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Ice Sage Blog
A look inside the frozen beverage industry

A series of blogs and videos will that will acquaint you with the FBD family and give you insight into some of the industry’s best kept secrets for success.

5 Things To Consider When Purchasing A Frozen Ice Drinks Machine

Whatever the season – a frozen ice drinks machine holds year-round appeal. Whether you’re looking to boost profits, drive footfall in-store, maximize impulse purchases in an entertainment or leisure environment, or simply have something to attract new customers, a frozen ice drinks machine delivers every time.

However, with so many options and equipment to choose from, where do you begin?

Here are five top things to consider when purchasing a frozen ice drinks machine.


How Much Do You Have To Spend?

While an obvious question it doesn’t necessarily have a straightforward answer. While your finances may be finite, if there’s some flexibility it’s always worth going for the option that offers the best return on investment. 

A great way to think of this is to consider:

  • The number of frozen ice drinks you think you’ll sell each day
  • What you anticipate selling each drink for (vs. the cost of syrups, water, and electricity etc)
  • The cost of your frozen ice drinks machine

Once you have all of that information you’ll be able to figure out how long it’ll take you to break even on the investment. 

Or try this simple hack instead: our ROI calculator.


How Much Space Do You Have?

Your premises’ setup and space is a key consideration too. While there are numerous equipment options, there’s sure to be a frozen ice drinks machine that suits your individual needs. 

For example, convenience stores tend to have a lot less space than say, quick serve restaurants, meaning a self-service machine with a compact footprint offering multi-flavored frozen ice drinks could be a surefire winner.


What Will Your Customers Be Looking For?

The type of business you operate, your location, and the type of customers you attract all need to factor into your considerations when purchasing a frozen ice drinks machine. 

If you operate a family-friendly establishment with lots of visitors and receive steady traffic throughout the day – like a theme park or movie theater – a suite of multi-flavor machines, offering everything from ice coffee to frozen lemonade, will appeal to all ages. 

Or why not provide a frozen carbonated beverage dispenser for those who prefer some fizz?

However, if your clientele are more adult – say you operate a bar, hotel, or restaurant – why not consider something like a frozen margarita machine (and yes, that’s totally a thing!)?

Calculate the ROI of your New Frozen Beverage Machine


How Quickly Do You Need To Make A Profit?

In addition to recovering your equipment investment, the operating costs of a frozen ice drinks machine is a great way of making some quick-win profits.

High margins are totally possible with all frozen ice drinks machines. The cost of syrup is minimal – the rest is just water (in most cases) and carbon dioxide (if you choose a carbonated frozen ice drinks machine).

With high quality equipment, maintenance is a cinch too. A little light cleaning should keep any frozen ice drinks machine in tip-top condition – for a good few years. 


Where Can You Get The Right Advice?

There’s lots of information out there, but for most businesses interested in frozen ice drinks machines talking to other companies who are already benefiting from them is an excellent place to start. 

Alternatively, case studies and testimonials from different brands are a good source of insight too.

Here at FBD, while we’re a leading frozen ice drinks machine vendor, we pride ourselves on helping companies of all shapes and sizes find a tailored solution that’s right for them.

We work closely with a number of other trusted partners to offer a turnkey solution that any business can get set up with right away.

Looking for more information? Check out our Guide To Setting Up A Frozen Beverage Program.


Ready to learn more about starting your own highly-profitable, Commercial Frozen Drink Program?

FBD Frozen is trusted by 80% of the world’s frozen beverage retailers.

We have the reliable equipment and responsive support team to help get your profitable, ice drink program started today!

We work hand-in-hand with you to create an ice drink program that addresses your specific capacity and footprint needs and meets shifting market demands. Whether dealing with seasonality, new technology, or changing market trends, FBD’s team of experts will help you adapt your ice drink program to maximize your margins.

With over 532 unique equipment configurations, we can completely transform the interface of our machines, whether crew-served or self-serve, to align with your marketing needs.

Whether you run a movie theater, a convenience store, a quick-serve restaurant, a bar or an institution, we have the reliable equipment and responsive support team to help you get your profitable ice drink program started today!