PepsiCo’s new program is an innovative ecosystem that addresses consumer desire for low-and-no-sugar beverages, the human need for hydration and the environmental impact of plastics on the earth. Each part plays an important role in both Provo’s consumers’ daily lives as well as the overall health of the environment. For this post, let’s focus on the individual.

Most Provo employees do not consume enough water. Unfortunately, that often means that they are not as hydrated as they could be. Staying properly hydrated means that more water is going into the body than the amount of water that is leaving. Dehydration is the opposite. 

If you’re thinking that just because summer is gone, and we’re heading toward much colder weather, you don’t have to think about staying hydrated, you’d be wrong. The effects of heating systems and the cold, itself, tend to draw moisture out of the body. Drinking enough water is important for all Provo individuals year-round.

Severe dehydration is dangerous and can cause life-threatening medical conditions, but most Provo employees usually contend with a milder form that still affects their day. Employee dehydration negatively impact workplace productivity because of a decrease in cognitive abilities, a reduction in concentration and alertness, and slower mental and physical reaction times. At work, it might be easy to overcome one or two coworkers who are dehydrated, but when about 75 percent of Americans are dehydrated, it is a real problem.

Before we go any further, let’s take a quick and simplified look at what proteins do. First, the proteins that we’re talking about are not the type of proteins that we eat. These proteins are the ones inside a human cell that perform diverse and vital tasks.

The first one applies specifically to the break room. Ask for your employees’ opinions about which snacks, beverages and fresh food they would like to have available in the pantry service.

Also connected to the break room, would be to survey everyone about the type of environment or vibe they want in their break room. The right combination of refreshments at no cost plus a welcoming environment is sure to encourage employees to stay on-site when they need to re-hydrate or grab a bite to eat. 

The next three ways to show appreciation don’t have to be connected to the break room, but they can be. Offer employees special treats or meals that aren’t usually available in the break room such as ‘Waffle Wednesday’ or ‘Freshly Baked Cookie Friday.’ Donuts from a favorite bakery or popular pizza are also great options.

The following are a few ideas to help everyone celebrate fall

Host a pumpkin decorating or costume contest:  Everyone loves a bit of competition. With Halloween right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to host a costume or pumpkin decorating contest for your Sandy employees. Both ideas work for single-person teams and multi-person teams, but multi-person teams can increase teamwork and morale. 

• The option to use a mobile device – whether it’s through a mobile payment app or a bank’s app – to pay for snacks, beverages and fresh food
• Speed, agility and convenience during the buying process
• Intuitive and user-friendly equipment and processes
• Personalized offers based on individual purchasing preferences such as buy-4-get-1-free and information about promotions and rewards

Adding new technology in the break room also helps employers provide excellent refreshment services. Vending equipment, open-front coolers and touchscreen self-checkout kiosks are connected to vending suppliers, thus supporting remote data management or sales and inventory data analysis as well as machine maintenance. Vending machines with sought-after products and less time offline are a win for everyone.

Farmers go through six different stages before the beans are sent to market: 

1. picking the cherries (what a coffee bean is called when it’s still on the tree); 
2. washing to remove the outer skin of the cherry; 
3. drying the beans; 
4. grading the beans based on size, where and at what altitude they were grown and how they were prepared and picked; 
5. roasting; and 
6. cupping or assessing coffee according to sweetness, acidity, mouthfeel, balance and flavor.

Once the beans make it to Lehi break rooms, choosing the right type of brewer becomes the next step. It is important to understand which types of brewers should be used for different types of beverages and the number of employees.

There are four types of brewers that are primarily used in break rooms: automatic brewers, drip brewers, single-serve machines and bean-to-cup brewers.

Automatic Brewers:  Never run out of freshly made, hot coffee with an automatic machine. Connected to an incoming water line, an automatic brewer can brew either a single pot or multiple pots at one time. Automatic brewers are built to handle high levels of daily traffic.

Drip/Pourover Brewers:  Built similarly to automatic brewers, drip or pourover brewers can handle high amounts of daily traffic. The key difference is that drip brewers are not connected to an incoming water line. The user is responsible for adding water to the machine each time a new pot is brewed.

Single-Serve Machines:  This type of brewer can meet a different set of needs when compared to the previous two brewers. A single-serve machine requires less physical space in a break room and can cater to employees who have very different coffee preferences, but it works better in areas with less traffic.

Bean-to-cup Machines:  A bean-to-cup machine uses a built-in grinder to deliver freshly ground and brewed coffee. As with traditional single-serve machines, only one cup can be brewed at a time, but Lehi employees have the option to make a variety of espresso-based, specialty beverages.

There’s one other thing to remember when choosing a brewer. It’s important to understand the steps involved to keep your machine in top shape. Not only will regular maintenance extend the life of the machine, but it will impact the taste of everyone’s coffee. 

But don’t worry, Breakroom Choices can help your facility/office manager choose the best brewer for your organization, perform required maintenance and create a customized refreshment menu that meets everyone’s snack and beverage needs. We offer a variety of office coffee service, micro-market and vending service solutions for your Lehi break room. 

It’s no surprise that humans are known for avoiding change, and that includes trying a new healthy snack or beverage. New flavors or textures can be daunting especially when it comes to spending money. Encourage your Salt Lake City employees to enjoy new flavors and textures by offering a taste-testing event. Whether it’s once a month or once a quarter, it’s a great opportunity for your employees to experience something new, and you can learn which products are more likely to sell.

Taste: While the concept of taste is often associated with the physical act of drinking, taste can can also play a role in a more abstract way. For many Salt Lake City employees, the “taste” of coffee is often the first thing that comes to mind when someone else mentions coffee.

Sight: Seeing a physical object such as an image of a mug, roasted beans or even an actual cup of coffee are just a few of the many different visual cues that can create a response.

Hearing: Understanding which sounds have the ability to trigger the chemical-response pattern is a bit more complicated as sound is unique for everyone. Several popular sounds include grinding beans, the brewer brewing and sounds that are associated with a favorite local cafe.

Smell: The sense of smell is similar to the sense of hearing in that everyone experiences it differently, but freshly brewed coffee, the smell of beans being ground or that favorite cafe tends to elicit almost the same reaction from everyone.

Touch: Experiencing the feel or size of a favorite mug, picking up the container that holds the ground beans, pressing the start button on the grinder or using an espresso machine or favorite French press are all ways to activate the brain via touch without ever drinking a single drop.

Whether it’s by itself or in combination with other senses, the human body takes in many different observations during the day. It’s time to increase the likelihood that more of your employees will benefit from the coffee effect and design your Salt Lake City office coffee service to engage all of the senses.

Breakroom Choices can help customize a refreshment menu that includes the hot beverages your employees seek out as well as healthy snacks, cold beverages and fresh food. A successful break room is more than just a place to grab a quick snack. It’s a welcoming and relaxing place that encourages employee creativity, collaboration and productivity.

Tomatoes: Big, red and juicy often describes ripe tomatoes in the summer. Full of water but low in carbs, tomatoes are known for their beta-carotene or vitamin A and vitamin C. Beta-carotene converts to vitamin A and combats the effects of free radicals, improves cognitive function and may protect against common eye diseases.

Bell Peppers: The summer harvest of bell peppers offers a variety of different tastes from the most bitter, green bell peppers to the sweetest, red bell peppers. High in water and fiber but low in calories, bell peppers offer a variety of health benefits from a boost in immunity to improved eye health and heart health to a decreased risk of anemia.

Tomatillos: Although tomatillos may appear to be small green tomatoes, they are closely related to South American Cape gooseberries and are full of healthy boosting vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Among its many benefits, tomatillos can reduce the chance of diabetes, boost the immune system and reduce the risk of some cancers.

Summer Squash: Two of the most well-known summer squash are zucchini and yellow squash. Low in carbs but high in water, they are a great source of Vitamin A, B6, and C, folate, magnesium, fiber, riboflavin, phosphorus and potassium. These nutritional workhorses protect against heart and common eye diseases as well as boost immunity and bone strength.

Grapes: While grapes contain important nutrients for bone health and protect against certain bacteria, viruses and yeast infections, the skin of red grapes contain high amounts of anthocyanins, an antioxidant. Anthocyanins protect heart health, improve blood flow to brain, lower blood pressure and protect against damage caused by free radicals.

Peaches: Another delicious summer fruit, peaches provide good amounts of fiber as well as Vitamin A, C and numerous minerals. A variety of antioxidants protect against cancerous cells, help prevent chronic health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, and boost the immune system.

Nectarines: Like peaches – high in fiber, low in calories and without the fuzz, nectarines also help improve digestive health and resist obesity-related diabetes and heart disease. Nectarines also offer numerous B vitamins which are important for the metabolism of carbohydrates, protein and fat and in the formation of red blood cells.

Cantaloupe: Offering more beta carotene than apricots, grapefruit, oranges, peaches, tangerines, nectarines and mangoes with same amount of vitamin C as a small orange, cantaloupes help fight free radicals in the body as well as support hydration, eye health, the production of red blood cells and the immune system.

Supporting employee consumption of healthy fruits and vegetables while at work helps support Ogden employers too. Healthy employees are more creative and productive and have fewer sick days. Whether it’s hunger or thirst, employees will be able to stay on-site when they need something to eat or drink.