Jeff Allis

Jeff Allis co-founded Boost Juice, the largest and fastest-growing juice and smoothie chain in the Southern Hemisphere, with his wife Janine in 2000 after being inspired by stores in the same category during a trip to the USA the year before.

At the time, Jeff was head of programming at Austereo, Australia’s biggest radio network. Ultimately, anything that went on air across the Today and Triple M networks was his responsibility and he learnt early on that it was media warfare with every ratings point literally worth millions of dollars in advertising revenue.

The job was to get the strategy right and then find the right talent on the air to deliver it. During his time at the helm, he gave Hamish and Andy their first break, took Kyle Sandilands from the bush to the big city and hired and worked with Eddie McGuire, Mick Molloy, Andrew Denton and many other household radio names.

Famous for his rate or die approach to radio, it’s fair to say Jeff’s time at the very top was always going to be a relatively short-lived six years! Fortunately, despite only knowing Janine for seven days, he decided this was the woman he would spend the rest of his life with and with two very overly creative entrepreneur brains at work, it was only a matter of time before Boost was born.

Anyone who knows them knows they are complete opposites, but with a deep respect for each other’s abilities. So upon this foundation, Jeff was in charge of the marketing and business strategy of Boost and Janine the wonder woman who managed to actually pull it all together. Working alongside each other, they have successfully taken an idea and turned it into a multi-million dollar brand that is iconic in the Australian marketplace.

After eight exhaustive years at the helm, Janine decided to focus on the international growth of Boost and in 2007 Jeff left radio and took over the role of CEO. If Boost was Janine’s baby, then Retail Zoo became Jeff’s; he turned a one-brand business (Boost Juice) into a powerhouse multi-retail branded international company. Their first acquisition was Salsa’s Fresh Mex Grill, which has grown from 4 stores to over 60 stores, followed by Cibo Espresso in 2012. The Retail Zoo currently has over 400 stores in over 10 countries covering four brands: Boost, Salsa’s, Cibo and Hatch.

Today, Jeff is frequently asked to speak about what it takes to build a multi-million dollar franchise company, as well as Boost Juice’s road to success and expansion.

In May 2014, Bain Capital, co-founded by former US Republican President nominee Mitt Romney, bought a 70 per cent stake in The Retail Zoo for around $185 million, with Jeff and Janine Allis staying on as equity holders. Geoff will remain as chairman of the board while Janine Allis will stay on as an executive director.