FOODSERVICE UPDATES
  • Foodservice Updates
  • Trends
    • Commodities
  • Digital Media
  • Technology
  • Safety
  • Management Tips
  • Free Newsletter
  • Recipes
    • Mains >
      • Handhelds
      • Pasta & Rice
    • Soups & Sauces
    • Salads
    • Appetizers
    • Desserts & Snacks
    • Sides
  • Foodservice CEO

​Could meal kits be your secret sauce?

2/7/2022

0 Comments

 
meal kit
For a while, meal kits and semi-prepared meals offered by grocery stores and online foodservice businesses were considered offerings that could eat away at restaurant sales. But the pandemic has altered that perception, with more restaurants experimenting with new ways to prepare, package and sell high-quality meals that can be completed at home – and are likely a cut above what a person could pick up from their grocery store. This winter, offering variations on the meal kit could provide a reliable income stream for you when winter weather and illness makes it less appealing for people to dine out. According to research shared in a report from The Rail, 41 percent of guests would buy a make-at-home meal kit from their favorite restaurant. Further, 90 percent of meal kit users refer others to the service they subscribe to – so if you execute your kit well, your chances of gaining more business are good. Kits are also a powerful means of developing traction on social media: After all, if you make it possible for someone to prepare an eye-catching, restaurant-quality meal at home, that person is going to want to show off their perceived culinary skills to friends.

0 Comments

​Packaging shortages? Consider a permanent option.

1/24/2022

0 Comments

 
packaging
Shortages of to-go packaging rank among the top supply concerns for restaurant operators right now. Prices, accordingly, have increased along with the shortages: A 2021 operator survey by Datassential found that 72 percent of respondents said the price of their takeout packaging had climbed significantly. Adding to the challenge is that some regions are cracking down on the use of packaging materials like Styrofoam, all while consumers are also taking greater notice of restaurant packaging and supporting brands that have managed to find environmentally friendly solutions to the problem. (One case in point: apps like Jybe, which enables consumers to search specifically for restaurants that are making Earth-friendly packaging choices.) Could this year be the year your restaurant gets into reusable packaging options? Increasingly, it’s becoming a feasible alternative for large multinational brands and smaller independents alike. For example, Restaurant Hospitality reports that in addition to Burger King testing reusable Whopper containers and Starbucks testing a cup-rental option, small chains like Tiffin in Philadelphia are offering delivery containers that can be returned to a delivery driver on a subsequent order. Other smaller operators are partnering with the growing number of third-party suppliers offering food and drink containers that can be used, returned and reused.

0 Comments

​Ready to pop

10/18/2021

0 Comments

 
pop-up
At a time when restaurants may be struggling to get consumers to come out to eat, pop-up restaurants have many things going for them: They often incorporate fun, surprising, or novel concepts; they generate excitement and increase the potential for viral, time-sensitive sharing on social media because they are designed to be temporary; and they’re low-risk outlets for experimentation. As a result, they also happen to be made for the moment: Supply-chain challenges are limiting what chefs have on hand week to week and pushing them to pivot quickly and be all the more creative in their recipe development and presentations. The rise of ghost kitchens – and even chefs preparing meals out of their home kitchens – is making it possible for operators to test new ideas and cuisine combinations in lower-risk environments. The novelty of what restaurants can offer through pop-up concepts can also provide the promise of a memorable experience – an incentive consumers may need when meal-kit companies and grocery stores are offering options that make it easier to eat meals at home. Could your business try a pop-up concept – whether as a brick-and-mortar location or as a short-term takeout or delivery option? Consider how a pop-up concept might help you create an additional income stream or test what menu innovations guests respond to.

0 Comments

​A to-go menu that’s right for the moment

7/20/2020

0 Comments

 
curbside
In surveys Datassential conducted in June, consumers showed a commanding preference for purchasing meals to go/pick up over both delivered food and meals eaten in a restaurant. For limited-service and full-service restaurants, an average of 63 percent of consumers preferred meals to go, while 36 percent preferred delivered food and 41 percent opted for sit-down meals in a restaurant. As you continue to assess your to-go menu options, consider new consumer preferences and how well your menu can flex to accommodate them. For one, consumers are placing greater focus on their health right now. Older adults who have been in isolation, as well as others concerned about finances or struggling to juggle the demands of work and home life during the pandemic, may have been over-relying on comfort foods. Promoting fresh produce, healthy proteins and high-fiber grains can help generate business as both restaurants and consumers look for ways to get back on track in the coming months. Datassential found, for example, that dishes like vegetarian turmeric-cauliflower and quinoa were popular choices for both to-go and delivery customers. At the same time, it’s wise to continue to cater to groups too, as people reconnect with family and friends this summer but may not yet be comfortable eating in a restaurant. Datassential found that family-style feasts are still getting a lot of support on to-go menus right now, with pizza and pasta dishes, as well as sandwich bundles, being among the most popular choices.
0 Comments

​Think outside – or maybe about – the box

4/13/2020

0 Comments

 
carry out
Many operators are reworking their business models right now in an effort to keep business going while people are quarantined. Even restaurants that are providing meals through takeout and delivery are branching out and offering a menu of meal boxes that contain various combinations of seafood, meat, produce and appetizers. This approach can tick a number of boxes (and it is the first item suggested in a recent report from FSR Magazine about tactics restaurants should be implementing right now): Meal boxes allow operators to sell larger packages of food at higher price points and with fewer customer interactions, appeal to couples or families who are quarantined together and crave quality meals, help keep suppliers going in these unstable times, demonstrate a restaurant’s values and brand, and reinforce connections with customers. At the UK-based restaurant Little French, operators are offering boxes full of local fruit and vegetables that promote their support of local suppliers, as well as boxes of various cuts of meat and seafood – along with a recipe – to demonstrate the care they put into the preparation of their menu ingredients. To sweeten the deal, they sell home-baked bread, suggest different bottles of wine that complement each box, and offer other specialty items like olive oil, vinegars, cured meats and olives. For those looking for an interactive cooking experience – or a little help with restaurant-style preparation – the restaurant’s chef will be posting videos of himself preparing dishes that use the ingredients in each box. How can you box up the best parts of your brand to keep business flowing right now?
0 Comments

​Reuse it or lose?

3/16/2020

0 Comments

 
reusable
Reusables are on the rise, if the latest news from McDonald’s and Starbucks is any indication. The brands are backing a pilot program called the NextGen Cup Challenge, which involves developing reusable plastic cups with trackable QR codes or RFID chips. Bloomberg reports that the cups are intended to be returned by customers, cleaned and then reused in an effort to take a large bite out of the billions of plastic-lined paper cups discarded by customers of the two brands each year. Is there opportunity for returnable, reusable cups, plates and utensils in your operation? A number of brands – large and small – are providing models for how it can be done. Nation’s Restaurant News reports that the 40-unit fast-casual brand Just Salad has offered a reusable bowl program for close to 15 years – guests who choose their reusable bowls get a free topping on their salad each time. (The brand recently launched a sustainability initiative that rivals those of much larger brands.) It remains to be seen if such incentives will become necessary as restaurants offer more reusable items. Other chains are taking different approaches: The Counter reports that the fast-casual brand Dig, which estimates that 80 percent of its business is take-away, recently launched a program called Canteen. Enrolled guests install a smartphone app and pay $3 each month for a hard reusable bowl that they can return to Dig for washing (and subsequent refilling).
0 Comments

Plastic, reinvented

2/10/2020

0 Comments

 
plastic
Has your restaurant resolved to use less plastic in 2020? It seems everyone has some plastic guilt nowadays – and there are businesses cropping up to help operators replace plastic and also find new uses for the plastic that already exists. Take Riegel Linen, which was among eight companies to win Restaurant Technology News’s “Restaurateurs’ Choice Award for Environmental Good” competition. The company, which makes linens for a range of industries, found a way to integrate leftover plastic bottles into its textiles. Riegel Linen collects, sorts and inspects plastic bottles, then sterilizes and dries them before crushing them into chips, Restaurant Technology News reports. Once melted down, the material is made into a new fiber that Riegel Linen uses to make napkins and tablecloths. Its RieNu napkins are made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled polyester.
0 Comments

Plant-based plastic abounds

8/5/2019

0 Comments

 
plastic
Looking for alternatives to plastic for off-premise food packaging? Increasingly, it’s coming from plants. Corn is currently being used for plastic alternatives ranging from straws to containers, but according to a report in Scientific American, the disposal of the material poses challenges, along with leaving an environmental footprint. It is compostable and not recyclable, so if not sent to an industrial facility where it can biodegrade, the process can take between 100 and 1000 years (versus just a few months). Still, other promising and more easily biodegradable plant-based plastics are being developed from materials ranging from cactus to algae. Some are even designed to eliminate waste altogether. The Spoon reports that the startup Decomer is developing a plant-based capsule containing honey. It can dissolve in coffee, tea, or other liquids at a wide range of temperatures.
0 Comments

Uber Eats aims to streamline the dine-in experience

8/5/2019

0 Comments

 
Uber Eats
Now that Uber Eats is testing a “Dine-In” feature on its app, expect other third-party delivery providers to follow suit. The feature allows a person to order food at a restaurant, track the process of its preparation so she can arrive at the restaurant in time to eat it, and also leave a tip. The benefits to restaurants could include having to pay a smaller fee to the delivery provider than would be required for third-party delivery, faster table turnover, and the opportunity to offer deals that could attract dine-in guests during slow periods. It remains to be seen how accurate the app’s food preparation tracker will be at peak periods, but if you’re struggling to fill seats, it might offer an opportunity to entice guests to come in and sit down.
0 Comments

​Could meal kits work for you?

7/22/2019

0 Comments

 
meal kits
At a time when restaurant businesses are feeling pressure to identify new revenue streams, the CIO of Mattson, a food and beverage innovation firm based in Silicon Valley, says many operators are missing out on a potentially lucrative opportunity: meal kits. Barb Stuckey of Mattson told Restaurant Dive that she has long been urging operators to take a look at offering the kits to at least determine if they make sense financially or operationally, but few are following through, save for perhaps Chick fil-A. The brand tested meal kits to positive results last year, according to Forbes, though they haven’t announced future plans for them. Stuckey likes the kits because she thinks they can help operators attack some of the quality-control issues they may experience with delivery. For instance, kits may be worth a shot if you have menu items that could do well off-premise but may not travel as well when they are fully cooked (like fries and sandwiches). Or, if you have brisk lunchtime traffic, promoting the kits during lunch may help you sell to guests who want to sort out their dinner plan in advance. At least, the category could help restaurants tap into a less saturated segment that is ripe for reinvention. According to Packaged Facts said, meal kit market expansion in the future is likely to rely more on alternative purchasing venues than on the traditional subscription model, which can clash with the on-demand mentality of off-premise customers. Restaurants can provide that on-demand experience.
0 Comments
<<Previous
    Foodservice Commodities

    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Picture
    Outlook
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Ajvar
    Alcohol
    Appetizers
    Bacon
    Beans
    Beef
    Beverages
    Bowls
    Bread
    Breakfast
    Buffet
    Burgers
    Cafeteria
    Calzones
    Cauliflower
    Cbd
    Cheese
    Chicken
    Chocolate
    Classic
    Climavore
    Comfort Food
    Comfort-food
    Commodities
    Convenience
    Customization
    Dairy
    Data
    Dayparts
    Delivery
    Dessert
    Diets
    Dips
    Dressing
    Drinks
    Eggs
    Entrees
    Event
    Fermented
    Flavor
    Fruit
    Gluten Free
    Gluten-free
    Gochujang
    Grab-n-go
    Grain
    Grilling
    Health
    Healthy
    Hummus
    Icecream
    Ingredients
    International
    Italian
    Juice
    Kitchen
    Limited-time
    Lobster
    Local
    Lto
    Management
    Meal-kits
    Meatless
    Mediterranean
    Menu
    Milk
    Nutritional
    Omnichannel
    Packaging
    Pasta
    Personalization
    Pivot
    Pizza
    Plantains
    Plantbased
    Plant Based
    Plastic
    Plate-presentation
    Popup
    Portion Size
    Predictions
    Preparation
    Presentations
    Pretzels
    Produce
    Profits
    Promotions
    Protein
    Readymade
    Recipes
    Recycle
    Restaurant-week
    Rice
    Salad
    Salty
    Sandwich
    Sauce
    Seafood
    Seasonal
    Shape
    Sharing
    Shelfstable
    Simplify
    Sliders
    Small-plates
    Smoke
    Smoked
    Snack
    Soup
    Sous-vide
    Specials
    Spice
    Spicy
    Sriracha
    Steak
    Stew
    Street-food
    Sugar
    Sushi
    Sustainable
    Sweet
    Take-out
    Take-out
    Trends
    Vegetables
    Versatility
    Waste
    Wraps

Get our Free Newsletter
Team Four Foodservice
​Recipes
Corona Virus Resources
Value 4
Quarterly Outlook
​Palette Foodservice
​
Foodservice CEO
© 2021 Team Four Foodservice
  • Foodservice Updates
  • Trends
    • Commodities
  • Digital Media
  • Technology
  • Safety
  • Management Tips
  • Free Newsletter
  • Recipes
    • Mains >
      • Handhelds
      • Pasta & Rice
    • Soups & Sauces
    • Salads
    • Appetizers
    • Desserts & Snacks
    • Sides
  • Foodservice CEO