Janine Allis (born 1965) is an Australian businesswoman who is the founder of
Boost Juice
Boost Juice Bars is an Australian multinational retail outlet owned by parent company Retail Zoo that specialise in fruit juice and smoothies. Boost Juice Bars was formed in 2000 with the first store located in Adelaide, South Australia The c ...
and part-owner of
Retail Zoo, which is the parent company of Boost Juice,
Salsa's Fresh Mex Grill
Salsa's Fresh Mex Grill is an Australian chain of fast-food restaurants. Salsa's Fresh Mex Grill serve a variety of Tex-Mex foods including tacos
A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or w ...
and
Cibo Espresso.
Allis started Boost Juice from her home in 2000. The first Boost Juice store was located in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...
,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, and the franchise is now in 13 countries.
Apart from her directorship with Retail Zoo, Allis is also a Director of
Michael Hill Jeweller
Michael Hill International Ltd. is a speciality retailer of jewellery in North America and Oceania. As at 30 June 2018, it operates 312 stores in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The Group employs approximately 2,600 permanent employees. The c ...
. She is also the author of the book ''The Accidental Entrepreneur – The Juicy Bits'' .
Career
Allis started working at the age of 17 as a media assistant at advertising agency McCann-Erickson. She went on to do modelling as well as working as an assistant gym manager. Her early career also included roles such as a nanny in France, a promotions executive in Portugal as well as a camp counsellor in the USA. Allis has also worked as a stewardess on
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
's yacht, a senior manager for a Singapore cinema chain, a publicist for United International Pictures, a publisher, an author, and a touring agent for USA comedians.
Allis has been an independent non-executive director at
Kogan
Kogan (russian: Ко́ган) is a Russian spelling variant of the Jewish surname Cohen.
* Aleksandr Kogan — several people
* Artur Kogan (born 1974), Israeli chess master
* Belle Kogan (1902–2000), American industrial designer
* Boris Koga ...
since April 2021.
Retail Zoo
After her success in growing her juice business, Allis and her husband decided to diversify their operations by forming a holding company in 2007 called Retail Zoo which they use to acquire and grow other retail food chains.
The first chain that Retail Zoo acquired was the four-outlet Mexican food chain called
Salsa's Fresh Mex Grill
Salsa's Fresh Mex Grill is an Australian chain of fast-food restaurants. Salsa's Fresh Mex Grill serve a variety of Tex-Mex foods including tacos
A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or w ...
in 2007. In 2012, Retail Zoo acquired the 20-outlet Cibo Espresso for AU$15 million.
In 2014, Retail Zoo started an American-style hamburger diner chain called Betty's Burgers & Concrete Company.
In 2010, the Riverside Company purchased an equity stake in Retail Zoo for an undisclosed amount with Allis remaining in charge.
Four years later, Riverside sold their stake to
Bain Capital
Bain Capital is an American private investment firm based in Boston. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, public equity, impact investing, life sciences, and real estate. Bain Capital invests across a range of industry sec ...
.
After the acquisition, Bain owned 70% of the company while Allis owns the rest.
Television appearances
Allis appeared as a "shark" on the Australian version of the TV show
''Shark Tank''.
In 2019, Allis competed in the
sixth season of ''
Australian Survivor
''Australian Survivor'' is an Australian adventure reality game show based on the international ''Survivor'' format. Following the premise of other versions of the ''Survivor'' format, the show features a group of contestants, referred to as "c ...
''. She was eliminated on day 44 and finished in sixth place.
In 2021, Allis appeared as a boardroom advisor for the
fifth season of ''
The Celebrity Apprentice Australia
''The Celebrity Apprentice Australia'' is an Australian reality television series which aired on the Nine Network. Based on NBC's ''The Apprentice'', it first aired on 24 October 2011 and originally featured Mark Bouris, the founder and chairm ...
''.
In 2022, Allis has returned to ''
The Celebrity Apprentice Australia
''The Celebrity Apprentice Australia'' is an Australian reality television series which aired on the Nine Network. Based on NBC's ''The Apprentice'', it first aired on 24 October 2011 and originally featured Mark Bouris, the founder and chairm ...
''as
Lord Sugar
Alan Michael Sugar, Baron Sugar (born 24 March 1947) is a British business magnate, media personality, author, politician and political adviser. In 1968, he started what would later become his largest business venture, consumer electronics com ...
's boardroom advisor.
Awards
* 2015 Franchise Hall of Fame Inductee – MYOB FCA Excellence in Franchising Awards
* 2015 The Australia Awards for Excellence in Women's Leadership: Victoria.
* 2015 ''InStyle'' and Audi Women of Style Awards; Business Award
* 2012 Australian Export Heroes Award
* 2010 Franchise Council of Australia International Franchise Award
* 2004 Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year
Further reading
At home with Boost Juice founder Janine Allis
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allis, Janine
Living people
Participants in Australian reality television series
1965 births
Australian investors
Australian Survivor contestants
Australian women company founders
Australian company founders
Businesspeople from Melbourne