There’s now a milkshake and smoothie delivery service on campus

It’s getting to that time of year when sun is shines down upon the square as students sit out bathing on the steps. What could be missing from this glorious scenario, you ask? Well how about freshly prepared milkshakes and smoothies delivered to you anywhere on campus.

Two UEA students have started doing just that, so now you can enjoy the rays with an ice cold beverage in hand. We sat down with the entrepreneurs to find out what inspired them to start.

Can you tell us a bit about yourselves? 

There’s two of us, Frank and Aina. We’re both first years.

When did you start making milkshakes and smoothies on campus?

We started over a month ago in mid March. In terms of how many days we’ve been open for, it’s probably been about 15 days due to being closed over the Easter break, so not long!

What inspired you to start the delivery service?

We were inspired by my love of milkshakes and Aina’s love of smoothies, and my frustration at not being able to find one that perfectly fits my taste. I often find that milkshakes in chains like shakeaway are just too milky, whereas I like them to be quite a bit thicker. They are also very expensive! Over the years this has led me to make my own milkshakes for me and my friends, as it’s cheaper, easy and tastes better.

I was getting very positive reviews from my friends which led me to the idea that other people could enjoy them as well. I had previously thought about creating a stall to sell milkshakes as I could see their potential to sell but wasn’t sure about the logistics of making it possible, such as keeping the ice cream cold and milk chilled, as well as how exactly to arrange it.

I suddenly realised that whilst living in UEA I have the unique opportunity of being walking distance from 5000 students. As soon as the idea popped into my head of making milkshakes in my kitchen and delivering them on campus I knew it had potential as if anyone was anything like me, they would jump at the chance of having a milkshake or smoothie delivered to their door, especially for a much lower cost that at most milkshake and smoothie bars. I pitched the idea to Aina and she immediately saw it as a good idea which was a great sign and went on to create a menu, adding on new flavours and smoothies (as my original idea was just to sell oreo milkshakes!).

How much does each smoothie or milkshake cost?

Pretty much everything is £2.50 per drink including delivery, however there are occasionally beverages on the menu that stray 50p above or below this line.

How many orders do you typically get in a day?

It varies, before term ended for easter I was generally selling about 15-20 drinks a day. Since the restart it’s been a bit quieter, but we are getting more and more everyday.

What are your favourite milkshakes or smoothies?

My favourite is the thick oreo milkshake which is my speciality, and Aina’s is the tropical smoothie. We only pick smoothies and milkshakes for the menu that we like and enjoy, so really we love them all.

Do you have any plans to expand it in the future?

The problem with the business at the moment is that it works specifically because of living on campus, i.e. being able to sell to an area which is all within walking distance that is all very well connected and easy to communicate where we have facilities to make the drinks on site. After this semester we probably wont be living on campus. We will be thinking hard on how to evolve the business so it can survive this change. In terms of expanding we are still growing and there are new likes on the page everyday. We have yet to reach a level of orders which we struggle to fulfil, so hopefully we’ll keep going onwards and upwards.

If you fancy trying one of Frank and Aina’s shakes and to see their daily list of specials, visit their Facebook page by clicking here.