If you’ve decided that a smoothie bike is the right addition to your next office wellbeing day or corporate event — congratulations, you’re about to give your team something they’ll genuinely enjoy. But as with any event activity, the difference between a good experience and a great one often comes down to the planning.
This guide walks through everything you need to know before, during, and after your smoothie bike booking — from choosing the right provider to maximising participation on the day.
Step One: Get Clear on Your Goals
Before you call a single provider, it’s worth spending ten minutes getting clear on what you actually want from the event. Different goals lead to different decisions about format, timing, and setup.
If your primary goal is employee engagement, you’ll want the bike positioned where it will create maximum social buzz — a central communal space, a busy corridor, or an area near where people naturally gather. You’ll also want to think about timing: a lunchtime slot will capture the most footfall, but a morning activation can set an energising tone for the day.
If your primary goal is brand promotion at a client-facing event or exhibition, branding on the bikes themselves becomes more important, as does the visual backdrop and the space available for photography.
If your primary goal is health promotion, consider pairing the bikes with nutritional information about the ingredients being used — turning the activity into a gentle educational moment as well as a fun one.
If your primary goal is sustainability storytelling, lean into the human-powered energy angle, use fully biodegradable cups and packaging, and brief your team to talk about what makes the bikes eco-friendly when participants ask.
Step Two: Choose the Right Provider
Not all smoothie bike providers offer the same level of service. Here are the key things to evaluate:
Fully managed vs. self-operated. Some providers simply drop off the bikes and leave you to run things yourself. Others send an experienced, DBS-checked staff member who sets up, operates, and engages participants throughout the event. For most corporate clients, the fully managed option is far preferable — it removes stress from your team and ensures a professional, seamless experience.
What’s included in the package. A good provider should include the bikes, a staff member, fresh fruit, biodegradable cups, transportation to and from your venue, public liability insurance, and a risk assessment. Make sure you understand exactly what’s covered before you compare prices.
Capacity and scalability. Ask upfront how many participants the package can accommodate per hour, and whether additional bikes or extended hours are available for larger groups. A provider who can only serve 20 people in an hour will create frustrating bottlenecks for any group above about 50 people.
Branding options. If you want the bikes to carry your logo or colour palette, confirm this is available and understand the lead time and any additional costs involved.
Experience and references. Look for providers with a track record of working with organisations like yours — and don’t hesitate to ask for client references or to look up reviews.
For UK offices and events, smoothie bikes from Joyful Living come with all of the above included as standard: two professional bikes, a DBS-checked staff member, healthy fruit smoothies, biodegradable cups, transportation, public liability insurance, and a full risk assessment.
Step Three: Plan the Logistics
Once you’ve chosen your provider, there are a few practical details to sort before the day.
Space. A standard two-bike setup requires approximately 3×3 metres of floor space. Make sure this area is clear, accessible, and ideally near a power socket (for the provider’s setup equipment, if needed) and close enough to foot traffic to attract passing interest.
Timing. For office wellbeing events, lunchtime is usually the highest-traffic period. If you’re running a full-day event, consider positioning the bikes to be accessible across multiple time slots rather than concentrating participation into a single window.
Communication. Let your team know in advance that the bikes will be available. A short email or internal post explaining what a smoothie bike is and when it’ll be running will significantly boost participation — especially among employees who might otherwise not notice until it’s too late.
Dietary considerations. Most smoothie bike operators will prepare fresh fruit smoothies from the ingredients provided. If you have team members with specific allergies or dietary requirements, let your provider know in advance so appropriate arrangements can be made.
Step Four: Maximise Participation on the Day
Even with a great setup, participation isn’t always automatic. Here are a few things that help.
Position visibly. The bike should be placed where it’s hard to miss — not tucked in a corner. The sight of someone actively pedalling is the best advertisement for the activity.
Get leadership involved. When senior team members participate early in the day, it signals to the rest of the team that this is something the organisation is genuinely behind — not just a box-ticking exercise. A CEO on a smoothie bike is a powerful image.
Create light competition. A simple whiteboard showing who blended the fastest, or a small prize for the most creative smoothie combination, can add a gamification layer that drives engagement — especially in competitive cultures.
Encourage photography. Remind participants that they’re welcome to take photos and share on social media if they’d like to. User-generated content from your event extends reach and creates an authentic record of the day.
Step Five: Capture the Impact
After the event, it’s worth gathering some simple feedback to understand the impact and make the case for future bookings.
A quick post-event survey — even just three or four questions — can give you data on participation rates, satisfaction scores, and what people thought of the activity. Supplement this with any social media posts, photographs, or informal feedback you received on the day.
This information serves two purposes: it helps you improve future events, and it gives you the evidence you need to demonstrate ROI to leadership. A wellbeing initiative that can show high participation, positive feedback, and genuine impact is far easier to budget for next year.
The Bottom Line
A smoothie bike event, run well, is one of the most cost-effective, inclusive, and genuinely enjoyable wellbeing activities available to UK organisations. The logistics are straightforward, the participation is broad, and the impact — on engagement, on mood, on how people feel about their workplace — is real and measurable.
The key is choosing the right provider and planning thoughtfully. Do both of those things, and you’ll be answering requests for “when’s the next one?” before the day is even over.
Ready to start planning? Get in touch with a smoothie bike provider to discuss your event requirements and request a quote.
