The innovative ready-to-use freeze-dried fruit garnishes developed by Mixologist’s Garden to help bartenders create the perfect serve, are enjoying significant triple digit growth since their launch just 18 months ago.
More than 2,000 bars across the UK, including new customers, Whitbread and Center Parcs, are now using the garnishes, which enable bar staff to quickly and easily transform drinks without having to buy, store, prepare and ultimately waste fresh ingredients.
The versatile, high quality and bar-ready range of six fruit options – Lemon, Lime, Orange and Strawberry slices, as well as whole Raspberries and Blueberries – are the perfect addition to cocktails, sparkling wines, spirits and soft drinks.
Hand selected for their superior quality and freeze-dried to deliver 100% flavour and appearance, the garnishes can be stored at ambient temperatures, have a long shelf life and are waste free. Once added to a drink, they quickly rehydrate on contact with liquid as the structure of the fruit is not impacted by the freeze-drying process. Bar managers and mixologists have also been experimenting with the fruits by crushing them for use as a fruit dust enhancement, for stencilling, and for decorating the rims of glasses.
“They’re the essential addition to any busy bar, restaurant or café,” commented Stuart Findlater, business director at Mixologist’s Garden. “A beautifully presented drink is what customers enjoy and remember, but having a supply of fresh fruit behind the bar isn’t always practical and can be a challenge if space is limited.
“Convenient, easy to use and simple to store, these fruit garnishes are the answer to all of these challenges and enable bar staff to add the finishing touch to a drink in seconds.”
Research carried out by Mixologist’s Garden, in partnership with Molson Coors, revealed that almost all customers interviewed chose a drink with a garnish rather than one without, while 80% of customers said they would be willing to pay more for a drink featuring an attractive garnish. Of those, 98% said they would be willing to pay an additional 5% for a drink containing a fruit garnish.
“For operators, these fruit garnishes deliver consistent high quality plus effective portion and cost control,” added Stuart. “They also help eliminate any confusion between the bar and the kitchen as to who’s ordering the bar fruit, and from a safety point of view, mean that you don’t need to have any knives behind the bar.
“Since launch, our garnishes have proven to deliver on the promise of providing on-trade customers with easy-to-use garnish solutions which save both time and money, allowing bartenders to focus on delivering perfect serves and improving the quality of that all-important first contact with customers, while significantly enhancing a drink’s visual appeal and taste.”
Mixologist’s Garden fruit garnishes are available in resealable 100g pouches, RRP £11-16 per 100g pouch. Each 100g pouch is equivalent to approximately 1kg of fresh fruit.
