Introducing the High Performance Upgrade for Fender Blenders

 

We’re changing the name of our high-end Bike Blenders from “Vitamix Upgrade” to “High Performance Upgrade” and including a Blendtec pitcher rather than a Vitamix pitcher. We’re also now offering new package pricing that will make it easier for customers to get 2 or 3 pitchers per bike. Having more pitchers is key to meeting the needs of a crowd. We will continue to sell both our value-priced Oster-compatible pitchers and our Vitamix brand pitchers.

 

We’re excited about the new pitchers because:

– They are less expensive! You can get additional jugs for less money, either at the time of purchase or later. Having more pitchers is the key to serving lots of people at your events and also accommodating dietary restrictions like nuts or dairy. Check out our package deals for the best pricing!

– The lid is easier to take on and off. The square lid with its big rubbery corners is less fidgety. Time saver at busy events!

– The big square hole in the lid (through which you can add food while blending) is bigger and easier to use than the smaller round hole on the Vitamix. This makes the Blendtec jug a better choice for certain foods, like pesto and hummus, where you want to be able to add ingredients while blending (“It needs more olive oil!”) Pedaling these foods is a fun and interactive team effort. Similarly for smoothies, sometimes you need to add liquid to a smoothie in progress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other key aspects between the two jugs are the same.

– Same size. 7 or 8 servings in a full Vitamix or Blendtec pitcher of smoothie, versus about 4 with the Oster-compatible pitchers.

– Same high-performance quality blending as Vitamix. We’ve been using the BlendTec pitcher at our events for the past 6 months and can detect no difference in blending performance versus the Vitamix. Both the Blendtec and Vitamix are far superior (for certain recipes) to the standard Oster-compatible pitcher. For basic smoothies all of our pitchers deliver excellent results. Check out our Vitamix – Oster comparison video for an explanation.

– Both are compatible with the ‘Vitamix Upgrade’ we’ve been selling for years. If you purchased a Fender Blender (Vitamix) and have been wanting additional pitchers, now you can buy the new Blendtec pitchers for less money.

– Both have the NSF rating.

– Still American-made (now Utah)

– Blendtec and Vitamix are the two leading names in the high-end blender world.

 

Any known downgrades?

We haven’t done as much longevity testing with the new Blendtec jugs, so we can’t offer as strong of a statement in that regard. We think they’re built to last, but we don’t have as many event hours under our belt with them. All RTB products are backed by our warranty, so you can buy with confidence. As we use them more at our events, we’ll be able to say for certain whether they do hold up as well as the Vitamix brand pitchers.

Possible confusion downgrade. We know that by changing our product names, and offering a Blendtec-made pitcher that’s compatible with our existing High-Performance base — which we were formerly calling the “Vitamix Upgrade” — there will be some head scratching. It’s a bit unconventional that Blendtec now makes a pitcher that is compatible with Vitamix bases and not with their own Blendtec bases.

Here’s the simplest way to understand it:

We have for several years sold a high-performance version of our Fender Blender. We just called it a brand specific name: “Vitamix Upgrade”. Now we’re changing the name to “High Performance Upgrade” and substituting an equally capable pitcher with some cool advantages and better pricing!

Possible downgrade: availability issues: This is a cautious note, but we must acknowledge that the pitcher we are now using in our leading product does not represent Blendtec’s main product emphasis. The blending quality is state of the art, but the compatibility with Vitamix makes this an unusual product. Indeed they actually run their Utah assembly line specially for us to get us the jugs we order. There aren’t as many distributors of these unique pitchers, and it’s possible that we could face delays on them at times in the future. However, if that does happen, we plan to substitute the Vitamix brand pitchers we have always carried.

Major upgrade: Package pricing.  From our event experience, we know you really need more than one pitcher for even a medium-sized event. Please take a look at the packages in our online store to see how the price per pitcher drops as you buy more than one.

Compatibility questions:

• I have a regular Blendtec (with an electric motor base). Can I use my pitcher on my new High-Performance Fender Blender? No. Blendtec’s motorized bases have a different spline from Vitamix bases and they also spin in the opposite direction. If you have a regular Blendtec base, it won’t fit in the High-Performance Fender Blender. We hope to offer a Fender Blender Blendtec in the future!
• I have a regular Vitamix (electric motor base). Can I use the pitcher I have now on the new High-Performance Fender Blender? Most likely yes. Vitamix pitchers will most likely fit the High-Performance blender base.
• I still prefer Vitamix brand pitchers; can I still buy them from you?  Yes, but we’ve raised the prices about 15%.

Why are we doing this?

We are doing this because we want to provide value packages so that more of our customers have multiple pitchers (which we have found to be a key to large events) and because we like the features of the Blendtec pitcher.