Possibly one of the most innovative ways to raise money, the Bike-n-Blend smoothie bikes can be bought to your next fundraising event, where customers pedal bikes to power blenders, making healthy shakes and smoothies they can take away and enjoy.
Updated November 2018
In a nutshell
Fundraising ideas: a fleet of ‘smoothie’ bikes that you hire, customers pedal for 30 second to blend their own smoothie
Suitable for: any event (fetes, festivals, community markets etc) in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane only
Profit: fundraising package costs $310 plus GST. With donated ingredients, if you sell 200 smoothies at $5, profit is minimum of $690.
The Products
Smoothie bikes are stationary bikes that when pedalled, generate enough energy to power a blender. In effect, people have to work out to make their own healthy smoothie. It is visual, interactive, healthy and fun – the bikes create a large crowd and can be used to attract customers for a separate fundraiser or stall.
The Fundraising Package costs $310 (not including GST) and consists of two bikes, four jugs, 200 paper cups, a blank Menu board to attract attention and a detailed guide including shopping list. They even provide a range of yummy recipes you can use on the day.
You can request adult (6+ years) or kid-sized bikes (4-6 years), or both. Having the bikes set up side by side could also encourage healthy competition between visitors, which also adds to the excitement and buzz.
What you need to supply
Fundraisers will need to provide: smoothie ingredients, volunteers and adequate space.
To maximise your profit, you should attempt to get all smoothie ingredients donated – including milk, juices, bananas, berries and ice. You can either approach families from within your school/community or approach local businesses for donations of cash or goods. Keep in mind that milk/icecream and other dairy products require refrigeration, and if you want to avoid the hassle of ensuring it is kept at safe levels, make smoothies using juice and other items such as coconut water. These can be kept cool on ice in an esky without too much worry about exact temperatures.
One suggestion from Bike’n’blend is to approach local bike shops for sponsorship or ask them to offer free bike checks on the day of your event.
You will also need 2-3 volunteers to help man the stall, take money, wash the jugs etc. This is definitely a stall where kids can help.
Bikes should be set up undercover near to a sink or water source so the jugs can be washed between customers.
The Fundraising Process
Contact Bike’n’blend to book your fundraiser. A 50% deposit is required upon booking with the remained due 7 days prior to the event.
Source ingredients for smoothies.
Arrange to collect the bikes from your local depot: Marrickville [NSW], Ashgrove [Qld] and Preston [Vic]. Two bikes will fit in a hatchback car, trailer or four-wheel drive. A courier service will deliver the bikes to your site from $170 (up to 18km) up to $335 (up to 85km).
On the day of the event, sell MYO smoothies for $5+ each. All money raised is yours to keep.
Return bikes.
Points of difference
Bike’n’blend tick a number of boxes when it comes to fundraising events – they are unique, they are visible and will attract a crowd, they promote good health (through exercise and healthy food) and they also act a separate food stall.
Over the past four years Bellbrae Primary School have raised more than $4,000 in total from Bike n’ Blend smoothie bikes.
Profitability depends mainly on whether ingredients for the smoothies can be sourced free of charge. If you cannot find a sponsor for the event, create a shopping list and approach families to each bring something the day prior to the event. Click here to learn how to find some alternative and unusual sponsors.
If you are supplying ingredients for the smoothies you may be required to get a food handling permit from your local council. Contact them for further information.
Take into account the weather at your event – milk in particular will need to be kept ice cold, so you will need to set up near to a fridge, or provide eskies with plenty of ice.
For More Information
Head to http://www.bikenblend.com.au/ or call 0481 315 956.
