JackBe

Welcome! We are so glad you’re here. And boy, do we have some fun things to share. We’re a team with bold ideas, big dreams, and big plans for the days ahead. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll decide to be a part of what we’re about to do - we’d love that!

We’ve spoken with lots of people and traveled the world (well, basically) to discover that grocery shopping tends to be far more of a challenge than it ought to be. Yes, some people love hanging out at the grocery store – and some days we do too!–but most often, grocery shopping can feel almost like a chore, and challenging to fit into real life.

We are right there with you, and honestly, are pretty excited to step out on a journey that we believe will change all that. In fact, we’ve been working hard at it for nearly three years now – and can hardly believe it’s about time to open our first store! Just a bit curious? – well, put on your hat, and hold on tight – we’d love to show you what’s just around the corner!

Today’s in-store shopping experience leaves much to be desired, and as you know, it all starts in the parking lot. :/ We call this “the fray” - where amidst other cars and pedestrians, it takes way too much time to hunt for your spot. Next, you work to separate a cart from its clingy friends (we all lose a measure of dignity in this process) and then push it - goofy wheel and all - down countless aisles looking for a few items that are definitely not where it would make sense for them to be – because why would they be?? (and if you are doing this with two toddlers in tow, our hats are off to you!). Finally, the quest to find the shortest line - if there is one at all - or perhaps scan the groceries yourself (shouldn’t we be getting paid for this?).

Curbside/delivery options aren't too much better. Yes, it’s a relief to have someone else shop, but all too often we’re disappointed, maybe from the delays, or the frequent substitutions or low quality produce that is picked. Think back to your recent shopping experience: did your avocados seem like they should have been guacamole yesterday? Or perhaps you requested fresh bananas but instead received banana bread from the bakery (this actually happened). Yummy, yes! But not what you really wanted…

Then there are the issues with the process itself. Finding a time slot that works seems a perpetual problem, and often there are often added fees - for delivery, for tips, and sometimes increases in actual grocery costs. When you put these all together, these alternate options tend to create almost as many problems as they try to solve.

And if THAT wasn’t enough, retailers are struggling to make online grocery shopping profitable.

[McKinsey]

What if there was a better way?

What if someone took the time to develop…

One that…

• Explored multiple innovations to make online ordering as simple as possible
• Specifically trained employees to pick only the best produce
• Showed value to you our customer, always working to make your experience amazing
• Allowed you to pick-up groceries now… or any time
• Developed a staggeringly efficient and nearly effortless drive-thru system
• Always sent you away with a smile!

Without sounding too confident (ok, actually we sorta are), THIS is exactly what we’ve set out to do. And we’ve devoted nearly three years of our lives, working together to make it happen.

In a phrase…

Here is our wonderful mouthful: we are a "Curbside Drive-thru Grocer." Our favorite part is that last word "Grocer," seeking to be different from a typical Grocery store, we want to make the whole experience very personal, and train our employees to see themselves as "Grocers" with one job - caring for you. We want them to be passionate about serving each customer, and intentional as they hand select the very freshest food to meet this most basic need within their communities. We’re eagerly hiring that amazing crew now and excited about the dynamic individuals joining our team (and if your grandma taught you to properly thump a watermelon, well, we’d love to see your resume!). Honestly, we can hardly wait to get started!

And as your premier Curbside Drive-thru Grocer, we love to say that JackBe is setting out to make grocery shopping nearly fun!

It all starts with an amazing app (available in the app store closer to launch!). This app is designed for busy people (all of us?) who need new, creative options for their shopping experience…

In app, you might just fall in love with our shortcuts - like our QuickList, for example - which allows you to take your shopping list (like from your notes app - or even grab text off a photo from the list you wrote on an envelope!), upload it, and suddenly your cart will be filled with the items on your list. Yes, no more searching for every single item! We suppose it's sorta like having your very own fairy godmother - hiding inside our app! (though sorry, no mice turned to horses or pumpkin carriages... yet. Actually… we wouldn't entirely put this past our developers…).

We are excitedly counting down the days until January when we open our first store in Oklahoma City (18001 N May Ave, 178th/May!). As we begin acquiring customers and building market recognition of our brand, we are already preparing to open other locations in the OKC area - in fact, we have already ambitiously secured properties for our second and third stores! These first stores will be strategically located to provide our team with three unique demographics, so we can learn well about the varied communities we will be eager to serve in the future.

Each of these stores is unique (size, location, demographics and build), and will be strategically located to broaden our draw for staffing, and having three stores significantly increases our buying power. This planned growth will allow our team to be efficient while we refine the process and finesse the overall JackBe experience.

Of course, we could never do such a big thing alone! Not only do we have a really great team, but from the beginning, JackBe has engaged with amazing partners and suppliers who have joined hands around the same aspirations we have. And not only are they incredible partners, many have become our valued investors as well!

As noted on the graph below, our financial target for each store follows our 10/10 rule. $10MM in annual revenue and 10% EBITDA. We are accounting for a “ramp up” of sales in our first operating year, intended to be closer to our target by the beginning of year 2. We have a number of unique advantages that keep our operating costs lower due to no in-store customers. This, along with our streamlined inventory approach allows us the opportunity to achieve significant financial margins.

For each store in Year 1:

The initial response to investment in JackBe has been downright inspiring! Each round of funding has been more successful than the previous, as people increasingly catch the vision and want to be a part of what we are becoming.

The Opportunities are Endless!

While we are thrilled to step out as ‘Grocer” today – and have so much we want to add to that in the near future - from fully prepared meals, to an increasingly fun (and wildly helpful!) app, to scrumptious new recipes, all the way to ideas for simplicity and time saving in your own kitchen. But we also know that the concept we are building today won't likely stop there - it has the potential to grow to so much more, far outside of the realm of grocery. Our team is innovative and forward-thinking, and we believe there are countless opportunities for JackBe to grow in ways we have not yet imagined. And if you join us, well, there's no stopping who we can become. Actually, we can hardly wait to see where we all end up together!

Wow, look at you! We are SO thankful you have read to the very end! Now you know our heart and passion - and we can't even tell you how excited we are to think of you joining JackBe! We would welcome you to become part of something phenomenal - and being a part of bringing to your very own neighborhood a grocery experience like the world has never seen!