Will it Blend, Again?

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Innovative Orem company Blendtec recently gained a greater reputation as 2011 Best in Class Award for beverage blenders awarded by the Foodservice Equipment & Suppliers Magazine’s Consultants Survey.

The CEO and inventor of Blendtec blenders, Tom Dickson, has been tinkering with blending machines for years and many claim he makes the best.

The Blendtec engineer space features a “torture chamber.” Bruce Carlson, public relations writer for Blendtec, said it is basically a room with a dozen blenders going constantly. They put the blenders to the test, constantly blending until something breaks down, then they figure out what went wrong so they can fix it.  These blenders are engineered to last 30 years. The team at Blendtec is very engineer based. They spend lots of money on engineers.  Ten percent of the workforce is engineers.

When asked about the source of inspiration, Carlson said, “A lot of the inspiration comes from the culture here, which comes from Tom Dickson. The passion for engineering [here] includes a big dose of creativity.  It’s all about thinking outside the box. The engineers are encouraged to tinker.”

The product-driven company is also popular with some of the big brands, including Nestle, Coke, Oceanspray and Planet Smoothie.

Some claim blending fruit causes it to lose most of its nutritional value.  The three factors which could reduce nutritional value include heat, light and oxygen. Avoid over-blending, drink as soon as it is blended, and refrigerate it.  Keep skins intact and use freshest produce available.

When asked about the nutritional value of smoothies compared to raw fruit, Dani Sackman, nutrition student and Corepower Yoga associate, said, “It depends on where you are making and buying your smoothies. If you are talking about a smoothie from Robex or Jamba Juice then yes, they are less nutritionally valuable because they add a lot of sugar, juice and often sherbet. If you are making a smoothie at home from frozen fruit (no sugar added) then no, they contain the same nutritional value because frozen fruits and vegetables retain their full nutritional value. Whole Foods smoothies are also excellent both nutritionally and for the value.”

According to Jordyn Dougal, exercise science major from San Antonio, Texas, “This blender is geared for making healthy foods. [Blendtec blenders] have lots of different buttons to make soups, breads, smoothies, etc. … I love it. It comes with lots of recipes … and a lot of options.”

Anthony Dunster, BYU alumnus and health enthusiast, said he purchased a Blendtec because his other blender broke easily.

He said, “I got a Blendtec blender because I like making blended concoctions such as fruit smoothies, milkshakes, or even cracking rice for horchata, etc.”

Dunster said, “I wanted a blender that would be powerful and capable and typically the nicer blenders last longer too, so why not get something that is going to do the job well and do it for a long period of time instead of buying blenders every couple of years?”

When asked why it is better, Dunster said, “The quality of materials and the way it was constructed makes it very sturdy. The motor on a Blendtec is a whole lot more powerful than a typical blender, it has longer blades, and it has programmable buttons to vary the speed of the blade to match the type of blending being done.”

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