How to choose an açaí supplier: nine questions for cafés and campuses

Açaí reaches a counter in a few different forms, and the right supplier depends on what your team can do at the busiest hour of the day. These are the questions we would ask any açaí supplier, us included. Our own answers follow each one so you can compare like for like.

What format is the açaí, and what does it take to serve?

Ask which format you are buying first, because it decides your equipment, labor and line speed. Most açaí for US counters comes in one of three:

• Frozen açaí packs. Frozen pulp or purée you blend to order with liquid and fruit. You need a blender, a recipe and staff trained to make it the same way every time.
• Soft-serve base. A mix that runs through a soft-serve machine. You need the machine, and time to clean and maintain it.
• Scoopable açaí or açaí sorbet. Frozen and ready to serve from a tub or bucket. You need a freezer and a scoop.

Ours is the third: açaí sorbet, churned, pasteurized and frozen in the Brazilian Amazon, in a 10.2 kg (22.49 lb) foodservice bucket. Staff scoop, top and serve. What is açaí sorbet? explains how it differs from a bowl base.

How much açaí is in it?

Ask for the açaí percentage on the ingredient statement, and for the supplier's technical sheet. The percentage tells you how much of what you pay for is fruit, and it differs from product to product. The technical sheet shows the quality specification the product is made to.

Our Organic Açaí Original Sensation and Açaí Zero Sugar are 60% organic açaí, as declared on the manufacturer's technical sheets, and açaí is the first ingredient. Açaí Banana Sunrise and Açaí Strawberry Crush are 40% açaí with 6% banana or strawberry. The Original Sensation sheet specifies 24 to 28% total solids, 21.5 to 23.5 °Brix and pH 4.35 to 4.45, and the sorbet is pasteurized at 81 to 87 °C (178 to 189 °F). Ask us for the technical sheet for any flavor. Açaí Zero Sugar: Not a low calorie food.

How many servings does one unit make?

Ask for the net weight and the serving size declared on the label, then divide. Our bucket holds 10.2 kg of sorbet and the declared serving is 2/3 cup (147 g), so one bucket makes about 69 servings before toppings. Put your delivered bucket cost and menu price into the bowl-cost calculator to see your cost per bowl.

Can your distributor deliver it?

An item your distributor can't deliver is an item you can't put on the menu. Ask for the distributor item numbers and whether your local warehouse will carry them. Our ten bucket flavors are set up at Vistar, a Performance Food Group company, as items TLL65266 to TLL65275, under Vistar supplier number 101808. Setup is not stock: the first bucket flavor lineup and delivery timing are still being confirmed. The wholesale specs page lists the item number for every flavor.

Which certifications cover the item you would buy?

Certification can differ by flavor and by format, so ask for the certificate that covers the exact item. For ours, Original Sensation, Mango and Coconut are USDA Organic and certified Non-GMO (ACO). All ten flavors are certified vegan (Vegan Australia), plant-based (SCS) and gluten-free (SCS), and nine are kosher (Kosher Australia), in pints, Grab'n Go cups and foodservice buckets; Strawberry Crush is not kosher. The sorbet is made in a facility certified to FSSC 22000, ISO 9001 and HACCP, and facility certificates come with our supplier paperwork. See what is certified.

Is the product data ready for your systems?

Distributors and campus procurement teams need GTINs, case and pallet data and specifications before an item can be listed. Ask whether the data is already published, not just available on request. Product data for all 60 of our items, cups, pints and buckets, is published through GDSN, and every flavor has a sell sheet with the bucket spec.

How does it store, and how much freezer space does it need?

• Keep frozen at 0 °F (−18 °C) or below.
• Shelf life 24 months from manufacture, sealed and stored frozen.
• Each bucket is 24.5 x 29.5 x 24.8 cm (9.65 x 11.61 x 9.76 in), sold by the bucket, not cased.
• 120 buckets per pallet, 15 per layer by 8 layers.

Our guide to storing sorbet covers the basics of keeping it at its best.

Is the ingredient list short enough for a clean-label menu?

If your menu has clean-label standards, read the full ingredient statement for every flavor you plan to serve, because recipes differ between brands and between formats. Organic Açaí Original Sensation has seven ingredients: organic açaí (60%), filtered water, organic cane sugar, organic agave syrup, a stabilizer (sodium alginate), natural flavor and citric acid. Organic Mango is organic mango (60%), filtered water, organic cane sugar and three plant-based stabilizers (citrus fiber, guar gum and locust bean gum). In all ten of our sorbets the fruit is the first ingredient, and there are no major food allergens in the ingredients. Ingredient statements and Nutrition Facts for every flavor are on each flavor page and sell sheet.

How do you get samples and pricing?

Taste before you commit, at the temperature you will serve it. For ours, use the request form for samples and pricing. Samples are planned after the first US container arrives, with availability and timing to be confirmed.

Planning the counter itself? Read building an açaí bowl program for a campus or café for portion planning and menu ideas.

Related: Foodservice · Wholesale specs · Organic Açaí Original Sensation