Since 2024, 7-Eleven has had smoothie machines in thousands of its stores across Japan, and beyond blended beverages made with coffee and matcha, the convenience chain recently introduced Cold Soup Smoothies. Like 7-Eleven's other smoothies, the new Cold Soup Smoothies are sold frozen, in cups with chopped ingredients that are ready to blend on-site at customer-operated machines.
To create each Cold Soup Smoothie, 7-Eleven worked with experts to support regenerative food practices that prevent edible by-products from going to waste. The Grilled Corn Smoothie, for instance, features fermented rice bran developed by Fermenstation, which makes use of a rice milling by-product for added gut health benefits. The Fruit Gazpacho Smoothie, inspired by a Spanish-style recipe, matches cherry tomatoes with paprika and watermelon juice blended with whole lemons.
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Savory Smoothie Meals
- Convenience formats are expanding beyond sweet beverages as chilled, blended soups turn quick-service drinks into portable meal replacements with broader daypart potential.
- Upcycled Functional Ingredients
- Food brands are embedding by-products like fermented rice bran into mainstream offerings, creating premium nutrition narratives around waste reduction and digestive wellness.
- Self-serve Blending Retail
- Automated in-store smoothie machines are reshaping convenience retail by combining frozen inventory efficiency with freshly prepared customization at the point of sale.
Where This Applies
- Convenience Retail
- Store chains are gaining new differentiation through compact foodservice systems that deliver freshly blended meals without full kitchen infrastructure.
- Functional Foods
- Gut health, fermentation, and regenerative sourcing are converging in everyday convenience products, signaling room for more accessible wellness-driven meal formats.
- Food Waste Innovation
- Ingredient developers are finding commercial value in edible processing by-products, linking sustainability claims with flavor, texture, and nutritional enhancement.
