By Nancy Roberts
 Summer means smoothies—and increased profit margins as suppliers roll out new flavor choices. “Functional/wellness is a huge trend as consumers are screaming for antioxidant-rich smoothies,” says Kevin Kreutner, marketing director for JetTea/Kerry Food and Beverage in Waukesha, Wis. “So we took all of the hottest trends and put them together into one new product.” Appropriately named Antiox APB contains açai, pomegranate and blueberries, with a Yerba Maté base. (Açai is a purple berry from the Brazilian rainforest known for its antioxidants, amino acids and essential fatty acids.)
JetTea’s other new product is Perfect Pear, a smoothie mix with a rich green tea base, that “delivers the taste and unique texture of a perfectly ripe, juicy pear,” according to Kreutner.
 “There is definitely a trend now toward sourcing higher-quality fruits,” says Jamie Day, president of Beverage Innovations, Inc. “Consumers realize that the best berries come from the Pacific Northwest and that mangoes and papayas thrive in South America. So, similar to coffee, smoothie manufacturers are concentrating on sourcing fruits directly from the world’s finest growing regions to provide the best finished product available.”
Beverage Innovations, Inc. recently launched TeaWAVE, which incorporates high-quality fruit and caffeine-free rooibos tea, known for high antioxidant properties and essential vitamins and minerals. TeaWAVE, says Day, “is the first smoothie in the ‘tea’ smoothie category to use real granulated sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup, which has been getting a lot of bad press recently. With the move toward healthier ingredients, consumers are demanding manufacturers to be accountable for what’s in their products, and high-fructose corn syrup is simply not acceptable to the general public any longer.” TeaWAVE comes in five flavors: Mango Fusion, Peachy Keen, Strawberry Banana, Strawberry Sensation and Wildberry Desire.
Dr. Smoothie is focusing attention on “the increasingly popular super antioxidant blends such as our 100 percent Crushed Fruit Açai Plus, a blend of açai, pomegranate, blackberry and blueberry,” says Lydia Wanders, business development manager. “Other 100 percent Crushed Fruit blends such as Wild Cherry Cranberry and NorthWest Berry are extremely popular for both their delicious taste as well as the health benefits derived from these nutrient-dense fruits.”
Wanders says that consumers are reading labels more and more often and “asking questions about what is in the smoothie they are about to order. It’s more than just great taste that the consumer is looking for ... it’s all about the health benefits.” Dr. Smoothie’s 100 percent Crushed Fruit Smoothie Concentrates come in 10 flavors and provide more than three servings of fruit per 16-oz. smoothie.
 This summer, Island Oasis will focus on its newest flavor, Wildberry. This blend of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and black currant is “a refreshing blend by itself or mixed with our ice cream or nonfat yogurt,” says Mark Malkin, director of training and on-premise marketing. “We have noticed that many of our customers are asking about supplements and additives, so Island Oasis now has a line of Power Blendz™.” The powders and supplements in this line are all pharmaceutical grade; they include Fiber Fuel, Vitamin C, Calcium, Total Multi Vitamin, Ginseng and Echinacea. “The Energizer, Fat Burner and Power Shake have been very popular,” he adds.
At Java Frost in Ventura, Calif., the most requested flavors going into summer are tea smoothie mixes, according to owner Lynn Merriam. “Tea is what is hot right now.” Java Frost’s several varieties of tea smoothie blends include Matcha Mist (tastes like green tea ice cream); Khoi-Na, an herbal chai smoothie; and several varieties of Cha Cha Chai including: Vanilla Spice, Green Spice, Summer Green and No-Sugar-Added Vanilla Spice.
“Although these blends were specifically created to make frozen drinks, they are fantastic hot as well,” Merriam says. “We also take the time to teach our customers how to create tea smoothies using their own fresh-brewed tea in combination with our tea latte blend. We provide them with a recipe book full of ideas, for example, combining their tea with various juice blends to create a fruit tea smoothie.”
At Caffé D’Amore, Green Tea smoothies are proving quite popular, according to Deborah Hodgson, general manager who also oversees national sales. “It’s a healthier drink, answering that trend; it has matcha in it,” she says. (Matcha, made from the early spring tea buds, is known to be especially rich in nutrients.)
For summer, the Monrovia, Calif., company emphasizes its kids’ smoothies. Four different flavors include Bubblegum, Chocolate Marshmallow, Totally Banana and Rainbow (vanilla that has rainbow confetti bits). “These have been very successful,” Hodgson says. “They’re very healthy, made with nonfat milk. And they’re fun; we have stir-ins like dehydrated, colored marshmallows as well as special toppings that go with the drink.
 “We’re trying to give operators more of a vehicle to be able to expand their business,” Hodgson adds. Overall, she says smoothie customers are “getting a bit more adventurous, using syrups to create lots of types of smoothies, with fruit, with more natural, healthful ingredients including protein power and other boosts.”
Innovative Beverage Concepts in Aliso Viejo, Calif., is “aggressively pursuing the organics trend, which we feel is a very important segment since most of the blended smoothie drinks being offered at the moment are artificial,” according to Richard Principale, chief brands manager. The company offers a fair trade and organic frappe line called Mocafe Organics. Flavors are: Dominican Forestero Cocoa Mocha, Belizian Vanilla Latte and Vera Cruz Caffe Latte. At least five years ago, says Principale, they initiated a matcha green tea latte. “This is very delicious and tastes like green tea ice cream.” In fact, the company recently took first place in the Ice Tea Freestyle Competition at the recent Take Me 2 Tea Expo held in Las Vegas.
Cool Capp Inc. of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., is pushing several smoothie product lines this summer. One is Cool Teaz, a line of blended iced teas led by a Japanese Green Matcha flavor. Another is the new Lite Capps™, which are low-fat, blended iced coffee drinks. “We are the only manufacturer to create a low-fat, not-artificially sweetened product made with no hydrogenated oils,” says Amber Lowery, company spokeswoman.
Last year Cool Capp introduced a kids’ drink line called CoolSicles. Orangsicle is the most popular flavor, and “we will continue to push all of these products and flavors this summer,” Lowery says. Cool Capp has also launched three new flavors in its Blended Iced Coffee Line: Caramel Mocha, Caramel Latte and Java Chip (with dark and milk chocolate chip pieces). “All are doing extremely well,” Lowery notes.
 Mont Blanc Gourmet has tapped into the nondairy product trend with “a revolutionary new, lactose-free frozen drink,” according to Robin Lybarger, public relations director. “Cold Fusion is an all-natural, great-tasting liquid base for blended frozen lattes and mochas and NO-MOO is the world’s first lactose-free blender drink.” Liquid Cold Fusion is easy to use, has zero trans fats, and comes in vanilla, mocha and decaf cappuccino. NO-MOO is available in vanilla, cappuccino and mocha flavors.
In time for summer, Cappuccine will launch a new retail line called Cappuccine Reserve, which marketing director David Schwartz describes as “the industry’s first super premium retail line of gourmet coffeehouse beverage mixes.” Targeted toward upscale coffeehouses and specialty gourmet retailers, the flavor lineup includes Caffe Latte Perfetto (“the perfect latte”), Belgian Chocolate Truffle (a smooth versatile chocolate with truffle notes) and Cinnamon Brioche (“an American classic with the sophistication of a French pastry”). Packaging is decidedly upscale, in sleek, polished metal canisters and twin-serve packettes with full-color, stylish “gourmet magazine” graphics.
The Palm Springs, Calif., company is also “introducing new ways our flavors can be used,” Schwartz adds. “For example, our White Chocolate Symphony is popular worldwide as a base for creative barista concepts including a popular ‘Dreamsicle’ recipe using fresh-squeezed orange juice.”
Don’t miss out on this growing trend. Dip into the above resources and create a little magic in your smoothie line. Custom smoothies differentiate you from fellow retailers and show your customers you are on the cutting edge of the industry and that you care about the products you offer.
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