Usmoothie

lunch ! the food to go show - 1st & 2nd October 2009

Enter the British Smoothie Championships and see us at Old  Billingsgate London

Following the success of the 2008 first ever UK smoothie championships Usmoothie is excited and proud to continue its sponsorship for the 2009 British Smoothie Championship.

Over the past few years there has been phenomenal growth in the market for freshly made smoothies yet and this is the only national award dedicated to celebrating the highly-skilled, creative people working within this innovative industry. As we saw in the 2008 event this is the annual highlight for the UK's smoothie industry, the championship finals are your chance to show off your skills against some of the best smoothie baristas in the business - and set the standard for innovation, quality and taste!

Winners gain industry recognition, great publicity, plus as Sponsors of the event Usmoothie are supplying a Blendtec Smoother blender and £150 cash.

Closing date for entries is 22nd August, after which 12 finalists will be chosen to take part in the finals at lunch! on 2nd October. Entries are invited from any individual or outlet that makes smoothies "to go"

To Download an Entry form click here
To Download the British Smoothie Championship Brochure click here
To register for your free ticket click here

Smoothie Market Grows 600% in the Last 5 Years

According to the latest reports:

Smoothie sales soar as health fix sought
LONDON (Reuters) - Young people eager for a quick health fix or hangover cure are fuelling sales of smoothies, with consumers drinking enough of the fruity drinks in 2006 to fill almost 14 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Consumer research firm Mintel said on Thursday that smoothie sales jumped sixfold to 134 million pounds last year as consumers knocked back 34 million litres of smoothies -- up from just 6.3 million litres in 2001.

People aged between 15 and 34 are most likely to pick up a smoothie, perhaps to soothe a hangover or due to today's hectic lifestyle, Mintel said.

"Healthy eating, and in particular the 5-a-day fruit and vegetable campaign, has been the driving force behind continuing rates of exceptional growth," said Vivianne Ithekweazu, senior market analyst at Mintel.

Mintel forecasts sales volumes will almost treble by 2011 but prices are expected to fall as more smoothie makers enter the market.

Pure fruit smoothies make up the bulk of purchases but sales of smoothies containing ingredients such as ginseng and echinacea that claim to boost the immune system saw the biggest rise.

And of course Usmoothie is ideally placed to help you grow. Don't forget that our recommended range is now backed with high quality promotional and point of sale material.

And What Makes a Real Smoothie?

In our mind, and also the leading experts in the field, a real smoothie is made by blending whole fruit and, if a juice is added,  then it must be freshly squeezed juice.

As far as we are aware there is still no legal definition of a smoothie. This has allowed cheaper imitations to enter the market, using purees or concentrates  and confuse not only the trade but also the end customer.

That's why Usmoothie only deal in real fruit and 100% juices or freshly squeezed orange juice.

We believe that in the same way that the Fruit drink sector now has clear guidelines the same should apply to the Smoothie sector, so that anything that is added to dilute or artificially enhance the product should be classified as a 'smoothie drink'.  It's only a matter of time until your customers twig the difference.  So look carefully behind your counter and ask yourself is it worth having the purees when for not much more you can have the real thing