The new beverages, promotional posters and free giveaways with certain purchases couldn’t stop the dip in sales during the latter part of first semester at the Jungle.
The Jungle has shown signs of improvement early this semester.
Senior Jungle employee Emily Minoofar said that the Jungle’s business goes down at times because some students come to school right before the bell. There may not be enough time to make drinks for them before the store shuts down for the day at 7:38 a.m.
In-house Marketing teacher Katie Bryant, said that the Jungle still makes a profit.
“We’ve been making money, just not really large amounts,” Bryant said.
The Jungle included many additions to its menu this year.
“We’ve added Kool-Aid and sell it in grape, cherry and tropical punch flavors,” Bryant said. “We also included hot apple cider as a winter seasonal item.”
Bryant also said the new beverages brought extra customers while additional flavors of coffee and smoothies keep the regulars coming back for more.
“Not everyone is a coffee person,” Bryant said. “Now, we don’t just have coffee and smoothies.”
The Jungle will begin offering different variations of hot chocolate, such as mint and peppermint flavors, to try to improve sales and satisfy customers.
The student employees work toward designing promotional posters and many other things to improve sales.
“We’re really working on marketing to bring sales up,” she said. “We’re continuing to build new student interest.”
All of the sales at the Jungle go to a Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) fund where they can access the money to buy new things for the store.
“We’ve been saving our money this year and we bought two new coffee makers,” Bryant said.
DECA is a marketing organization that teaches students leadership and necessary business skills. It also helps students prepare for successful business-related careers.
Minoofar said advertising for the Jungle increased since last year.
“It’s really been more professional than last year,” Minoofar said. “More like running a business.”
Senior Jungle employee Jillian Berger added that this year at the Jungle more training is involved to do the necessary work.
Minoofar and Berger, both second-year staff members, say despite lower sales, the store seems busier.
“Last year we were only open second semester, so that’s why it feels that way,” Minoofar said.
by James Statham