How will You Define the New You in the New Year? Tell us your 2013 Health & Fitness Goals and Win.
In order to help our customers keep their healthy New Year’s resolutions and reach their fitness goals, we are promoting Fit Frappé as a healthy way to stay on track in 2013. We are encouraging consumers to “Define the New You in 2013” by going to our landing page and telling us how they plan to achieve their goals in the new year.
As part of this promotion Big Train is holding a contest for consumers. Go to BigTrain.com/DefineTheNewYou to view the video (or see the YouTube video below) then head over to the Define the New You Contest page and enter to win! Consumers can fill out their name, email and phone number to be entered into a drawing to win one of over 200 prizes:
100 Fit Frappe Tumblers
100 Fit Frappe protein drink shakers
Grand Prize: 10 Asics Fitness Packages
Promotion begins January 7th and ends January 31, 2013. Winners will be selected at random and will be notified after the promotional period ends. For giveaway details and terms and conditions go here.
About this Project.
The idea behind the “Define the New You in 2013” video was to showcase friends, customers and some of southern California’s brightest in the social media and health/fitness communities, asking them how they will be reaching their goals in 2013. In total, there were about 30 participants and their responses primarily focused on health/fitness and life improvement. The photo shoot itself was a blast, taking place near the train station in San Juan Capistrano, with a fantastic brunch at nearby restaurant, Sarducci’s.
Recently Big Train discovered Compete 4 Causes, a non profit organization dedicated to raising support and public awareness for charitable causes while promoting Fitness & Wellness. Since Launching Fit Frappé (outrageously delicious café style protein drink mixes) in the health and fitness industry, the Bariatric community has really embraced this protein drink mix line. Sandi Henderson from Banded Living was kind enough to invite Big Train to support the Weight Loss Surgery Foundation of America (WLFSA) booth at the event. It was great to meet WLSFA YouTube sensation Wendy Campbell aka Banded Wendy. Antonia Namnath, CEO and Founder of WLSFA was there too!
Banded Wendy, Jim from Big Train 'n Sandi Henderson
It was a gorgeous southern California day, perfect for a run. Fun fact: Banded Wendy runs to techno music. The event was held on the Cal State Northridge University campus. There were no earthquakes! (Knocking on wood.) Big Train handed out samples of our Fit Frappé line to race participants. The response was very enthusiastic.
We met some great people including the lovely Lea Crosetti, Founder of BariAthletes.
In September Big Train attended Coffee Fest Seattle, where we held a contest to give away a blender prize package. Anyone who signed up for our OnTrack™ Rewards program during the show had a chance to win a Vitamix Drink Machine Advanced blender, two pitchers and 3 free cases of product mixes. When the dust settled, the winner was a coffee shop called Hillbilly Beans, located near Olympia, WA. The owners were kind of enough to contribute to a little FAQ, so without further ado we present to you…
Hillbilly Beans In Olympia, Washington
Where are you located?
We are located in Littlerock, Washington which is between Olympia and Grand-mound at the foothills of Capitol Forest.
What types of drinks do you offer?
We offer iced, blended, and hot coffee drinks, teas, smoothies and protein shakes.
Are you known for any type of particular drink?
All of our drinks have funny “hillbilly” names. A white chocolate mocha is called a Ma’s Favorite, a mocha is called a Moonshine, Blended coffees are called Mashed, whipped cream is considered opossum pie topping and so on. Skunks seem to be one of our most popular drink; it is white chocolate and chocolate combined. Some customers enjoy a little raspberry flavor with the chocolate and white chocolate, which is called Road Kill.
About 1 in 8 U.S. women (just under 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. (BreastCancer.org)
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Take care of yourself every year and get a mammogram!
4 Things you can do to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month:
1-Think Pink – Wear pink all month long!
2- Get a mammogram – Now is the perfect time to get a mammogram. That way you can’t forget to get one every year. You’ll be reminded every October that it’s time to take care of yourself.
3- Donate – There are several organizations out there that raise funds for breast cancer research. HerHighway proudly supports 10 groups, including Susan G. Komen, American Cancer Society and Avon. Click here and pick your favorite charity! Your donation is greatly appreciated.
4- Spread the word! Share as much information as you can with your family and friends. Make sure every woman you know is taking care of herself, too.
When Big Train recently launched all new blender-ready pour over real fruit smoothie mixes, we wanted to share our latest line of drink mix products with some local consumers. We reached out to Marcie Taylor aka @suburbanmama on twitter, a social media strategist based in Irvine. Marcie connected us with Beth, the owner at Irvine Coffeehouse Paradise Perks. What a great idea!
Jim from Big Train & Beth at Paradise Perks
After meeting Beth at Paradise Perks in Irvine, we were excited to learn they had been serving Big Train products for years including Big Train Spiced Chai and Dragonly frappes, an Asian themed line of ice blended creme mixes like Taro, Green Tea, Thai tea etc. Paradise Perks was the perfect venue to showcase new real fruit smoothie mixes. And so we set our Luau plans in motion.
Beth promoted the event, had her staff dress in Hawaiian attire and offered up a great menu:
coconut shrimp
wings of fire
bacon wrapped pineapple
fruit platter
Have your next Luau at Paradise Perks
Local ten year old blogger @TinyTechie offered to provide her interpretation of tropical desserts: Pineapple Beach Cupcakes.
Coconut Beach Cupcakes
@TinyTechie
@kimikor and @maryannewendt
@hoda007 sporting an orange lei
Lady Lux Swimwear also from Irvine offered special discounts for attendees.
LadyLuxSwimwear.com
Big Train brought a Vitamix Quiet One Blender, new Real Fruit Smoothie pour-over-ice smoothie mixes, a treasure box full of Big Train drink mix samples, and a huge box of leis.
While Hawaiian music played, our Luau guests enjoyed great food, samples all the new Real Fruit Smoothie Mixes(Strawberry, Mango, Superfruit, Strawberry Banana, Peach and Wildberry). Beth and her staff were very accommodating and were great to work with.
Paradise Perks Staff is great!
Foodie Mavens Suki and @MadHungryWoman
Christiny rockin' the blender
@TheBigDebowski & friends
Suki, Angie Weeks, Kathy Klingaman, Cheryl Hawley
The event was a success! Many thanks to Marcie Taylor, Beth from Paradise Perks, Lady Lux Swimwear, @TinyTechie for the amazing cupcakes, and of course our friends and guests. Special thanks to Jenn and Christiny from Big Train’s marketing team that worked tirelessly to make it all happen.
HSN Frappe drink mixes! For the first time ever, Big Train products were made available via national television on the Home Shopping Network on Monday, July 2nd.
It all started when HSN came looking for some delicious drink mixes to sell as part of HSN’s 35th Anniversary celebration. What better way to celebrate than to offer up amazing coffeehouse style drinks that can be enjoyed at home, right? Mixing up several Big Train frappe mix flavors on live television created a lot of excitement here at Big Train’s headquarters in Lake Forest California. We could practically taste the drinks from here.
A lot of preparation and planning went into getting ready for the HSN airing. After presenting a variety of options, and lots of taste testing, and tremendous effort behind the scenes to prepare for the live show, Big Train and HSN worked together to offer 8 Big Train yummy drink flavors in two exclusive fun packages:
The first package they presented was the “Fun Flavors” Pack. Each pack contains:
Fun Flavors Pack
11.3 oz. Frozen Frappe Drink Mix – Bubble Gum
11.3 oz. Frozen Frappe Drink Mix – Strawberry Banana
11.3 oz. Frozen Frappe Drink Mix - Cookies n’ Creme
11.3 oz. Frozen Frappe Drink Mix - Southern Velvet
11.3 oz. Frozen Frappe Drink Mix - Root Beer Float
11.3 oz. Frozen Frappe Drink Mix – New York Cheesecake
Big Train and HSN selected Keri Maletto to be the lead on-air host. In addition to her experience as a fun and vivacious host for the Home Shopping Network, Keri has appeared in feature films like Dolphin Tale and television shows like Burn Notice and The Glades. Keri did a fantastic job presenting HSN’s exclusive Big Train drink mix products on HSN highlighting Big Train’s value to consumers that are looking for great tasting cafe style products that are easy to make. She even suggested some great ideas like adding strawberry liqueur to flavors like our New York Cheesecake frappe mix to create a yummy Strawberry Cheesecake Frappe cocktail for example. She also mixed up Cookies ‘n Cream, Bubble Gum and Orange Crème blended ice drink flavors. Great job Keri!
HSN created a Big Train brand page on their website where these exclusive products are available for sale in case you missed the program today. Hurry though, there is a limited supply and these products will likely sell out soon.
Did you miss the live show? No worries the show will run again at around 12:00 noon and again at 5:45 pm EDT.To view HSN’s Program Guide go here. Watch HSN live on your computer by clicking here:
For more information on these exclusive HSN Drink Products go here. For more information about Big Train go to Big Train.com.
Billed as the “Mother of all Meet and Greets”, the Weight Loss Surgery Foundation of America hosted its best annual conference yet recently in Las Vegas. We were introduced to the WLSFA by several of our consumer customers who discovered our Fit Frappe® low sugar high protein drink mixes in 2011.
The WLSFA mission has three components:
Ending Obesity by empowering people to move from surviving to thriving through weight loss surgery, education and support.
Performing charitable services and supporting research to find solutions to enhance the quality of life of the morbidly obese community.
Raising awareness and funds for surgery.
Antonia Namnath, CEO WLSFA
Antonia Namnath, CEO of WLSFA encouraged Big Train to help sponsor their annual conference. We are so glad we did! Attending from Big Train were Jim Wendt and Christiny Bouback from Big Train’s marketing department. According to Wendt, “The response from the WLS community for Big Train has been great. We were blown away by the positive response at the recent show in Vegas.”
At the conference Big Train sampled Fit Frappe gourmet Protein Drink mixes: Espresso, Vanilla Latte, and Vanilla (coffee-free) blended with water and ice, and Fit Frappe Mocha served hot (by mixing the powder mix with hot water). We also handed out several of our low carb products (including low carb chai, low carb cookies, low carb brownies) and no sugar added mocha and chai. Customers seem to like the diversity of both our Protein drink mixes as well as the other non protein options.
One attendee at the show had an amazing protein mix recipe: Fit Frappe Sorbet. They take the mix add more ice less water and store in the freezer then eat it like ice cream. So it’s like a high protein no sugar frozen treat that’s good for you!
One of the charters for the WLSFA organization is to raise funds for weight loss surgeries. Connie Bailey, their first grant recipient, attended the Las Vegas event and posted this video on You Tube after trying our protein drink mixes (one of our best testimonials ever). Thanks Connie!
We didn’t ask for this video and so it means a lot to us that Connie would take the time out of her day to produce and share this video with her You Tube followers. Thanks again Connie! WLSFA profiled an inspiring documentary produced by our friends at BariatricTV about Connie and her sister that has received over 100,000 views check it out: http://wlsfa.org/media-kit/view-surviving-to-thriving/the-film/
Some Fun before the Conference
Wendt and Bouback wanted to do something fun for WLSFA attendees prior to the show and invited some of the early bird attendees on a private tour of Zappos.com‘s corporate HQ that is close to the Las Vegas strip. The company was recently ranked #11 Best Company to Work for by Forbes Magazine in 2012. Zappos is legendary for its unique and sometimes wacky culture. The BookDelivering Happiness. A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose, by the company’s CEO Tony Hsieh is a MUST read for anyone looking to overcome adversity and make great things happen by among other things building win-win relationships with people. Wendt figured the WLSFA community, a passionate and brand-loyal group, would appreciate the Zappos tour. In typical Zappos exceed-customer-expectation fashion, the Zappos Insights team made an exception for us (Natalie rules) and graciously hosted their first ever Friday tour (as that was the only day that worked for us). Here are a few pics:
Melting Mama photo bombing Wendt's Zappos Tour sign pic.
Thx Celebrity Coaches for the Big Train ride!
Zappos Reception
No managers get offices, not even the CEO.
Beware vendors: Do not wear a tie at Zappos.
Everyone is a VIP at Zappos.
Thanks everyone at the WLSFA “Meet and Greet”! And just how did folks respond to Big Train at the event. According to Namnath, “I knew your Fit Frappe was going rock it in Vegas it IS the talk of the show!!!!”
It truly was a humbling experience meeting so many people that have made huge differences in their lives. So inspirational! Thanks for the great feedback on our products. Thanks Zappos for the amazing tour and service for our group. I don’t know what impressed us more the $16 Million record braking sales day poster or the size 40 boot you shared with us. For more information about WLSFA go to http://www.wlsfa.org. For more information about Zappos, go to http://www.zappos.com. And to find out more about Big Train go to http://www.BigTrain.com. To get more information about Fit Frappe gourmet protein mixes go here.
Big Train is pleased to help sponsor the Mile for Maddie event on May 19th in Dana Point, California. The Maddie James Foundation was founded by the parents of a five year-old California girl who passed away due to an inoperable brain tumor, but whose love of the ocean and its many creatures will live forever. The individual who raises the most money for this year’s walk will earn an original, signed Chinese brush art painting created by Wyland. Wyland will personally award the prize at the Club Honu dinner.
The Foundation is committed to supporting the construction and ongoing operation of The Maddie James Seaside Learning Center (scheduled to break ground in 2012) at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, California, one of Maddie’s favorite places.
The Foundation is also proud to partner with other ocean-minded charities and groups committed to bringing the ocean to children around the country, regardless of circumstance, to show them its many wonders and the importance of its preservation through dynamic educational programs.
Come join Big Train and a great group of amazing people and be a part of Maddie’s dream. If you are interested in volunteering at “a Mile for Maddie”, please contact the Foundation at volunteer@amileformaddie.com
Gourmet Protein Drink Mixes 50% off
Black Friday through Cyber Monday.
Big Train® offers consumers half off Fit Frappé™ to kick off the holiday season.
Lake Forest, CA (November 23, 2011)
Big Train, a leading manufacturer and distributor of premium powdered and liquid concentrate beverage mixes serving the specialty coffee, food service and retail industries in the US and abroad, is offering its first ever Black Friday Sale offering 50% off its Fit Frappé™ gourmet drink mix products to consumers.
Big Train launched its Fit Frappé™ beverage line earlier this year creating a huge buzz with consumers looking for a great tasting, healthy protein drink. Fit Frappé™ products come in three coffee flavors: Espresso, Vanilla Latte, Mocha, and two non-coffee flavors, Vanilla and Chocolate. A versatile drink mix, each flavor can be served hot, iced, or blended. Each comes in a 2.26 lb container while offering 20g protein, less than 1g of sugar, 19 vitamins and minerals, 5g fiber and only 130 calories in a 16 oz serving. Each container includes enough mix for 19 16 oz servings (or 38 8 oz servings.) Big Train also sells a 5-Pack Sample kit to let consumers try all 5 flavors.
While many of Big Train’s food service and coffee house customers are starting to carry Fit Frappé™ in their shops, a growing base of consumers are discovering the products through Big Train’s various sampling and marketing efforts.
“We were truly humbled by the overwhelmingly positive response for Fit Frappé™ from specialty coffee drink fans, health and fitness enthusiasts, the weight loss community, and foodies online”, says Jim Wendt, eCommerce Marketing Manager for Big Train. “They love that Fit Frappé™ is easy to make by just adding water, and because it tastes great unlike most protein mix products. As we prepare for heavy New Year demand for healthier products, we wanted to give back to our consumer customers and online fans while continuing to support Good Sports.”
The Big Train Fit Frappé™ Black Friday Sale starts early Friday Morning November 25th and ends just before midnight on Cyber Monday, November 28th. Consumers can take advantage of this sale at two places:
1) Big Train Facebook Store: http://www.facebook.com/bigtrain “Shop Now” link
2) Fit Frappé™ Website: http://www.fitfrappe.com
Big Train is also encouraging consumers eager to purchase Fit Frappé drinks, to ask their favorite barista or café to carry Fit Frappé™ or have them contact Big Train’s customer service department for more information or samples. Food service operators can request information for selling Fit Frappé™ by completing this form or contact Big Train via telephone at 800 BIG TRAIN (244-8724) 7:30 am – 4:30 pm Monday – Friday, Pacific Time, or via email Big Train at fitfrappe@bigtrain.com.
Big Train announced recently that its Fit Frappé™ Protein Coffee Drink mix line had won one of three Best New Products awards at the 2011 Coffee Fest Show in Seattle, adding to a growing list of acclaimed beverage mix product awards for Big Train.
In August, Big Train announced a new partnership with Good Sports, whereby Big Train will donate a portion of profits from sales of Fit Frappé™ products to Good Sports, whose mission is to increase youth participation in sports, fitness, and recreational programs by targeting one of the major obstacles limiting participation-access to sports equipment. Black Friday sales will also count toward this mission.
About Big Train, Inc.:
Founded in 1991, Big Train is a leading manufacturer and distributor of premium powdered and liquid concentrate beverage mixes serving the specialty coffee, food service and retail industries in the US and abroad. Headquartered in Lake Forest, California with a manufacturing facility in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, Big Train is known for high quality beverage solutions that are great tasting and easy to prepare. Big Train offers a wide array of products including blended ice coffees, coffee-free blended crème frappes, chai teas, iced teas, protein drink mixes, fruit smoothies, kids’ beverages, hot cocoas (hot chocolates), low carb beverages and baked goods, powdered soft serve and flavored syrups to more than 20,000 customers including independent and small chain coffeehouses, bakeries, food service and cafe operators and its extensive international distributor network. For more information, visit http://www.bigtrain.com or call 800-BIG-TRAIN (that’s 800-244-8724).
Big Train’s Black Friday Cyber Monday 50% Off Gourmet Protein Drink Sale:
This promotion is limited to Big Train’s Fit Frappé™ consumer products for retail. To take advantage of the Fit Frappé™ Gourmet Protein Drink deals, see the two links above. The promotion begins early Black Friday 2011 (November 25) and ends at midnight on Cyber Monday, November 28. For more information about Fit Frappé™ Gourmet Protein Drink Mix products, go to http://www.FitFrappe.com.
Protein Coffee just sounds amazing right? Finally we got to tell the world about Big Train’s latest creation, Fit Frappe, a delicious easy to make “just add water” protein drink mix line of beverage products at the IDEA World Expo. Hot iced, or blended, drink it your way.
We’ve been biting our lips, jumping up and down over this new protein mix product line for quite a while. We knew it tasted great and offered a unique healthy product line with 3 coffee flavors and two non-coffee flavors. This product has been in our R&D office for months tweaking the products to get them just right. Getting a protein mix to taste great and easy to make is one thing, but adding 3 coffee flavors and making them taste delicious takes beverage mix panache to the genius level. Will it be a hit? Well if what we heard at the IDEA World Fitness Convention in LA carries over to the rest of the marketplace, then absolutely. Could this be our best selling product ever?
Coffee Protein Mix Fit Frappe Made 3 Ways
Another satisfied Fit Frappe taster at IDEA World
The IDEA show attracted thousands of protein-loving people in the fitness business ranging from gym owners, trainers, fitness consultants, fitness managers for both private and government institutions, and hard core fitness and health gurus.
Fit Frappe Launched at IDEA World 11 in LA
Some actual quotes we heard at the show about Fit Frappe include: “Oh my God“; “This is the best protein drink I’ve ever tried period“; “I want to recommend this for my clients“; “This will replace my morning coffee“; “It doesn’t have that typical protein aftertaste“; “What, you can make hot or cold? I’m sold” “Can I add my own coffee to the vanilla or choclate flavors?” (yup) Well, we happen to agree. A lot of people thought Fit Frappe would be a great meal replacement as part of their diet program.
Of course the last question we heard constantly at IDEA was “Where do we buy it?” In order to let consumers try it right away, we are offering a Fit Frappe 5 Pack for sale on our Facebook page (yup we have a store on our Facebook page – click on the Shop Now link on the left hand navigation pane.) This 5 Pack has one single serving (one 16 oz or 2 8 oz servings in each packet) each of all all 5 flavors: Espresso, Vanilla Latte, Mocha (this writer’s FAV and is to die for), and Vanilla (awesome) and Chocolate too. Big Train is in the process of releasing this product to the foodservice industry including coffeehouses as well as distributors, retailers, and other partners. So ask your barista or store manager to get on the ball and get Fit Frappe at your favorite shop. If you can’t find at your local store, try our facebook page next week as we will have a larger container available for your favorite flavor very soon.
So what? Well let’s start with the nutritionals. In a 16oz serving you get: 20g protein; at least 1g fiber; <1g sugar (2nd to last ingredient is a tad of sucrolose); and 19 vitamins and minerals. And it’s only around 130 calories. Only 3.5g fat, 24g carbs. And it’s gluten free. The protein is calcium caseinate, a milk derivative. While we do not add dairy in terms of ingredients, there is a tiny bit of lactose as a result of the caseinate.
Calcium caseinate has a high biological value and contains all the essential amino acids required by our bodies. It is a complete protein meaning it contains all the essential amino acids (Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Valine) in addition to the non-essential amino acids (Alanine, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, Cystine, Glutamatic Acid, Glycine, Histidine, Proline, Serine, Tyrosine). It is absorbed slower than whey protein. As a result, the body will feel fuller longer in addition to absorbing more of the amino acids and peptides.
In addition to these biological benefits, calcium caseinate’s bland taste provides better overall flavor than whey protein. It was also preferred in our beverage application for its solubility. It dissolves faster in water than whey. Consult your nutritionist if you have additional questions.
“How much caffeine is in Fit Frappe?” For those looking for the optimal kick, the Espresso flavor has 200mg caffeine in a 16oz serving. The Mocha flavor as 110 mg caffeine. Vanilla Latte has 100mg. The chocolate non coffee has a tad of naturally occurring caffeine from chocolate (10mg). If you want a great tasting protein drink with no caffeine, then you’ll love the Vanilla flavor of Fit Frappe (0mg).
We also announced at the show, Big Train’s support for Good Sports, a non profit organization whose mission is to support inner city kids by providing free athletic gear to encourage healthy active lifestyles. A portion of all profits from Big Train’s Fit Frappe product sales will go to support this great cause. Check out the videos about the Good Sports relationship and how to make Fit Frappe 3 ways (hot, iced, or blended) on our You Tube channel here.
Power your day with Fit Frappe.
So go ahead, have your taste and protein too. In case you MUST have it now, go to our Facebook page and click on the “Shop Now” link on the left side to buy Fit Frappe now – 5 Pack sample kits and larger containers of each flavor are available now. For more information about Fit Frappe or to see our video on “How to Make Fit Frappe 3 Ways“, go to http://www.FitFrappe.com. Have specific questions about Fit Frappe? Send an email to fitfrappe@bigtrain.com . Or ask us on Facebook or twitter. Got a Fit Frappe protein drink mix recipe? Please share. For more information about Big Train, go to http://www.bigtrain.com or call 800 BIG TRAIN (244-8724). Power your day with Fit Frappe, protein coffee mix.
 5K with #WLSFA)
