All of the challenges over the past two years have led many foodservice customers to change their purchasing behaviors, upping quantities of some items while deciding to do without others.
Less prep more value
One trend is higher demand for value-added items, due to being shorthanded.
Dan Robertson, president of Robertson Produce BB #:101876 in Monroe, LA, says restaurants are opting for more fresh-cut and processed items instead of chopping fruits and vegetables themselves, because they no longer have the labor to do it.
Other operators are showing more interest in canned or frozen goods as well.
Then there are those who are taking their supply needs in another direction.
“We’re hearing customers say they’d like to produce their own,” says Jin Ju Wilder, director of marketing and business development at Vesta Foodservice BB #:125924, based in Santa Fe Springs, CA. “They can offer a better quality level and differentiator when prepping it themselves.”
Higher prices for protein are also steering foodservice establishments to make substitutions, using fruits, vegetables, or gourmet greens.
“Something like frisée adds color and texture, but also volume,” says Wilder. “It’s a way to create a full plate and full value—there’s real opportunity there.”
David Kraus, senior vice president of custom distribution at Produce Alliance, LLC BB #:159218 in Chicago, IL, agrees, noting another variation: using fresh berries to replace protein, which will still command a premium price.
“In conversations I’ve had,” says Joe Watson, vice president of retail, foodservice, and wholesale at the International Fresh Produce Association BB #:378962 in Newark, DE, “operators are exploring vegetables as substitutes for meat as prices increase.”
But it’s not just inflation driving customers to offer protein alternatives. Long-term dietary trends from vegans and flexitarians to keto and paleo diets support the move as well.
Datassential and IFPA’s Winter 2022 Fresh Insights for Foodservice report noted ongoing interest in protein substitutes like veggie patties or nuggets and carb substitutes such as cauliflower rice and zoodles, as well as produce-forward recipes.
Menu alterations
Consumer preferences, the pandemic, high prices, and supply chain disruptions have forced foodservice operators to adjust on the fly.
This is backed up by the National Restaurant Association, noting 85 percent of fine dining, 81 percent of casual dining, and 79 percent of family dining restaurants have changed their menus because of shortages.
Other foodservice operators, such as school districts, are also adding more local items to menus as they look to decrease transportation costs and ensure reliable supply. Local produce is also a winner for sustainability and reducing food miles.
With menus in flux, inventiveness has been at a crossroads: turning basic ingredients into new dishes and sides, or simply just getting by with as few ingredients as possible.
“Fine dining is different—they’re always innovating and differentiating,” Wilder says. “But in other sectors innovation just isn’t happening, and they’re not open to conversations about it.”
Watson says some operators are starting to add things back to the menu and promoting LTOs (limited time offers), which disappeared during most of the pandemic.
“They’re back to being creative in their test kitchens,” he says.
Among the items cited in IFPA and Datassential’s trend report are tropical ingredients used in Asian and Latin cuisines, such as plantains, jicama, and starfruit, as well as ramps (wild leeks) in fine-dining settings.
This is an excerpt from the cover story in the July/August 2022 issue of Produce Blueprints Magazine. Click here to read the whole issue.
