Foodservice Updates

Foodservice Updates is designed to help foodservice operators keep on top of all the industry news and provides tips for keeping business running smooth. We endeavor to provide the latest tips and solutions to keep you in the know.

Find riches in the niches

Your restaurant can’t be everything to everyone. However, if it zeroes in on its ideal guest and caters to the desires of that person, it can mean a whole lot to a particular kind of person (and inspire their loyalty and referrals in the process). Studies have found that businesses have a 60-70 percent chance of selling to an existing customer, as opposed to a 5-20 percent chance of selling to a new one. Doubling down on doing what you do best for a certain type of guest not only suits the slimmed-down, simplified menus that restaurants are needing to offer right now, but it also supercharges your ability to meet the needs of your most loyal guests and not get distracted by the demands of the rest. Take the example of the Soup Doula, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based pop-up and soup delivery service. The business is run by Marisa Mendez Marthaller, who works during the day as a postpartum doula for new parents who may find it difficult to prepare nourishing meals for themselves. She sees running a soup business as an extension of the care she provides clients during the day. Not everyone is going to be a Soup Doula customer, but those who are the ideal customers the business wants to serve are apt to buy into the values of the business, go out of their way to support it, and to suggest it to friends who are going through similar life challenges. Isn’t this an easier and more rewarding guest base to serve?

Step out of your LTO comfort zone

At the time of this writing, grocery inflation was still outpacing menu prices, but it was in decline. Consumer Price Index data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in February indicated that food-at-home prices increased at an annual rate of 11.3 percent in January, down from 11.8 percent the previous month. Comparatively, prices for food away from home climbed 8.2 percent for the same time period. This pricing gap is, at the moment, giving consumers a nudge to buy restaurant meals. Restaurants may have an opportunity right now to entice guests with limited-time offers that stand out and even push beyond what guests expect from a brand. This can work especially well if you have a new item or service model you’re testing that needs to make a splash and generate some attention. Take Shake Shack, which recently unveiled its $20 Truffle Table experience, a limited-time offer designed around its new truffle-related menu items. It includes a table for two with a white tablecloth, fine china, wine, a milkshake of the guests’ choice, and a selection of truffle-themed menu items. It’s not what guests would expect from Shake Shack – with the possible exception of the milkshake – but it generates interest, feels like a novelty experience, and therefore elevates the offer into something more memorable and special than something prepared at home.

How to Maximize Your Menu with Less

If you feel like you need another set of hands in your kitchen, not only are you not alone, but Tyson Foodservice has a variety of ways to give them to you. With a full portfolio of ready-made products that exist to help streamline your menu and make back-of-house life a little easier, you can consider us your own personal prep squad.

From fully customizable to ready to heat and serve, our ingredient chicken and steak products deliver labor and time savings, better yield, and less waste. Additionally, these products are incredibly versatile for usage in applications across the board—from popular favorites to trendy flavor profiles. Click to see how easily these come to life in simple, and incredibly tasty, recipes.

How to Maximize Your Menu with Less