A New Ice Age Is Here
Ice has a huge impact on your beverage programs. Not only can low-quality ice negatively affect the taste of your beverages, but loud, disruptive ice machines can harm your customers’ experiences. For operators, there’s nothing worse than stopping the flow of your fountain drinks to perform ice machine maintenance or cleaning right in the dining area. And establishments with small footprints face space limitations where ice machines may not fit.
The best ice machines are the ones you can’t see. That’s why remote ice delivery equipment is the coolest ice maker solution out there for foodservice operations.
Follett’s remote ice delivery solution, RIDE, is one of a kind in the foodservice industry, providing customers with improved aesthetics, cleaner dispensers, a better customer experience, and customer-preferred Chewblet® ice.
As part of the Follett Horizon Elite series, RIDE automatically delivers clean ice to drink stations, storage bins, and jockey boxes through a transport tube.
The Benefits of Remote Ice Delivery Equipment
IMPROVED AESTHETICS
Less equipment is in view when using RIDE ice machines since the ice machine can be located under a counter or in a back room, up to 75 feet away from a dispenser. The additional space can be used to reduce clutter and open up more space for merchandising. The end result creates an upscale look with an ice machine out of view.
CLEANER DISPENSERS
Sanitary ice is more important now than ever before. Relocating the ice machine away from a dispenser gives full access to the ice storage area. This eliminates the expense of removing heavy ice machines when the dispenser needs cleaning and allows for more thorough sanitizing of the ice storage area. A sealed evaporator prevents growth of biofilm and other microbials.
BETTER CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Automatically filling the dispenser eliminates manual filling and the interruptions it causes customers. It also removes heat and noise from fountain area. Scheduled maintenance can be performed out of the way, allowing the dispenser to be used without disruption.
CHEWBLET ICE
Chewblet Ice 70% of customers prefer Chewblet ice and 30% will buy more fountain drinks when Chewblet ice is an option, driving an increase in sales of high margin beverages. Customers even admit that they would drive out of their way to get some!
Chewblet ice matches the performance of cubes, melts at a similar rate, and performs the same on a coldplate, while also lowering drink costs with superior drink displacement.
How to Take Your Ice Production Even Further
RIDE has another capability as well. With an Ice Manager diverter valve, a single Horizon Elite ice machine can send ice to two dispense points. Ice delivery is based on the demand of each location and Ice Manager delivers ice where you want it, when you want it.
Since typical ice machines only run 50% of the time, Ice Manager promotes more efficient use of your ice machine production capacity, all while leaving operators with fewer ice machines to purchase and maintain.
When it comes to a sanitary, efficient, and profitable ice for your beverage program, Middleby is here to help identify the right solutions. Request a free beverage assessment from your local beverage equipment expert today.
Touchless SensorSAFE Dispensing Kit
Follett Products LLC is excited to announce a sanitary, hands-free kit for new and current 7 or 15 Series ice and water dispensers. Now you can dispense ice and water from a 7 or 15 Series machine touch-free. Introducing the Touchless SensorSAFE Dispensing Kit.
The Touchless SensorSAFE kit is available as a kit for new and existing countertop and freestanding dispensers with minimal assembly. Simply connect the wire harness from the new dispensing kit to the control board and attach the new lid.
We know ice and water are essential to your business and we strive to provide what your business needs. Now, more than ever, we remain dedicated to bringing you the most sanitary solutions.
Learn more at follettice.com.
Content sponsored by Middleby.
