UPDATE: Unfortunately, proving that doing business in Argentina is no easy feat, The Smoothie Bar is no longer in business.
Take a concept that has worked well in the United States. Copy it. Bring it to Buenos Aires.
This is a business model that has worked out quite well as you can see from this small list:
Chipotle -> California Burrito Company
Pinkberry -> Top It
grubHub.com -> Buenos Aires Delivery
Houston’s -> Kansas
eBay -> MercadoLibre
Well, now you can add one more to the list, The Smoothie Bar. Clearly taking their cue from Jamba Juice, four expats recently opened this all new smoothie shop at Juramento 2455 in the Belgrano neighborhood of Buenos Aires (yes, surprise, surprise, it is not located in Palermo Soho).
This was good news for me as it is only a few blocks from our apartment, so we recently went over to put them to the test. I was a big fan of Jamba Juice in NYC, but have not had anything here that compared to their quality and taste, so I was cautiously optimistic after reading a recent review of The Smoothie Bar in The Argentine Independent.
The first thing you notice is the space, which is all white with colorful fruit-themed art on the walls. It makes the whole atmosphere very bright, cheery and welcoming. Of course, the real test is the smoothies, and I’m happy to say, they were delicious! They use only fresh fruit and low-fat frozen yogurt, plus you can add one of several boosts (protein, energy, metabolic and vitamin). They currently offer two sizes of smoothies – a medium for $16 and a large for $20. You can also choose from a small assortment of healthy food options (wraps and salads).
Overall, I’d say they nailed the copy and it’s definitely worth stopping by and checking them out.