News - Carpigiani UK

Summer Shakes Blog

Written by Admin | Jun 12, 2023 12:48:10 PM
Shake it up this Summer
Milkshakes have made a consumption shift, no longer just a staple drink of the summer season, they have jumped the boundary into an all-season drink as well as crossing over into the dessert category and appealing to pretty much all age groups. Not bad going for a drink that used to be made from a powder and targeted to young children.

 
Freak or not?

The possibilities of taste, aesthetics and texture are almost endless. Freakshakes have become wildly popular, and a few simple adornments of a favourite chocolate bar or biscuit can command a significant price tag. At the other end of the extravagance spectrum plant based ‘milks’ have further enlivened the shake scene and added a new taste profile.  The growth in these types of ‘milks’ has been phenomenal, and now Marks and Spencer has launched a 2lt bottle of oat milk which just seems to cement non-dairy in our lives and make it easier to use it as a milk replacement.  Plant ‘milks’ should definitely be on your shake menu.



Thick or thin?
A thinner, easier to drink shake seems to fall more within our usual expectations of a shake and will be refreshingly ice cold on a hot day, but thick shakes are definitely a ‘thing’. Many businesses pride themselves on the thickness of their shakes and it’s a key selling point for them.  Archie’s is great example of this, using a trusted formula to make their shakes and their own bespoke mix to ensure their shakes are things of beauty and wonder. They also collaborate with well known names to create some powerful milkshake brand synergies.



Boozy or bare?
Think of it as another strand to your business, turn a shake into a boozy dessert or after dinner drink for those who can’t decide if they want a dessert. We’ve seen some fabulous alcoholic shakes – peanut butter and whiskey, Baileys and chocolate, brandy alexander, Amaretto, the choices are endless and think of the fun you’ll have doing the taste tests!


Health kick or mood boosting?
Of course, at the opposite end of the spectrum to boozy, is healthy! There are recipes galore for you to try in this space.  Nuts, seeds, matcha, vitamins, protein, fibre, energising, filling, relaxing, mood boosting, this is a whole menu in itself. If you use a plain shake mix or a plain soft serve you can add pretty much anything you like to make your own wonderful creations.


Start to shake 
Just as there are lots of different types of shakes, there are lots of ways to make your shakes.  By far the easiest way is to buy a shake machine, add a shake mix, press a button and away you go. Or you can use soft serve and add it to milk and various other ingredients to create a more signature styled shake.  The benefit of adding a soft serve machine to your business is that you can also sell cones/tubs etc as an additional sales line. You may be pretty tight on space so consider a counter top machine that you simply plug in and it’s virtually ready to go. Or if your business is going to be turning out shake after shake then you’ll need a machine that has more capacity, probably a floorstanding unit and what’s really important when you have a high demand is that your soft serve is constantly frozen and you don’t have to wait after every serve for it to refreeze, you can just serve and serve and serve..

@CarpigianiDessertClub