Cold Profits

Flavors old and new

Specialty beverage manufacturers continue to experiment with innovative new products and flavors to add to their tried-and-true stand-bys. For example, Caffe D’Vita, headquartered in Chino, Calif., recently expanded upon its already successful line of Blended Iced Coffees and Fruit Cream Smoothies by introducing Classic Creams last summer.

“The object of the Classics was to offer a point of difference to our customers, something that is neither coffee nor fruit based,” says Gary Polisano, foodservice marketing manager for Caffe D’Vita. “We introduced six new flavors, with the most successful being Cocoa Freeze, which is a real chocolate flavor that’s hard to beat and has taken us by surprise. Other flavors for the Classic Creams are Vanilla Bean, Rocky Road, Pralines and Cream, Peanut Butter and Cookies and Cream.”

In addition to the new product line, Caffe D’Vita has also developed new flavors in the existing line. “We added Java Chip and new sensation Toffee Coffee to the Blended Iced Coffee line, and new for the smoothies is Banana Strawberry,” says Polisano. “The Toffee Coffee flavor is making it a three-horse race for the top spot in the blended iced coffees, along with our old stand-by Mocha and Caramel flavors. As for the new Banana Strawberry flavor, we expect it to be our new No. 1 in the Fruit Cream Smoothies by the end of spring.”

Lake Forest, Calif.-based Big Train, Inc. now offers more than 200 products and flavors, which include its newly launched Tart Smoothie Mix. With a refreshing light citrus taste, Tart Smoothie Mix also boasts probiotics for good digestive health and no trans fat or hydrogenated oils.

“Our Tart Smoothie is an up-and-coming flavor that hasn’t been on the market long but is becoming popular and is really growing,” says Desiree Farden-Mimlitsch, brand manager for Big Train. “It’s a yogurt-like base that can be made as a plain smoothie or can be mixed with fruit concentrates to make fruit smoothies with a delicious tart under-taste. Retailers can take advantage of the tart flavor base without having special equipment to make fruit drinks.”

Ventura, Calif.-based Capriccio® is still going strong with its recently introduced Mojito Libré™ base, made with fresh mint and lime blended with cane syrup. It can be served with or without alcohol, over ice or as a smoothie.

“This exotic Cuban drink is very popular and refreshing, but making it from scratch can be quite a task,” says Maral Barsoumian, marketing president for Capriccio.  “The perfectly made mojito is one that has an interplay of mint and lime so that the palate is confused as to what the fore note is. We’ve removed the guesswork involved in making this drink by providing a pre-mixed, shelf-stable product that does not require refrigeration. With Mojito Libré, a perfect mojito can be made in less than a minute.”

Ventura, Calif.-based Java Frost introduced its Caramel Crème flavor this January. “This blend is rich and delicious, and contains real caramel pieces in every drink,” says co-owner Lynn Merriam. “Just like our French Vanilla Bean, which has real vanilla bits mixed in, these flavors are delicious ice blended or steamy hot, mixed with espresso, or with exotic fruits and juices to create intriguing fruit smoothies. Our limited-edition seasonal mixes will be coming out soon, also."

“We typically introduce at least one new fruit smoothie flavor each year,” says Jennifer Faren, product manager with Milwaukee-based Kerry Food and Beverage Group, maker of Jet™ fresh fruit and green tea smoothies. “This year’s flavor, Outrageous Orange, just launched in January and is a fabulous blend of four different oranges: Valencia, tangerine, blood orange and navel orange.  The Blended Iced Coffee Mix line was introduced last fall, so it’s also still very new for our Jet brand. There are six delicious flavors, five of which contain coffee: Mocha, Coffee, Vanilla Latte, Caramel Latte, Big Bean Mocha, and coffee-free Vanilla Bean.”

Caffe D’Amore of Monrovia, Calif. has expanded its Bellagio® line with the addition of its sumptuous Epicurean products. This all-natural line of kitchen favorites includes an Unsweetened Cocoa, Sweet Ground Chocolate, Freeze Dried Espresso and Vanilla Bean and Decadent Chocolate Italian-style Gelato Starters.

“Designed for specialty beverages and desserts, these products are made from only the finest, high-quality ingredients such as hand-selected premium cacao beans, Madagascar vanilla beans, pure cane sugar and 100% Arabica coffee beans roasted and brewed to perfection,” says Adelina Kanyan, director of marketing for Caffe D’Amore. “They combine ultimate flavor indulgence with practicality so that beverages are consistent and flavorful every time.”

Cool Capp, based in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., is launching a new Coconut Base mix in its Cool Creamz™ coffee-free blended ice cream drink line, which will be comparable to its Vanilla Smoothie mix.  “As Cool Capp’s international market continues to expand, we will develop flavors to cater to other regional markets,” says Alan Dossey, marketing manager with Cool Capp. “The demand from our customers for a coconut base made it impossible for us not to make it. We will also begin offering Kona Mocha. This flavor will complement our Capps line with a strong coffee-flavored blended iced coffee.”

Fremont, Calif.-based Gardner’s Gourmet is now manufacturing Low Calorie Strawberry and Wildberry X*Treme Freeze™ smoothie concentrates. “It’s made with the same amount of fruit as our regular X*Treme flavors,” says spokesperson Beverly Fritz, “but with no added sugar, and the sweetener used is Splenda®. Because of the high fruit content, this product blends perfectly. This is a great alternative for calorie-conscious and diabetic customers, with only 30 calories and eight grams of sugar in a 16-ounce serving of the Strawberry.”

Innovative Beverage Concepts (IBC) of Irvine, Calif., has joined the probiotics trend with MOCAFE™  SOFETTO™, an all-natural, fat-free,  tart-flavored smoothie mix made with real yogurt powder and enhanced with a patented ingredient called GanedenBC30 for improved shelf-stability.

“Many companies claim a shelf-stable presence of active cultures in a powder, but they typically do not survive the manufacturing process, let alone the shelf tests,” says Richard Principale, chief brands officer with IBC.  “That is why we chose to work with GanedenBC30, which has 10 times the active cultures than the leading brand of yogurt. This product can be prepared in a soft-serve or blending machine and gives you a Pinkberry or Red Mango type of finished product.”

Emphasis on natural

Many beverage manufacturers continue the current trend of using organic, all-natural ingredients in their smoothie mixes, many of these ingredients having added health benefits such as antioxidants and omega fats. 

Delray Beach, Fla.-based Beverage Innovations, maker of TeaWAVE™ smoothies, recently re-launched its products in a new, innovative one-liter package, as well as converting to all-natural product formulations.

“This switch to all-natural ingredients significantly increased the value to our consumers,” says Jamie Day, managing partner of Beverage Innovations. “Customers had been telling us that they preferred a product that was natural to one with artificial flavors and colors.  Our most popular flavors remain Strawberry Banana and Mango Fusion. However, our Tropical Temptation is beginning to gain attention as it combines several exotic tropical fruits including pineapple, passion fruit, mango, guava and banana. We believe there is a consumer trend toward fruit blends rather than simply individual fruit flavors.

“Our Superfruit Antiox also continues to gain popularity,” Day continues, “as consumers become more familiar with the Amazon origin superfruits such as acai and acerola. This trend will likely continue as companies like Sambazon continue to pour money into market research proving the positive benefits of these berries.”

At Creative Juices, Inc. in Beverly, Mass., Vice President of Sales Steve Sirois has seen growth in their Maui Beverage fruit purees and natural lemonade offerings.  Sirois describes Wildberry Lemonade, the newest in a smoothies line first introduced in 2000, as "a less sweet mix of blueberry, raspberry, black raspberry and strawberry with a tartness that appeals to adults."

Dr. Smoothie, headquartered in Fullerton, Calif., is the pioneer of the 100% Crushed™ whole fruit smoothie. As the brand name declares, each of these purees contains crushed, fully vine-ripened fruit, delivering more than 3 servings of fruit per 16-ounce beverage. All Crushed™ purees feature no high-fructose corn syrup, no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives, and are fat-free, lactose-free and 100 percent natural.

All Dr. Smoothie bases are also vitamin and mineral enriched with an antioxidant package. “Dr. Smoothie was the first to offer a functional beverage and is still the only company in the specialty beverage industry that makes a true functional drink by offering a super-antioxidant vitamin and mineral panel as part of every smoothie,” says Marlo Garrett, marketing assistant for Dr. Smoothie Brands. “The vitamin and mineral blend is designed to maximize the health benefits of a smoothie and has an excellent antioxidant, cell health, immune function and rejuvenation effect on the whole body.”

Innovative Beverage Concepts has launched a line of MOCAFE™ branded all-natural, non-GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) coffee frappes, chai teas and smoothies for importation into the European Union. The flavors in the new non-GMO line include Mocha, Wild Tribe Mocha, Tahitian Vanilla Latte, Toffee Mocha, Cookies and Cream Frappe, Spiced Chai, award-winning Match Green Tea Frappe, Strawberry Smoothie and Madagascar Vanilla Smoothie.

Caffe D’Amore’s new Sorbé Fruit Purée Smoothies are Kosher Certified and gluten-free, with all-natural flavors and colors and no high-fructose corn syrups. All flavors are made from the highest-quality fruits and are highly concentrated, requiring only three ounces for a perfectly flavored smoothie. A convenient portioning pump on each variety maintains perfect consistency with every drink, while the single-fruit flavors allow baristas to create endless taste combinations. Caffe D’Amore recently added Pomegranate, Acai and Blueberry flavors to the Sorbé line.

Sweetbird offers one liter Ice Blended Smoothie mix in six flavors, says Marketing Director Paul Maxwell. Three new flavors, Lemon, Raspberry & Blackcurrant and Mango & Passionfruit in shelf-stable cartons are launching soon, he says. Sweetbird smoothies are vegetarian and vegan certified, made without artifical flavor, colors and preservatives and do not contain high fructose corn syrup.

Big Train is also getting on board the natural trend with its new NATURALS™ Real Fruit Smoothies line. Made with all-natural ingredients combined with real fruit, juice and green tea, these ready-to-blend smoothie bases are fat-free, rich in antioxidants, provide 100 percent of the daily Vitamin C allowance, and are only 220 calories for a 16-ounce beverage. They are also low in sodium, GMO-free and contain no trans fat or high-fructose corn syrup. They are available in Strawberry and Mango flavors, both of which are blended with green tea and can be mixed together to create Strawberry-Mango.

Revenue boosters

Specialty beverage insiders assert that smoothies and other blended ice drinks are a vital part of any coffee shop’s menu, as well as adding high revenue and profit margins to its bottom line for an easily recoverable investment cost.

“The current smoothie market for coffeehouses in the U.S. is at an all-time high and continues to grow at a rapid pace,” says Caffe D’Amore’s Kanyan. “Smoothies have the versatility of catering to the health conscious, the dieter, people on the go, and so many more. Because of their ingredients, smoothies have the ability to reach all ages, even children. They serve multiple purposes, from meal replacement to thirst quencher to dessert to healthy snack.”

“Not everyone comes into a coffee shop for a cup of joe,” Capriccio’s Barsoumian states simply. “Some simply want a cool, refreshing drink. Making fresh smoothies in your café allows your customers to stop in even if coffee isn’t on their mind.”

Experts say that profits from smoothies vary by coffee shop depending on climate, location, traffic volume and customer demographics. But most agree that average profit margins are at least 70 percent on every smoothie sold.

“For a cost of less than $1 per 16-ounce serving, a coffee shop can command a retail price of between $3 to $4 for a 16-ounce smoothie,” says Day of Beverage Innovations. “With blending equipment costing approximately $400 to $600, depending on the blender type, the investment payback is less than one summer season. Typically, four cases of smoothie base per month is attainable during a warm summer month in an average coffee shop. This would translate to a gross profit of $500 to $1,000 per month, depending on the selling price.”

“Depending on the strength of the drink, a coffee shop should be able to make between 95 and 105 16-ounce drinks from one case of smoothie mix,” estimates Polisano of Caffe D’Vita. “The cost of that drink to the coffee shop will be on average about 93 cents. We tell our customers that the average retail on smoothies and blended iced coffee lattes is about $3.95, which we think is fairly conservative. Based on those numbers, the profit to the coffee shop will easily be over $2.50 per drink. Using a healthy coffee shop as an example selling 50 drinks per day during the spring, summer and fall, one could surmise that the shop should be able to make about $130 per day profit on smoothies. A weekly total would be near $1,000. Not bad for something that takes about 30 seconds to prepare.”

Many beverage manufacturers offer special deals to their customers, such as free product along with the sale of a commercial blender. “This allows the customers the opportunity to sell and sample the free products to not only cover the cost of the blender, but also to offer introductory specials for the drinks to promote the new items to their customers,” says Dossey of Cool Capp.

Michael Rubin, founder and CEO of Cappuccine of Palms Springs, Calif., agrees that frozen beverages can have the single highest dollar return per drink sold in a coffeehouse. He also cautions against sacrificing high quality and customer loyalty for the sake of cutting expenses.

“Say you have a repeat customer who comes in five days a week and orders a drink each day at $3.75,” Rubin explains. “Multiply that by 260 days and it equals $975 per year. That’s just what this one loyal customer represents. Compare this to the savings of $780 per year you could get if you buy one case of smoothie mix per week at a reduced price of $85 per case instead of $100 per case. Does this mean that if my customers don’t like the $15 a case lower product, the savings I was going to get is wiped out if I lose one customer? Yes, it does! And does it mean conversely that if I get one more customer with my current product I make $975 more? Yes, it does, in gross profit.

“This brings us to the question of which has more value to you as a specialty coffeehouse owner: low price or high quality? In my book, getting new customers and keeping loyal customers with the consistent high quality of your drinks far outweighs getting a lower price, even if it appears to represent a huge savings.” 

CORRECTION: An article on Smoothies on Page 12 in the March issue, incorrectly identified the sweetener used in the Mojito Libré™ smoothie base made by Capriccio of Ventura, Calif. The mix consists of fresh mint and lime blended with cane syrup.