By: Mary Chris De Leon

Bananas are going soft on the counter. Spinach is wilting into a soggy pile in the crisper drawer. Freezer bags stacked like evidence of good intentions gone wrong. For many smoothie drinkers, the routine that should feel healthy ends up creating waste instead.

It’s a contradiction most people never stop to think about. Smoothies are celebrated as the healthy, efficient choice. But the way they’re prepped with single-use plastics, flimsy containers, or overpriced store-bought pouches tells a different story.

That reality is what hit Ross and Tess Nelson one morning in their San Diego residence. Their realization started in the kitchen when Tess tried to pry apart a frozen block of bananas. Ross watched and figured out that the problem wasn’t the smoothie, it was the preparation and the waste that came with it.

That everyday frustration sparked a bigger idea. Instead of accepting freezer waste as inevitable, the couple set out to design something better. In 2024, they launched Smootheeze, a line of platinum silicone freezer trays designed specifically for smoothies.

The Plastic Problem Nobody Notices

Smoothies don’t look like waste at first glance. But hidden behind the colorful fruit and the health halo is a trail of plastic and spoiled produce.

• Plastic freezer bags have been the “hack” of choice for decades. They’re cheap and easy, but rarely survive more than a few rounds in the freezer. Once they stretch, tear, or pick up odors, they go straight to the trash. Multiply that by a daily smoothie habit, and one household can plow through hundreds each year. (Source: National Library of Medicine, July 04, 2023) 
• Hard plastic containers don’t fare much better. They crack, warp, or lose their seal, letting freezer burn creep in. What doesn’t break outright often ends up leaking, leaving behind fruit wasted and lids that no longer fit. 
• Pre-made smoothie pouches at the grocery store seem like an upgrade, but they come wrapped in layers of heavy plastic. Inside, the fruit often freezes into a single block. After a few rounds of thawing and refreezing, quality drops, and so does flavor.

It’s a cycle that doesn’t just drain wallets; it contributes to a larger problem. Food waste is one of the leading sources of emissions worldwide, and single-use plastics continue to overwhelm recycling systems and waterways. (Source: Mamavation, March 05, 2024) For a routine that’s supposed to feel light and healthy, the hidden impact is heavy.

From Frozen Bananas to Kickstarter

That stubborn clump of bananas turned out to be the turning point. Tess’s struggle to chip away at frozen fruit made Ross realize that the real issue wasn’t habits. It was the lack of tools that actually worked.

Instead of stopping there, they sketched out a solution: a tray that portioned fruit into ready-to-use servings, with one version built specifically to freeze bananas without clumping.

Ross leaned on his marketing and product development experience to figure out everything from design to manufacturing. Skills that helped turn a kitchen fix into a real product. With Tess testing every prototype in their kitchen, they refined the design until it worked the way they wanted. In 2024, they brought the idea to Kickstarter.

More than 500 backers pledged their support, funding the first production run. It was a clear signal: this wasn’t just a Nelson family problem. Smoothie lovers everywhere were facing the same frustrations.

In the early days, Ross and Tess handled shipping themselves, first from their home and later from their garage, which they used as a makeshift fulfillment space. Staying hands-on kept them close to customers, and their feedback directly shaped the next additions: the Mini Tray built for smaller freezers and tighter budgets.

Why Smootheeze Stuck

At first glance, a freezer tray might not sound revolutionary. But Smootheeze gained traction because it solved real problems no one else had addressed. Each tray is made from FDA-certified platinum silicone, a material that doesn’t crack, warp, or absorb odors the way plastic does. (Source: Glory Sun Group, Nov. 10, 2022, https://www.glorysungroup.com/blog/platinum_silicone) Customers recognized right away that this wasn’t another disposable fix. It was something designed to last.

The tight-fitting lids also solved a familiar problem: freshness. By keeping air out, they protected fruit and greens from freezer burn, so ingredients tasted closer to how they did on the day they were frozen. For people tired of tossing dull or icy produce, that detail mattered.

Portioning was another breakthrough. The half-cup servings brought consistency to smoothies, while the Banana Tray gave each piece of fruit its own slot. No more frozen bricks to hack apart. Customers began to see prep not as a hurdle, but as a step they could trust.

Versatility added another layer of appeal. Beyond smoothies, the trays worked for soups, sauces, coffee cubes, and even skincare ice. Instead of being a single-purpose gadget, they adapted to whatever households needed.

And perhaps the most overlooked benefit was order. With color-coded sets for berries, greens, and tropical fruit, freezers felt organized at a glance. What once looked like a jumble of unlabeled bags became a system. As the reviewer put it, the change was simple but powerful: smoothies stopped feeling like a chore and started feeling fun again.

Beyond the Freezer

The waste of smoothies isn’t only plastic. It’s the spinach that liquefies before it’s used, the berries that mold before anyone remembers them, the bananas that go from bright yellow to brown in days.

Smootheeze trays let people freeze produce at peak freshness, preserving it until the blender is ready. That means fewer guilty tosses into the trash and more smoothies actually made.

And while one tray won’t solve the climate crisis, small swaps add up. Food waste is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and single-use plastics remain one of the most stubborn forms of pollution. By replacing disposable bags with a tray that lasts decades, households shrink both their footprint and their frustration.

Ross often frames it in simple terms: it wasn’t willpower that kept them from making smoothies. It was prep. Once prep became easy, the habit stuck.

When Smootheeze started, they didn’t have celebrity investors or big budgets. They had a problem, a prototype, and a community that believed in the fix.

That origin story has shaped the way they run the business. By staying self-funded and family-run, Ross and Tess have been able to keep listening to their customers and refining their designs. Instead of chasing trends, they focus on making tools that quietly improve daily life.

And those tools have ripple effects. Each tray sold replaces hundreds of bags, saves pounds of produce from the trash, and helps make a healthy habit easier to sustain. Multiply that across thousands of households, and the impact adds up.

The Nelsons know Smootheeze won’t eliminate plastic waste alone. But their story shows how meaningful change often starts in the most ordinary places: a kitchen, a freezer, a stubborn block of bananas.

The next time you reach for a smoothie, it’s worth thinking about what’s left behind: the bags, the containers, the spoiled produce. A drink that feels healthy shouldn’t come with a hidden cost.

Smootheeze offers a different picture. Freezers stacked neatly with trays instead of bags. Bananas are ready to blend without chiseling. Spinach preserved at its best. Smoothies that fit seamlessly into a routine, without guilt or waste.

It’s a small change with a bigger story. One that proves sustainability doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes, it just takes two people, one idea, and a tray designed to last.

Want to cut back on food waste and make your morning routine feel effortless? Smootheeze trays make it easy to prep, portion, and freeze smoothie ingredients without the mess, stress, or plastic.