Have you heard about the exciting London-based company Love Smoothies? The innovative company provides readymade sachets of frozen exotic fruit ingredients. The founder and owner of the company Richard Canterbury set aside some time for Fresh from the Freezer to tell us what makes Love Smoothies stand out from the crowd.

1. What inspired you to set up Love Smoothies?

I LOVE fruit and making smoothies (hence the name). I wanted to make something that tasted truly amazing and was actually good for you and I didn’t think what was in the marketplace was particularly good.

2. Looking over the ‘Our Story’ section of your website it seems like it was quite a ride getting the company off the ground?

It certainly was. It’s been a rollercoaster but I think that’s pretty standard for any business. We’ve had some tremendous highs and lows, but it’s all been worth it and you learn so much about business and about yourself.

3. How does Love Smoothies work?

We provide individual portion controlled sachets of frozen fruit that customers can blend with juice to make smoothies in seconds. We call it the ‘Made-Easy’ process. We take the best quality fruits, freeze them at source locking the goodness and nutrients and then mix them to our specific recipes, which were developed by a Michelin starred chef ensuring the customer gets a consistent great tasting smoothie every time.

4. Who else is on the Love Smoothie team?

We have a sales team of 4 and an operations team of 3 people and then we outsource everything else from Marketing and Design to our Accountant and PR to our sales (another 12 people). It’s a great structure and allows us to punch above our weight.

5. Where can we find you?

We supply foodservice customers (including Pret and Virgin Active) and many independent cafes, bars, hotels and gyms to Retail (including Cook and Ocado).

6. What are the benefits of smoothies?

Not all smoothies are created equally. There is no legal definition for a smoothie so you can actually add anything, which is both a plus and a negative. So the benefits will depends on what ingredients are in a smoothie which is why it’s important to check what you’re drinking. We only use 100% grade A fruit and vegetables, so no additives, preservatives and it’s all raw, which means it hasn’t been processed or pasturised meaning the customer gets all of the goodness.

7. What is your favourite smoothie ingredient?

Acai. It’s a small berry from the Amazon rainforest and the money goes back to the indigenous people. It’s a phenomenal source of antioxidants and has the taste of smoky chocolate, so that’s what I turn to when I need a boost.

8. What do you see as the main benefits of frozen food products?

Freezing is a natural way of preserving the goodness, whereas ‘fresh’ fruit is essentially deteriorating with every day it’s off the tree. For example oranges lose 1% of their nutritional value for every day they are off the tree, so by the time customers eat them they could be weeks old. Freezing prevents this, providing 2 years shelf-life AND frozen fruit tastes better in a smoothie. Frozen berries or frozen banana keep the drink cold and improve the taste.

9. How do you ensure the frozen ingredients stay at the correct temperature when delivering to customers?

We work with the best logistic partners to ensure the supply chain is never broken, keeping everything to a temperature of -18C. This is a legal requirement and we often put probes in international deliveries to monitor the temperature whilst it’s being transported. But the UK has a very sophisticated network, so it’s never an issue here.

10. Other than smoothies and drinks, what areas of food excite you?

I love innovation and it’s something we are constantly striving for at Love Taste Co (the parent company of Love Smoothies). Whether it’s developing an all-natural frappe or real fruit teas we constantly try and push boundaries. We work with the ex-development chef from the Fat Duck restaurant who was heavily involved in molecular gastronomy. It’s always exciting to see something new.

11. Finally, one interesting fact about yourself or the company?

This year we are aiming to sell 4m smoothies, which isn’t bad from a company that started life on a small market stall in Borough Market!

For more fun activities, frozen food meal ideas and household tips Like the Fresh from the Freezer Facebook page or give us a follow on Twitter.