If you’re a gym owner, spending a fortune on prepackaged shakes loaded with sugar, additives, and mystery ingredients is just not the best move. Not only are they hard to store, but finding ones that actually taste good is a challenge. Handmade shakes are the way to go—fresher ingredients, customizable options, and a personal touch—but blending them one at a time? That’s slow, inefficient, and a great way to cut into your profits. Continue reading to learn how to make protein shakes the smarter, faster way!

Protein shakes reimagined

Have you ever thought about using a “margarita machine” to make protein shakes? Probably not—and we don’t blame you. Most people assume these machines are only suitable to make frozen cocktails, but here’s the truth: those “margarita machines” are actually just commercial frozen beverage machines—versatile, powerful, and perfect for way more than just happy hour. Spaceman frozen drink machines can serve up protein shakes, smoothies, acai bowls, milkshakes, frozen cocktails, and more—all with speed, consistency, and ease. It’s time to rethink what these machines can actually do.

Reasons to make the switch

Time consuming

Let’s face it—making smoothies or protein shakes one at a time in a blender is inefficient. It pulls your staff away from more important tasks and creates unnecessary wait times for customers. Think about the gym-goers on their lunch break or the ones who are heading to their next appointment—nobody wants to wait 5–10 minutes for a shake to be made. With a Spaceman frozen beverage machine, your protein shake is pre-batched and ready to serve. Just pull the handle, and in under 3 seconds, it’s in the cup—smooth, consistent, and ready to go.

Inconsistent results

Protein shakes made in blenders are often inconsistent. Even with recipe cards and clear instructions, no two shakes turn out exactly the same. One staff member might blend for 10 seconds, another for a full minute. One might add too much ice, another too little—resulting in noticeable differences in texture, temperature, and taste. This inconsistency not only disappoints customers whose expectations aren’t met, but also contributes to issues with portion control and food cost. Overuse of ingredients or improperly made shakes that need to be remade generate unnecessary waste and reduce profitability.

Labor intensive

Making shakes individually isn’t just time-consuming—it’s labor-intensive. Each shake requires measuring ingredients, pulling items from cabinets and the fridge, and following a multi-step process. After that, the blender needs to be thoroughly cleaned—especially when switching flavors—to avoid cross-contamination. It’s repetitive, messy, and inefficient for your staff.

Slow service model

One of the biggest drawbacks of using blenders is how long it takes to make just one shake. On the low end, it can take about 3 minutes to make, plus another 1–2 minutes for ordering and payment. That’s a 5-minute transaction—meaning you could only serve roughly 12 shakes an hour. With a Spaceman machine, the shake is ready in seconds. A customer could order, pay, and be walking out with their drink in under a minute. That means you could serve up to 60 shakes an hour—five times the output of a blender, giving your bottom line a big boost. While these numbers are just estimates, we hope that it helps to give you a rough idea of how much faster and efficient Spaceman machines can make operations at your business.

If you’re ready to upgrade your protein shake game, reach out to us at sales@spacemanusa.com. We’d be happy to provide you with more information, help with recipe ideation, or answer any questions you have. Cheers and happy lifting!