Jamba Juice has a sobering message for entrepreneurs who want to open a franchise: You might be better off somewhere else. 

In a “special risks” section of its 2026 franchise disclosure document (FDD), the smoothie chain revealed that 130 Jamba Juice franchise agreements have not survived the last three years.

Opening a Jamba Juice, the document bluntly states, “could be a higher risk investment than a franchise in a system with a lower turnover rate.”

In an unusual twist, that turnover rate has been overwhelmingly driven by franchise terminations, the document reveals, with some 116 Jamba Juice franchises being terminated since the beginning of 2023.

Over that same period, only 13 franchises were listed as non-renewals and just one store ceased operations for another reason. 

The high level of terminations is not typical of Jamba’s competitive set. By comparison, rival Tropical Smoothie Cafe had only 28 terminations over the same three-year period, despite that chain having a much larger footprint. Planet Smoothie, a smaller competitor, had just 4 terminations.

Jamba Juice is owned by GoTo Foods, a retail conglomerate backed by private equity firm Roark Capital Group, which also owns Cinnabon, Auntie Anne’s, Carvel, and other chains.

What accounts for Jamba’s unusually high termination rate is unclear. Provisions in its disclosure document state that Jamba Juice may terminate a franchise in default for various reasons, such as failing to pay debts or refusing an inspection.

Franchisees, on the other hand, do not have the grounds to terminate except in cases permitted by state-level laws.

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