Prepared Foods - August 2008 - (Page 18)

new product trends Other popular, craveable menu items are portable dessert treats, such as frozen yogurt and cupcakes. Again, cupcakes are not a difﬁcult item to prepare at home, but how many home cooks would calm a cupcake craving with homemade mocha, chai latte or lemon-coconut cupcakes? Instead, they make a run to Sprinkles Cupcakes, an emerging chain that lists these three ﬂavors (along with 17 others) on a rotating menu that also includes buttercream frosting “shots.” The chain’s handheld cakes are a hit in the major markets it serves; the Californiabased chain is targeting a total of 30 U.S. cities for expansion. Often described as “addictive,” tart, frozen yogurt is popping up all across the industry landscape, led by Los Angelesbased upstart Pinkberry. The cups of swirled, frozen yogurt are presented in a manner that conveys uniqueness and freshness. Its appeal is enhanced by fruit and cereal toppings that inject color against the creamy plain yogurt and pale green tea yogurt. Customers (who proudly refer to themselves as “groupies”) have been known to stand in lines that wind outside Pinkberry’s doors and down the street, waiting for their frozen-yogurt ﬁx. Both Sprinkles and Pinkberry are examples of how today’s most innovative restaurant brands are focusing concept development around a single item that people crave. For Sprinkles, it is a high-fat, high-sugar indulgence that has proven so irresistible for guests; for Pinkberry, it is a cool and creamy signature product with colorful, fresh toppings and the perception of healthy snacking—even at a restaurant. In a 2007 survey conducted by Technomic for American Express MarketBrief, 63% of consumers reported that menu item descriptions are “extremely important” when reading a menu. About 55% of people surveyed felt that it was “extremely important” that a menu indicate speciﬁc ﬂavors, such as spicy, sweet, smoky or garlicky, while 50% agreed that it was “extremely important” for menus to identify textures by describing items as crispy, ﬂaky, crunchy, creamy, etc. With data gleaned from MenuMonitor, consider the following two national chains’ menu descriptions of two very similar sandwich items. The ﬁrst chain is a casual-dining establishment that lists a $7 chicken sandwich item and merely describes it as a “grilled chicken breast sandwich with fries.” The second chain is also a casual-dining concept with a $7 chicken sandwich, but describes it this way: “a fresh, juicy chicken breast, ﬂamegrilled and topped with cheddar, Swiss and Monterey Jack cheese and hickorysmoked bacon; served with fries.” For the same price, the ﬁrst sandwich is presented in the most generic of terms (with no mention of toppings, if any), while the latter item is being described in detail regarding ﬂavor, preparation technique and toppings. Which selection (and description) would be crave-worthy and more likely to tempt a new customer? Even the most traditional and familiar menu offering will not immediately sell itself, so it is up to operators to create the initial interest that may lead to return visits. “Fire-grilled,” “fresh,” “crisp” and “ripe” are all buzzwords that point to high-quality components, ingredients and preparation. Along with these descriptors comes the opportunity to present items in new ways. In addition to mini-desserts and tapas-style small plates, entrées can also be scaled down. For example, T.G.I. Friday’s menu of smaller-portioned entrées puts the emphasis on ﬂavor, rather than portion. Encouraging guests to “ﬁll up on ﬂavor,” Friday’s promotes ﬂavorful dishes such as its Dragonﬁre Chicken—a ﬁre-grilled chicken breast glazed with Chinese kung pao sauce, served over stir- Mining the Possibilities Egg products can help maintain product integrity and stability in a reduced sodium formulation. Texture, viscosity, neutral ﬂavor Aids structure & stability Assists with moisture migration Clean natural label make it with eggs Learn more about what eggs can do for you @ www.aeb.org/eggproducts/ nutrition-trends/reduced-sodium Positioning Entrées to Create Cravings Eating, like cooking, is a sensory experience. Cooks use all ﬁve senses in the creation of a dish, just as consumers let their ﬁve senses guide them toward foods they crave. Positioning a menu around ingredients and preparation techniques gets customers more interested in the sights and sounds of the food, and it invigorates the imagination that helps fuel appetite. See Food Master-INGREDIENTS, p. 7 August 2008 ● www.PreparedFoods.com http://www.aeb.org/eggproducts/nutrition-trends/reduced-sodium http://www.aeb.org/eggproducts/nutrition-trends/reduced-sodium http://www.PreparedFoods.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Prepared Foods - August 2008

Prepared Foods - August 2008 Table of Contents Hitting the Shelves Promoting Craveable Foods and Beverages It’s a Small World MarketWatch Regulations: Safety Dance A Taste of Southeast Asia Flavor Secrets: Asian Five-spice Flavor Secrets: The Well-seasoned Potato On the National Menu To Serve and Protect: Flavor and Nutrition Protection Fat Applications in Transition: Creation of Good vs. Bad Fats A Tasteful Formulation Balance Nutrient Density and Dairy Foods R and D Applications Seminar: Formulation Information R and D Applications: Some Flavors Like it Hot R and D Applications: Prebiotics from a Conifer? R and D Applications: Seeing Red (Foods) R and D Applications: A Probiotic with Survival Skills Abstracts

Prepared Foods - August 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.