Sealed pack of ingredients for an individual smoothie, and associated methods and apparatuses

A method for making a single-serving smoothie product, the method comprising:

• selecting a sealed pack suitable for the single-serving smoothie product for sale to an end consumer at a point of sale, the sealed pack containing:
• a flavour ingredient contained in the sealed pack in an amount suitable to produce an individual smoothie portion of a predetermined size to serve an individual person in a quantity to suitably fill a cup of a standard cup size at the point of sale;
• a frozen portion of water or fruit juice contained in the sealed pack in an amount selected to produce the individual smoothie portion when combined with the amount of the flavor ingredient when served in the cup of the standard cup size, the frozen portion of water or fruit juice comprising a plurality of individual pieces of frozen liquid sized to contribute through the blending to the predetermined product consistency;
• and
• at least one additional consistency ingredient contained in the sealed pack in an amount to produce the individual smoothie portion when combined with the amount of the flavor ingredient and the amount of the frozen portion of water or fruit juice when served in the cup of the standard cup size, the at least one additional consistency ingredient selected to consistently produce single-serving smoothies including the single-serving smoothie product with a predetermined texture or runniness following blending of the at least one additional consistency ingredient with the flavor ingredient, the frozen portion of water or fruit juice, and a predetermined portion of liquid, and after transfer from the sealed pack to a cup of the standard cup size for serving to the end consumer;
• transferring the flavour ingredient, the frozen portion of water of fruit juice, and the at least one additional consistency ingredient or the sealed pack to a container for blending;
• adding the predetermined portion of a liquid to the container;
• blending the flavour ingredient, the frozen portion of water or fruit juice, and the at least one additional consistency ingredient with the predetermined portion of the liquid in the container to establish the predetermined product consistency of the smoothie product;
• and
• transferring the blended smoothie product from the container to a cup of a standard cup size for serving to a customer at the point of sale.

A method for preparing an individual portion of a smoothie, the method comprising:

• selecting a flavour ingredient for the smoothie, the flavour ingredient selected of a quantity suitable for the individual portion of the smoothie and of a quantity to suitably fill a cup of a standard cup size when served at a retail location;
• selecting a frozen portion of liquid, the frozen portion of liquid selected of a quantity suitable for the individual portion of the smoothie in combination with the quantity of the flavour ingredient when served in the cup of the standard cup size, the frozen portion of liquid comprising a plurality of individual pieces of frozen liquid sized to contribute through the blending to a predetermined product consistency;
• selecting at least one additional consistency ingredient to provide to the smoothie a predetermined product consistency and texture when combined with the flavour ingredient, the frozen portion of liquid, and a predetermined portion of liquid, for serving in the cup of the standard cup size at the retail location;
• combining the flavour ingredient and the frozen portion of liquid with the at least one consistency ingredient in a disposable container sized for the individual portion of the smoothie;
• and
• freezing together the flavour ingredient, the frozen portion of liquid, and the at least one consistency ingredient together in the disposable container for shipment to the retail location.

A pack of ingredients, said pack comprising:

• a flavour ingredient;
• a plurality of individual pieces of frozen liquid, the plurality of individual pieces of frozen liquid being hollow frozen portions of liquid which is independent of and not derived from the flavor ingredient;
• an additional consistency ingredient;
• and
• a sealed flexible plastic bag containing the flavour ingredient, the plurality of individual pieces of frozen liquid, and the consistency ingredient;
• wherein the flavour ingredient, the plurality of individual pieces of frozen liquid, and the additional consistency ingredient are each of a respective quantity selected to be suitable to produce an individual portion of a smoothie having a predetermined product consistency by blending together in a blender the respective quantity of flavour ingredient, the respective quantity of the plurality of individual pieces of frozen liquid, the respective quantity of the additional consistency ingredient, and a predetermined quantity of liquid;
• wherein the plurality of individual pieces of frozen liquid are sized to contribute through the blending to the predetermined product consistency;
• and
• wherein the additional consistency ingredient has a texture that is different from a texture of the flavour ingredient and different from a texture of the plurality of individual pieces of frozen liquid and suitable to contribute to the predetermined product consistency.

A pack of ingredients, said pack comprising:

• a flavour ingredient;
• a plurality of individual pieces of frozen liquid, the plurality of individual pieces of frozen liquid being hollow frozen portions of liquid which is independent of and not derived from the flavor ingredient;
• an additional consistency ingredient with a creamy texture;
• and
• a sealed flexible plastic bag containing the flavor ingredient, the plurality of individual pieces of frozen liquid, and the consistency ingredient;
• wherein the flavour ingredient, the plurality of individual pieces of frozen liquid, and the additional consistency ingredient are each of a respective quantity selected to be suitable to produce an individual portion of a smoothie having a predetermined product consistency by blending together in a blender the respective quantity of flavour ingredient, the respective quantity of the plurality of individual pieces of frozen liquid, the respective quantity of the additional consistency ingredient, and a predetermined quantity of liquid;
• and
• wherein the plurality of individual pieces of frozen liquid are sized to contribute through the blending to the predetermined product consistency.