Rich Products Introduces F’real’s Foodservice Beverage Solution

Now quick-service and fast casual restaurants can easily add delicious shakes and smoothies to their menus without increasing labor, thanks to f’real's foodservice beverage solution from Rich Products. The Rich's Foodservice Division has entered the beverage category with a back-of-house B7 Blender Program. This includes the B7 blender as well as nine f’real foodservice-exclusive milkshakes, smoothies, and frappe formulas. The turnkey program can drive revenue while cutting an operator's time, training, and clean-up costs.

Milkshakes and smoothies continue to grow in importance on restaurant menus. To satisfy the 81% of consumers who like or love milkshakes, they are found on 15.9% of fast-casual restaurant menus. A recent Datassentials blog post states that "treating oneself is a top driver to drink certain beverages in general – milkshakes, hot chocolate, slushies, smoothies, and cold coffee beverages in particular." Plus, 51% of consumers say they plan to purchase indulgent/comfort food from quick-service restaurants over the next year.

The f’real product comes in a 16-ounce cup, so there's no need for measuring, scooping, or pouring, and the easy-to-use B7 blender blends beverages hands-free at the push of a button. Simply select a flavor from the freezer, remove the lid, push a button for blending, and serve. To add pizzaz, top it off with Rich's On Top Whipped Topping for a dollop of sweetness and Instagram appeal.

The f’real by Rich's foodservice solution is unique in that it provides operators everything they need for a quick and easy beverage program. The B7 Blender plugs into a regular 120-volt wall outlet, and its 9-inch wide base requires limited counter space. There's no setup, plumbing, drain, or waterline required.

"f’real by Rich's will exceed the expectations of foodservice operators looking for a high-quality, labor-saving, innovative frozen beverage solution," says Alyssa Barrett, customer marketing manager, Rich Products. "The f’real blending program will help drive more traffic and higher margins for our operating partners by providing them with a full suite of blending options. It's the ideal solution for pizza shops, quick-service, and fast casual restaurants."

Operators can save time—and money—with the f’real B7 blender program. The company conducted a time-motion study of the f'real B7 blender versus a soft-serve machine, which is a primary competitor. The process using the soft-serve machine took about 16 minutes to assemble, dispense soft-serve, prepare a milkshake, and clean it. The f’real milkshake required less than two minutes — almost 15 minutes of savings. For an operator, time is money, so that translates to about $9,100 in labor savings a year and doesn't account for the operators who are creating shakes by hand—meaning they are scooping ice cream, using a countertop blender, and transferring to a cup—making the f'real blender even more valuable in those situations.

The turnkey program can quickly pay for itself, averaging a 3- to 3.5-month return on investment and an annual average profit of approximately $15,000 (for 12 cups/day in sales). The suggested retail price is $5.00 per cup.

Operators can choose from two "Made to Order" shake and smoothie bases and seven "Blend & Serve" varieties, plus they can customize with syrups, purées, alcohols, inclusions and more. Pre-portioned options are:

High-quality, premium ingredients are central to the f’real products’ indulgent flavor. The first three ingredients of the milkshakes are real milk, buttermilk, and cream, while the smoothies contain whole frozen fruit.

The first f'real blender debuted in Tulsa, OK, in 2003, creating "happiness in a cup" by blending real milk with premium ingredients. Today, the innovative self-serve machine creates popular blend-it-yourself snacks, available in over 20,000 locations worldwide. Guests pick a flavor, pick a thickness, and create a delicious shake or smoothie in about a minute. f’real is now offering a behind-the-counter solution, enabling quick-serves and fast casual restaurants nationwide to offer delicious shakes and smoothies. f’real shakes and smoothies joined the Rich Products portfolio in 2012.