Commercial Blender Buying Guide

Types of Blenders

Food Blenders	Bar Blenders	Immersion Blenders
These commercial blenders are designed for frequent use and can withstand continuous operation without burning out. They can blend thick drinks like smoothies or milkshakes and even break down hard foods like chocolate chips, carrots, almonds, or ice. Choose a commercial food blender when you need a professional unit for a high-volume operation.	Ranging from lighter-duty models to high-volume units, bar blenders are perfect for making signature cocktails like margaritas, daiquiris, or piña coladas. While many aren’t as robust as food blenders, most of our bar units can handle the occasional smoothie. Many of these blenders have clear jars that promote product visibility and some even come with sound enclosures, a plus for operating in already loud bar environments.	Ranging in size from 7" long all the way up to 29" long, handheld blenders work well for chopping up soft foods, whipping cream, mashing potatoes, and pureeing soups or sauces. One of the greatest benefits of this type is that you aren’t constrained by the capacity of a blender jar. Choose a standard-duty, heavy-duty, or cordless immersion blender to meet the needs of your business. Many immersion blenders also work with optional attachments like emulsion disks and whisks for even greater versatility.

Application

The type of blender that you need depends heavily on the environment where it will be used. For instance, making smoothies all day will require a completely different blender than making only a few margaritas per night.

First off, consider the type of business you run. What foods will you use the blender for? Will you be using it to puree creamy soups, or will you be making tantalizing smoothies? Then, think about how often you’ll be using the blender. Some blenders are designed for lighter-duty use and wouldn’t last in an environment where they are used to make dozens of drinks every day.

Also, some blenders have features like programmable controls or timers that make them more efficient for use in high-volume kitchens and bars. If you are going to be making the same recipe over and over, or you want to set the blender for a specific time and perform other tasks while it does its job, some of these features can make up for the higher price tag by saving you hours of time and labor.

Choosing the Right Jar

There are a lot of different blenders out there with a lot of different types of blender jars. Some of the features may not be relevant to your business, but here are some you’ll want to think about when purchasing a blender:

Most blenders come with only one blender jar but you may need multiple containers to keep up with customer demand since jars need to be washed between uses. You can find a selection of additional blender jars with our other blender parts and accessories.

Power!

More power isn’t always better. Once again, it all comes down to your application. If you will be making thick smoothies or milkshakes all day, you’ll definitely need a unit with more power. But if all you need is a blender to turn out a couple of margaritas every night you can save some money by going with a smaller, less powerful one.

Keep in mind that power isn’t the only indicator of performance. You’ll want to make sure that the power rating you choose is paired with an aggressive blade assembly for the best results.

Controls

There are several types of blender controls for you to choose from: electronic, programmable, and toggle or paddle controls. Each version has their own benefits and an application where they work best. For example, programmable controls are great timesavers for high-volume businesses that make blended foods and beverages from set recipes every day. The programming allows you to set blending parameters once and use them again and again as you repeatedly make the same recipes.

Type of Controls	Ideal Application	Benefits	Drawbacks
Toggle / Paddle	Great for blending where you don’t need precise control over the blender speed and timing. The simplest versions are geared more toward low-volume businesses.	Simple and easy to use Less expensive	Limited abilities Usually only 1-2 power levels
Electronic	Perfect for more control over the blending cycle than toggle controls. There are a wide variety of control options that fall within this group, including units with automatic timers, touchpad start / stop buttons, and multiple power levels.	Easy to clean Simple to use Provides more options than toggle controls May include a simple timer	More expensive Touchpad may wear out over time
Programmable	Mostly used in busy, high-volume environments where the same beverages or food products are made repeatedly throughout the day. Times and power levels can be programmed for future use.	Can store recipes for efficient future use Easy to clean Provides more options than toggle controls Don’t require employees to manually turn the unit off	Most expensive Touchpad may wear out over time

Noise

To help keep the noise down in your establishment, you can choose a blender that has a sound enclosure. This feature is a polycarbonate shield that surrounds your blender during use to reduce the amount of noise produced by the unit. It may reduce the immediate accessibility of the jar and controls, but if noise is a problem for your business, choosing a unit with an enclosure may be your best choice in the long run.

While a certain amount of noise is expected in a bar or restaurant setting, keeping the noise down in your front of the house areas will encourage customer conversations and create a more welcoming environment. Plus, reducing the ambient noise in your back of the house areas can have a significant impact on the comfort and productivity of your employees.

Cleaning

At the end of the day, there are plenty of things you would rather be doing than cleaning your equipment for the next day. To make life easier on yourself, consider some of these features that are designed to make cleaning a blender easier and more efficient.