Industry research projects that by 2024, the smoothie market will have grown by 9.25 percent in the United States over the previous four years. It’s clear that blended drinks, shakes, and smoothies are in high demand.
At the same time, the same basic flavors may be getting overexposed. “Due to the labor associated with frozen beverage creation, many operators can only offer a handful of applications,” says Serena Leatherbarrow, assistant customer marketing manager for f’real. “Over time, this creates boredom and fatigue among consumers, ultimately decreasing demand for frozen beverage offerings.”
Restaurants are looking for ways to expand their flavor offerings to meet their customers’ needs without introducing extra labor and expenses. “Between cleaning equipment parts, mixing and freezing ice cream bases, and stocking various syrups and beverage flavorings, a ‘standard’ frozen beverage program has many moving parts that drastically increase labor,” Leatherbarrow says.
To help alleviate these pressures, many operators are turning to f’real’s B7 Blender Program to diversify and avoid flavor fatigue. The program provides a blender alongside milkshake, smoothie, and frappe formulas—all specifically designed to help restaurants reduce the labor, time, and costs involved in frozen beverage preparation.
f’real recently conducted a time motion study with a traditional soft-serve machine. The study found that using f’real’s B7 Blender Program over a traditional machine saved operators almost 16 minutes of time , translating to about $9,100 of labor savings in a year. For operators who use a manual process for shake creation, the savings stand to be even higher. With just one piece of equipment to clean, pre-packaged cups, and push-of-a-button technology, the f’real B7 Blender Program saves operators time at every step of the process.
With the f’real B7 Foodservice Blender, employees don’t need to measure, scoop, or pour to create standout beverages—they simply need to blend, top, and serve. With pre-portioned cups and a hands-free machine that blends in 40 seconds, the f’real B7 Blender is a low-labor program that minimizes waste. “It’s as easy as plugging in our patented B7 Blender and loading up one of our freezers with f’real cups,” Leatherbarrow says. “You have an instant blended beverage program—driving revenue while cutting your time, training, and clean-up costs.”
“We are also known for offering a high-quality product with whole frozen fruit in our smoothies and real buttermilk in our shakes. It’s something that our consumers identify as a winning factor over other beverage companies,” says Leatherbarrow.
Operators who rely on f’real say they appreciate the simplicity offered by the B7 Blender program, not to mention the possibility of high customization. With Blend & Serve pre-mixed cups for shakes and smoothies or Made-to-Order bases, operators have the option to either blend and serve the product as-is or add any variety of syrups, inclusions, or alcohol—creating anything from trending “freak shakes” to frozen cocktails, frappes, smoothie bowls, and more.
With nine flavors, two freezer options, and supply offerings like lids, straws, and spoons, the f’real B7 Blender Program is addressing every step in the frozen beverage process for a variety of segments in the market, including quick-service and fast-casual restaurants. f’real allows operators to introduce new shakes, smoothies, and other frozen beverages with ease, saving time, labor, and money while driving consumer demand.
For recipe inspiration and to learn more about the f’real B7 Blender Program, check out f’real’s digital flipbook.
By Dikshant Uprety
