Who Can Use Ice Fountains? 4 Instagrammable Ideas for Businesses

If you’re a bar or venue owner and you don’t know about ice fountains, you’re missing a trick. A level up from your everyday birthday candle, an ice fountain adds a level of fiery excitement to your star drinks and dishes that customers just weren’t expecting.

Unlike traditional sparklers, ice fountains create a more substantial visual impact with their thick plume of silver-white sparks that can be seen throughout a venue, making them ideal for creating memorable "wow moments."

Deliver a plume of brilliant silver sparks to your guest’s table and watch everyone gasp in amazement…then grab their phones and take pictures of your awesome dessert or champagne presentation. That’s right, indoor ice fountains are your best friend when it comes to user-generated content, and there’s nothing better for your business’s reputation than happy customers plastering photos of your venue across social media.

Check out six ways to add ice fountains to your menu or venue here and get people talking and taking pictures.

Where are ice fountains used?

The versatility of ice fountains makes them suitable for virtually any hospitality setting, from casual family restaurants to exclusive nightclubs and luxury event venues. While traditionally associated with celebrations, forward-thinking venues are incorporating ice fountains into their regular service to transform ordinary evenings into special occasions. Ice fountains' relatively low cost and high impact offer an exceptional return on investment compared to other theatrical elements like dry ice or elaborate garnishes.

You might have already witnessed an ice fountain display before atop a birthday cake. Here are a few ways our customers use our ice fountains:

• Pubs

  • Family-friendly pubs use ice fountains to create memorable birthday celebrations that keep families returning for special occasions.

  • Sports pubs incorporate ice fountains into match day specials, particularly for celebration packages when local teams win.

  • Gastropubs use ice fountains to elevate dessert presentations, helping them compete with more formal dining establishments while maintaining their casual atmosphere.

• Clubs and bars

  • Premium nightclubs in London, Manchester, and other major cities use ice fountains as standard with bottle service packages.

  • Cocktail bars incorporate ice fountains into signature serves, creating distinctive drinks that customers specifically request by name.

  • The visual impact of ice fountains helps create a sense of exclusivity and celebration that encourages higher spending and longer dwell times.

• Venues

  • Corporate event venues use ice fountains during award presentations, product launches, and milestone celebrations to create shareable moments.

  • Wedding venues offer ice fountains as premium add-ons to wedding packages, particularly for cake-cutting ceremonies and champagne towers.

  • Event planners report that ice fountains create perfect photo opportunities that help extend the reach of events through social media sharing.

• Theatres

  • Beyond special effects, theatres use ice fountains during intermission for special occasion announcements or VIP experiences.

  • Ice fountains provide a safe alternative to open flames for theatrical productions, particularly in historic venues with strict fire safety regulations.

  • Theatre bars incorporate ice fountains into interval drink packages to create memorable experiences that enhance the overall theatrical evening.

• Restaurants

  • Fine dining establishments use ice fountains to create tableside flambé presentations that combine culinary skill with theatrical flair.

  • Birthday packages featuring ice fountains have become standard offerings at family restaurants, creating additional revenue streams.

  • Chef's table experiences often incorporate ice fountains as part of the sensory journey, creating moments of surprise throughout tasting menus.

• Hotels

  • Luxury hotels use ice fountains for room service celebrations, anniversary packages, and proposal setups.

  • Hotel bars incorporate ice fountains into signature cocktails that become Instagram favourites and driving factors in hotel selection.

  • Conference and banqueting teams use ice fountains to elevate corporate events and create memorable moments during formal dinners.

4 Instagrammable Ice Fountain Moments to Try Out

Creating Instagram-worthy moments is no longer optional for successful hospitality venues—it's an essential part of their marketing strategy, which drives organic reach and customer acquisition.

Try these ice fountain firework ideas and ramp up the atmosphere in your pub, club, bar, or venue.

1. Light Up Drinks Trays

Make sure all eyes are turned towards your star shot girls and boys when they appear with trays of shots or drinks by giving them some fiery flare. A glowing tray of drinks with a couple of blazing ice fountains is enough to get all the heads turning in your venue.

For maximum visual impact, consider using LED-lit trays as the base for your ice fountain displays. This creates a multi-layered light effect that photographs beautifully even in dark club environments. Train staff to time their entrance with ice fountain trays to coincide with music drops or key moments during the night to maximize attention and impact.

Use ice fountains like this if your promoters are bringing out new drinks for guests to try, or save this spectacle for when customers order a sharer from the menu to make it look more special and exciting when it comes to the table.

Remember to keep your staff safe—always train employees on ice fountain safety, have them carry and hold trays of ice fountains away from them and make sure you have a fire safety procedure in place if something goes wrong.

You can attach ice fountains to trays in a variety of ways including staking them into something soft attached to the tray or using ice fountain bottle holders. Be sure to position the ice fountains all pointing slightly in one direction and then ensure the person carrying the tray has them pointed away from themself.

2. Fiery Champagne Presentation

At awards evenings, corporate and private celebrations, competitions, graduations, and so on, we’re used to giving out gifts and making public announcements of gratitude or celebration. Venue owners can enhance their offering with a special blazing champagne award.

The contrast between the elegant champagne bottle and the dramatic pyrotechnic effect creates a perfect visual juxtaposition that photographs exceptionally well. Consider pairing ice fountain presentations with strategic lighting, momentarily dimming venue lights when ice fountains are brought out maximises their visual impact.

Some premium venues create signature ice fountain moments at specific times, such as midnight champagne presentations that become an anticipated ritual for regular customers.

Use ice fountain bottle clips to attach up to three ice fountains to a bottle of champagne, light them, and bring it out at the right moment for a stunning show. The sparks and wisps of metallic flame will turn any everyday bottle into a truly magnificent award and solidify your award giver's sentiments.

Ice fountains don’t need to be reserved for champagne either, pop them on a bottle of prosecco, fine wine, or even a soft drink like Schloer. Stocking up for this type of stunt is so cheap and you’ll always have something special up your sleeve if your guests want to add some mojo to a party. We sell ice fountains in packs of varying sizes depending on how busy you are. Our ice fountain holders are reusable but be sure to replace them before the clips become loose.

• Ice fountain pack of 4
• Ice fountain pack of 80
• Ice fountain pack of 240
• Ice fountain pack of 360
• Ice fountain pack of 480
• Ice fountain pack of 2,880

There are loads of ways to use ice fountains with just a bit of creativity. We answer peoples’ commonly asked questions about ice fountains in our blog to help them use these indoor fireworks properly.

3. Ice Fountain Challenge

Watching an ice fountain generate wave after wave of brilliant sparks and light is fun and a great opportunity for some selfies, but what about getting your customers more involved? This idea is a great one for kids and families as well as big kids in bars and clubs.

Ideal for when you’ve had a birthday request or caught wind of a customer’s special occasion, bring out a surprise treat with your ice fountain staked in the top, unlit. Your host will then present the rules of the challenge. If the star guest can complete the challenge before the ice fountain goes out, they get the treat for free (maybe just let them have it either way at the end, they will have earned it!)

Some ideas for an ice fountain challenge:

• Sing something, or sing along to a song.
• Talk about a topic of your choosing without stopping or repeating a word.
• Keep a straight face while others try to make them laugh (without touching them).
• Stand on one foot with arms outstretched—good fun for both kids and grown-ups (who have had a few).

Remember to keep an eye on safety while everyone is having fun, make sure the contender stands well clear of the open flames. Don’t forget to give your ice fountain challenge a suitable name and hashtag and let your guests know. Who knows, you might go viral.

Interactive experiences like challenges create deeper engagement than passive viewing, with participants and spectators forming stronger emotional connections to your venue. These challenges create natural crowd-gathering moments that can energise a venue's atmosphere and break the ice between different customer groups.

4. Level-up Cutting the Wedding Cake

One of the most photographed moments of any wedding is the cutting of the cake. Make yours one to remember by adding one, two, or a few ice fountains to the mix.

For evening receptions, the illumination from ice fountains creates a flattering, warm glow that enhances photography. Consider the timing of the cake cutting in relation to other wedding events - scheduling it just before the first dance creates a natural transition moment that maintains energy and guest engagement.

With their sharp plastic spiked end, ice fountains are easy to stick into soft materials and are designed for use on cakes. Add them to your cake in any way you like and light them at the right moment. The silver plume will cast a glow over the faces of the happy couple and all their loved ones surrounding them. Be careful of wedding dresses near ice fountains though!

For wedding planners and venues, offering ice fountains as a premium add-on creates an additional revenue stream with minimal investment required. Safety considerations are particularly important at weddings due to formal attire - ensure staff are trained to maintain appropriate distances from guests in flowing dresses or loose clothing.

Ice fountains don’t need to be reserved just for wedding cakes. Use them as decoration for chocolate fountains, cupcake displays, and even wheels of cheese!