Inside Boost Juice founder Janine Allis’ business empire, including family-run frozen yoghurt success story Yo-Chi
Serial entrepreneur and Boost Juice founder Janine Allis has plenty of advice to offer. The 60-year-old investor shares glimpses with his 108,000 followers on Instagram, confessing his first missteps and gently chiding Prime Minister Anthony Albanese over his policy settings.
He shares more with up-and-coming small business owners who sign up for the mentoring program he co-founded.
But he’s less likely to give unsolicited advice on the home front. Allis, a mother of four, and her family, who founded Boost in the 2000s and turned it into a chain of more than 1,000 stores in 15 countries, are also responsible for the fast-growing frozen yogurt chain Yo-Chi.
“It was too much [my son] Oliver and his father’s business vision,” Allis said. Good Weekend Speeches podcast. “I’m in the background as a cheerleader.”
The success of the Allis family’s business empire is credited to keeping it in the family. Allis opened her first Boost store in Adelaide in 2000, when she was 32 and on maternity leave, and was joined by her husband Jeff a few years later. In mid-2020, they purchased four frozen yogurt stores from the old stores. MasterChef Judge George Calombaris when hospitality company Made Installation collapsed.
Led by Allis’ son and chief brand director Oliver, and with advice from Jeff, who owns the brand but is otherwise very laid back, Yo-Chi has grown into a chain of 70 stores in Australia and two in Singapore, with huge global ambitions. It is known as the nightclub of Generation Z, and it is not uncommon to see queues in front of Yo-Chi stores on weekends.
Jeff’s siblings own stores in Western Australia and South Australia, while niece Claudia Marro designs the colorful, wood-paneled storefronts that have become a favorite hangout spot for young people.
Yo-Chi’s success stunned even Janine Allis. “I’m the first person to say, ‘You have to be very careful when dealing with friends and family,’ but in the case of Yo-Chi, it’s been a really successful story,” he said.
Allis grew up in Knoxfield, 27 kilometers east of the Melbourne CBD, and started his first job picking strawberries at the age of 14. He left school at 16 and set off around the world at 21; She took dozens of odd jobs, including working as a nanny in France, and six weeks later lied about her experience getting a job as a stewardess on a yacht bought by David Bowie.
Her working relationship with her husband, Jeff, who left his position as head of programming for the Austereo radio network to expand Boost, has been a highly complementary partnership. But he had his moments too.
“You must have rules. I would be surprised. Before he fell asleep, I would say, ‘Have you thought about this problem now?’ And he said, ‘Are you kidding me? “I’m about to go to sleep,” Allis said.
“There [were] “Sometimes if I had a knife in my hand, I could throw it at him across the table,” he said. Even though the kids didn’t see it much. “I had a very strict rule; “We would never argue, never argue in front of people.”
The Business Briefing newsletter delivers big stories, exclusive news and expert insights. Sign up to receive it every weekday morning.
Jessica Yun is a business reporter covering retail and food for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect with: X or email.
