry also sees a chance for wellness brands to progress forward with immunity-boosting options and balance their menus with made-to-order products that meet evolving consumer demand.

In Jamba’s small footprint, customers see the entire restaurant once they walk through the door. There’s zero mystery, which is becoming essential given the invisible enemy in the room.

“People are going to naturally expect more of that going forward where they can have that just the way they want it,” he says. “I think we’re well positioned in that space as well. Combined as well with the transparency of what we’re offering, obviously with this health crisis with COVID, people want to know what’s in their food.”