Slush Syrup - New Flavours

The slush season is now with us and our customers sales are now hotting up. With this in mind, and to maintain our innovative approach to the slush market, we have launched 2 new slush syrup flavours.

The 2 new syrup mix flavours are Sour Apple slush syrup and Orange concentrate. Both of these new additions offer the same amazing flavour quality as the rest of our slush syrups.

Our slush syrups are all made using 100% British sugar, no artificial sweeteners or synthetic sugar is ever used. This means that not only does it make better tasting slush puppy drinks, it also means that the concentrate mix creates a softer product which does not put undue stress on the motor gearbox on your slush machine.

Our slush syrup range is manufactured to the highest standard using high grade food ingredients which have a water to syrup ratio mix of 6 to 1. That simply means for every 1 part of slush concentrate you use, you mix 6 parts water. Our syrups include the following flavours, Blue Raspberry, Strawberry, Lemon & Lime, Orange & Mango, Orange, Sour Apple, Sour Cherry, Pineapple, Tropical, Pink Bubblegum, Kola Kube, Neutral Base plus a range of cocktail flavours such as Margarita, Strawberry Daiquiri and Energy.

Serving slush is profitable, each 200ml portion costs just 6p or 10p if you include the slush cup, straw and VAT. Selling prices range from 50p to £1.00. Plus, if you are in a position to buy your slush in bulk, i.e. 20 cases, we have another 25 flavour options available. 20 cases is in effect half a pallet, buying full pallets means we offer further discounts and your syrups will be made to order and we also offer the option of your own labels, with your logo and details.

SlushCo are national suppliers of slush machine products, slush syrup, ice cream machines, citrus juicers and coffee equipment. We offer a complete beverage solution and supply mainly the UK market but also export overseas to countries such as Ireland, France, Spain, Germany, Romania, Finland and Russia. Our sales advisers are always available to discuss your requirements on 08000 14 18 18.

UK Slush Market

It's reported that the slush market in the UK is worth £320,000,000 per annum and is expected to grow by 16% over the next 3 years. Some of this growth is expected in 2 key areas, the convenience sector and the licensed trade, both of these sectors we'll have a look at below.

Convenience sector. First of all it's worth pointing out that growth in this sector has been driven by the independents, convenient stores, sweet shops, forecourts etc.  What has been and will be driving growth in this sector is quite simple. More and more retailers have realised the margin opportunity selling slush so more and more are purchasing slush machines for their business, hence increasing the overall sector performance. They have discovered how easy it is to add incremental income to the bottom line and how quickly the cost of buying slush equipment is recouped.

Licensed trade. The growth here has been significant in areas such as bars, clubs and pubs including family pubs. Since the introduction of alcoholic slushy cocktails, such as Margarita and Strawberry Daiquiri, bars and the likes have been enjoying enormous profits serving these types of cocktails. Most bars have been selling these drinks at between £4 and £8 per drink, with a base cost of 50-75p. We've been told by some bars we've supplied slush equipment to that offering these cocktails has actually saved their business from the serious risk of closing down.

So looking back at the market value of slush at £50M, who reaps the majority of this value? Is it the retailer, the slush syrup manufacturers, the supply chain or HM Revenue? Well let us take an example of a 7oz (200ml) slush serving for which the retailer charges 75p and which costs a total of 10p, the profit or value is listed below, the figures won't add up to 75p because they are based on gross profits;

Retailer: 54p (or 65p if you are not VAT registered)
VAT: 11p
Manufacturer & Distributor: 2.5p

It's clear to see that it's the retailer, quite rightly that reaps the vast majority of the profits selling slush.

If you are considering entering the slush market and looking to buy a slush machine and slush syrup, it's important to buy quality and not be tempted by the influx of cheap Chinese machines that cost less but will dissapoint in the medium term. Cheap slush machines are exactly that, cheap. Equally so, make sure you also buy a good quality slush syrup concentrate. Most slush machines are worked hard, running 10 hours a day so don't be tempted to save a penny per portion on substandard syrups that are made to a price rather than for performance, colour and flavour.

Call us on 08000 14 18 18 for advice, SlushCo are leading slush experts in the UK.

Slush Machines & Syrups in 2013

2012 was a great for SlushCo and our customers. But how? Let's be honest, with the economic downturn and some of the worst weather on record, we all expected to simply 'hold our own' when it came to sales of slush, milkshakes and ice cream equipment.

Yes we had two good weather months, March and May from memory but slush has always been a 9 or 10 month season in the UK, with many customers selling it all year round.

After studying the detail, we believe we understand the great performance slush machines and slush syrup sales experienced in 2012.

1. Our Reputation. We're an establish chilled drinks systems supplier and have built up an excellent reputation with savvy UK customers who demand great products and service and the right price and on the we have delivered for years so our core customer base keep coming back to us year after year.

2. Our Slush Machines. And ofcourse other commercial equipment such as ice cream makers and milkshake makers. Quality sells, and quality is good economy. Our slush machine range is best of class. We designed and engineered, our slush equipment is built to perform and to last. We are simply not tempted by the availability of 'cheap' imported slush machines from the far East, yes they may cost a few hundred pounds less but with the poor design build and lack of parts and service available on them, no thanks. Also when you consider our slush machines on average pay for themselves in 50 days (usually with free slush syrup and cups we send with a machine sale), then the cost difference becomes irrelevant. Not forgetting our machines have an expected life of 10 years if well maintained verses around 2 to 3 years if you are lucky.

3. Our Slush Syrup. Once again quality sells. If you consider that you have now invested your money in a good quality slush machine, it's vital to use only high quality ingredients. The most expensive component of any syrup is the sugar and it's critical to keep the sugar content at the correct level (also know as brix content which is measured between 0 - 100, 90+ being a good level, our syrups measure 100). If the sugar levels are not correct then the product can and will put undue stress on the machines gearbox motors and can cause them to fail. Our slush syrups are premium, retaining the flavour and colour right down to the very last drop and with an approx cost for a 200ml (7oz) drink costing 6p and selling for 65p - 90p, you shouldn't really be too concerned about reducing this cost by a penny and using 'cheap slush syrup'.

4. Our Service. We pride ourselves on this point which covers our expertise in the sales process, speed of commercial equipment dispatch, speed of product sales deliveries which is express next day delivery and if the worst happens and you have a slush machine issue or niggle, we're here to deal with it for you, be it solution advice on the telephone, sending next day spare parts or engineer service. Our national engineers are on hand if a site call out is required.

So looking ahead to 2013, we are excited to have once again improved our range offering, by introducing new ranges of chilled and frozen equipment including a new more affordable ice cream maker range and a sexy new smoothie blender range. Our commitment to our customers continues to be focused on the right equipment, the right products, the right price all backed up with excellent and speedy service.

Browse our Slush Machine range at SlushCo