Meat + Poultry - April 2016 - 18

BURGER REPORT

Trending:
Burgers and more
By the

NUMBERS
2015 HAMBURGER
CONSUMPTION
per capita per year

Australia: 38
US: 30
UK: 23
France: 14
Russia: 14
Germany: 11
Japan: 8.3
Spain: 8
Italy: 7
source: NPD

71% of beef served
in American eateries
is hamburgers and
cheeseburgers
source: msn food & drink

70% of people say
higher quality types
of meat or cuts make
a burger "premium"
source: Technomic's 2015 Burger Consumer Trend Report

75 burgers sold every
second at McDonald's
worldwide source: msn food & drink

18

BY B O B S I M S | b s i m s @ s o s l a n d.c o m

H

amburgers remain a staple of the
foodservice and restaurant landscape,
and while the classics never die,
restaurants of all levels continue to innovate
on the iconic American food. From the makeup of the burgers themselves to the breads,
sauces, toppings and additions, innovations
to the hamburger continue to evolve. The
gourmet and foodie movements in America
contribute to many of the trends happening in
the hamburger world. Bold and ethnic flavors,
high-quality cuts of meat and more have taken
the hamburger to new heights.
Brioche bread hamburger buns have
allowed foodservice operators to take
advantage of the artisan bread trend and apply
it to their menus. According to Technomic's
latest MenuMonitor, brioche bread is trending.
MenuMonitor also states hot sauce, sriracha
and basil pesto as trending ingredients for
burgers. On-trend flavors and ingredients
poised for inclusion on burger menus include
cilantro, gruyere, wasabi and basil while feta,
mango and poblano are still trialing for now.
The turkey burger has seen its popularity
grow in recent years and restaurants continue
along the alternative protein for burger path.
MenuMonitor reports significant year-over-year
growth in burger programs utilizing bison/
buffalo, chicken, fish and chorizo.
The hamburger's popularity spans
the generations, but Baby Boomers and
Generation Xers have a clear vision of how
a hamburger looks. However the Millennial
generation, now in the workforce and spending
money on food, seems to push the gourmet and
foodie movement along and this includes their
desire for bold, ethnic flavors. Hamburgers
provide a vehicle to bring the two views
together. Ethnic-flavored condiments such as
barbecue sauce with gochujang flavor might

MEAT+ POULTRY | 04.16 | www.meatpoultry.com

work to bridge generational differences, said
Jean Shieh, marketing manager, savory flavors,
Sensient Flavors, Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
Fast-casual burger chain, Burger 21,
provided an excellent example of the
bold flavored, ethnic, hot-sauced, flavored
condiment burger with its LTO Spicy Cow
Burger. Offered Feb. 21 through Mar. 30, the
Spicy Cow featured Certified Angus Beef on a
bed of arugula, tomato and pickled jalapeño
slices and topped with pepper jack cheese,
fried jalapeños, Franks Red Hot sauce and
Burger 21's Sriranchup sauce. The chain started
with four units and has grown to 21 open
locations across eight states with 20 restaurants
in development in 11 states including an airport
location at Tampa International.
Quality in the retail segment continues
to gain popularity through the better burger
category. New Jersey-based Schweid & Sons, a
ground beef purveyor that sells to thousands of
restaurants - including Five Guys Burgers and
Fries - and hundreds of supermarkets saw brisk
sales of its four-patty, packaged burgers made
from a combination of Certified Angus Beef,
chuck and brisket. Each patty weighs 5 oz. and
the 21-oz. packages retail for $8.99. It proves that
consumers will pay more for burgers that don't
contain cheap meat cuts and offer great taste.
Wichita, Kansas-based Cargill Beef took
notice of consumer demand for premium and
gourmet hamburgers and acquired a Columbia,
South Carolina, ground beef processing
plant from FPL Food LLC in March 2016.
Cargill said that the 100,000-sq.-ft. facility
will complement its facilities in Georgia and
Pennsylvania by giving it access to customers
in the Southeast and East Coast. Francois Paul
Léger of FPL said the acquisition is beneficial
for both companies and that FPL will continue
supplying beef to the plant. He added that FPL
can now concentrate on its core business of
raising and harvesting cattle.
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