Aftermarket Blender Jar for Commercial Restaurant Operators February 26 2016
Restaurants and smoothie shops as well as coffee and beverage servers most of the time operate a high powered high quality Blender. These are either Waring, Vita Mix, or Blendtec type smoothie and drink machines. Click on Alterna Jar for more information.
It is common that jars and blades and their bearings wear out and need to be replaced. Restaurants, depending on size, buy sometimes from 4 to 20 new jars every year. Those that operate a blender that has a jar where blade assemblies can be replaced, buy the complete jar less frequently, but replace the lower cost replacement component "the blade cutting unit" or blending assembly, about 2 to 3 times a year. The only high performance smoothie machine that requires a complete whole new jar replacement is Blendtec.
It is estimated that globally about 30 to 50 million of these high performance food processors are in use. On average after warranty is expired, a blending container is replaced once every two years. This is including, on average, all, residential and commercial uses. In reality, residential kitchen applicators replace their blade and or jar about 3 to 5 years, while restaurants and especially smoothie shops replace their jars or blades about every 6 month. Giving this number, the global market is about 20 million jars per year between Vita Mix, Blendtec, and Waring.
Warranty of course varies between the brands and also subject to residential or commercial use. A commercial machine is not necessarily better. But for sure the warranty for commercial blending application is less than that for residential use. For example, Waring is all commercially focused and offers a 2 years warranty for parts and 1 year for service, in the USA. Blendtec and Vita Mix offer a 5 to 8 year warranty for residential operation and 1 year for commercial use. In other outside USA markets, the residential use warranty is between 2 to 3 years and commercial warranty is 1 year.
Ideally, if there was one type of jar that can fit on all three of these blender brands, the one product can literally address a 100 million dollar industry for replacement aftermarket jars.
The blade assembly cutting assembly in Blendtec jars (Wildside and Fourside containers) are permanently fix installed in the jar. The ball bearings or bushing can seize up due to water entering the blade assembly housing / bearing housing. The seals sometimes wear out. When the blending assembly is not turning appropriately any more, blending creates smoke and some oil or debris could mix with the smoothie content.