Getting people to lead a healthier lifestyle - that is the idea behind a new “smoothie card” launched by Buzz cafe.

The Healthy Buzz Pass, which costs $28, entitles the holder to five medium fresh fruit smoothies from Buzz in Washington Mall or Buzz 2 at Hamilton Pharmacy.

The concept is to get children away from consuming junk food and into having a healthy alternative instead, as owner Holger Eiselt explained.

“The idea just came from hearing and reading about the whole obesity problem in the media and the thought behind it was really originally that parents, instead of giving their kids money to go and buy junk food, was to give them the smoothie card,” he said.

“Now I think it is a really good gift idea for anybody, really, because most of our clientele are adults who often come for a smoothie anyway.”

The smoothies are made of completely fresh fruit, with everything from blueberries to such exotic delights as mangoes and passion fruit, and have no added colour, sugar or additives, according to Mr. Eiselt.

“We want to encourage more people to have a smoothie as an alternative to sweet craving like a chocolate or sweet soda,” he said.

“And I think there are a lot of people out there who have not tried a fresh fruit smoothie and they don’t know how good something healthy can taste.”

Buzz, who also stocks another healthy option in Valencia orange juice, do a range of super boosters - smoothies to help boost your immune system, and have been aided in their quest to come up with new and interesting recipes by Rock On health food store on Front Street.

General manager Thomas Mayer said it is all part of a move towards offering its customers a healthier menu.

“The whole thing is aimed at producing lighter snacks,” he said.

“It goes down well with people because they are becoming a little more conscious about how they eat and live their lives.

“It comes down to starting at an early age and getting children away from coming out of school and buying themselves chocolates or fries and towards leading a healthier lifestyle.

“We will constantly update our menu - right now we are in winter and we are going to be looking at things which can boost your immune system, whereas in summer we look at more refreshing things.”