DENVER, Colo. - Denver's health-conscious reputation is leading to a proliferation of stores selling fruit-laden smoothie drinks.

Planet Smoothie LLC, an Atlanta-based smoothie franchise company, recently announced plans to open at least 22 stores in Colorado by 2008.

San Francisco-based Jamba Juice Co., one of the largest smoothie companies in the United States, is expected to triple its size in Colorado in the next three years.

And Robeks Fruit Smoothies & Healthy Eats, a Southern California company, opened in Denver in May and plans to open at least 20 more stores four or five a years along the Front Range.

All are competing for Colorado's slice of what Dan Titus, director of the Chino Hills, Calif.-based Juice and Smoothie Association, calls a $1.5 billion juice and smoothie industry nationwide.

Often considered the nation's healthiest state, Colorado seems a perfect fit for increased smoothie consumption, executives of the three big chains say.

"The active lifestyle that is here in Colorado is very attractive to us," said Kent Lansville, regional director of operations for Jamba Juice. "Over 300 days out of the year, it's sunny here, so it's perfect."

Currently, Jamba is the smoothie leader in Colorado and across the country, Lansville said. "We are defining the category in the Colorado market because we have the most number of stores, and from a brand- recognition standpoint we are well ahead," he said.

Jamba Juice has more than 450 stores nationwide, 19 in Colorado and 12 in the Denver area.

But don't count the others out just yet.

Planet Smoothie has 136 stores in 20 states, including two stores in Colorado. It also has expanded its product line to include wraps, salads, sandwiches and soups.

Robeks, which has more than 50 stores nationwide, most in California, has only one Colorado location on Denver's 16th Street Mall.

Robeks and Planet Smoothie advertise the nutritional contents of their smoothies, offering the consumer vitamins, supplements and performance boosters. Jamba says it offers a healthy yet mainstream smoothie.

"But for the consumer, the differences are not that big," said Dennis Lombardi, executive vice president of Technomic, a Chicago-based food consulting firm. However, "Just the way Burger King, McDonald's and Wendy's are in competition, and they all have different things on their menus, these companies will be in competition as well," he said.

But Aaron Wagner, owner of Planet Smoothie at 616 16th St., disagrees.

"Our customers are more health-oriented," Wagner said. "So there is no direct competition with Jamba Juice."

Golden native Philip Minatra, a regional representative for Planet Smoothie, says one of the things his company does better than its competition is be more responsive to dietary needs.

"Basically the central idea is to be a quick-serve restaurant that is health-oriented," he said. "You can look at it as a meal, a meal supplement or a treat, and I think it's going to appeal to a wide variety of people, and we address that with the variety of products we sell."

Minatra will own at least three of the 22 Planet Smoothie stores scheduled to open, one as soon as October.

Jamba's Lansville says his chain focuses on "the exceptional taste and quality of our product and the experience you get in our store, which is very uprising and uplifting. We will continually innovate, we will continually expand the brand, and we will stay true to our customers because that's who drives our business."

Observers say there's plenty of room for growth in the industry as more people become conscious of what they are consuming. The smoothie industry "is growing at an annual rate of about 10 percent," Titus said. "People are looking for a fast-food alternative. And it's all about choice."

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