Gourmet Business - October 2015

Smoothie Nation

The blender in our home usually doesn’t get much use.  I don’t make frozen cocktails too often, and I am not a huge soup fan.  It seemed to be utilized mostly for homemade hummus, salsas and dips, which is not a daily occurrence.  But recently, our Vitamix has earned some regular real estate on our kitchen counter.  That is because our older daughter was living at home while on her summer break between her freshman and sophomore years in college.  She prepared a healthy smoothie of yogurt, banana, frozen berries and peanut butter every day, a habit carried over from her first year in college where smoothies were all the rage, even giving Starbucks a run for their money.

Apparently my daughter is not alone in fueling this trend.  Frozen fruit sales have skyrocketed, now topping $1 billion annually, which is a 67% increase since 2010 according to Nielsen.  Dole frozen foods, the nations largest seller of frozen fruits, estimates that 60% of frozen fruit sold went into a smoothie.  That is triple the amount of frozen fruit consumed in smoothies in 2006.  Just as we see with snacking trends, Americans are seeking healthy alternatives in their daily eating habits.  It seems many Americans have decided that consuming a smoothie is a great way of getting fruit in their diets.  It’s portable, it doesn’t get your hands sticky and it tastes sweet and delicious.

What do you think is blending up all of this frozen fruit?  You guessed it!  Blenders have enjoy a substantial sales increase to ride this trend, topping more than $1.16 billion in sales during 2014, more than double the amount of blenders sold in 2009, according to market-research firm Euromonitor International.  You might think that the world already had enough blenders, just remember the operative word is “smooth”.  Chances are an older model of blender is not really up to the task.  The newer generation blenders boast a crushing about of power (I am sure you have seen the Blendtec blenders chopping up metal on the internet), and will blend anything you throw at it until smooth.

In this issue James highlights many of the new generation of blenders, as well as mixers and food processors.  If you shied away from small electrics in the past due to the lower margins, you might want to consider carrying some of the newer generation.  Volume can make even a lower margin item a profitable investment in shelf space.