We’re often asked what kinds of corporate events we have provided our mobile coffee and smoothie catering services for. It would be a shorter list if we catalogued the types of events we haven’t catered. But here goes.

The most popular event type for our mobile smoothie and espresso bars in the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut area and beyond (including greater Philadelphia and New England) are employee appreciation events. Human resource managers (nowadays also called People managers – is HR still a PC term?) hire us the most frequently. With unemployment being historically low and competition for talent being at an all-time high, companies are doing whatever they can to keep their people happy. The best way to do it is to show appreciation – which many studies show is more remembered and valued that paid time off or a little extra money.

Corporate employees definitely remember Maui Wowi when we roll in with our tiki bar to make our smoothies, or with an elegant linen-covered table for our espresso service.

After employee appreciation days, the most popular event types for our mobile espresso bar and smoothie bar is client appreciation events. We are often hired by financial wholesalers who are calling on advisory firms. These salespeople drop by the offices of Morgan Stanley or Merrill Lynch to chat with the advisors and remind them about their products. It helps – a lot – to have something special to pry these advisors off the phone and into the break room or conference room for a few minutes of friendly soft-selling over a latte or a strawberry banana smoothie.

Next up is health and wellness events. Corporate HR managers and event planners in New York City and elsewhere love to have our smoothies to draw attendance to their health fairs. An important part of corporate wellness programs is actually getting people to walk through and talk to the participating vendors – everything from gyms and nutrition experts to yoga and acupuncture. Taking advantage of these services is another key aspect of employee retention. When Maui Wowi comes in with a smoothie bar, we work with the corporate event planner to promote our presence in advance. We’ll design signage and email flyers that will let people know we’re coming so they can get their free smoothie. And we serve 7-oz cups, so attendees can come back and try all our different flavors (we usually serve three at a time).