Instore - November 2018 - 29

Driving menu innovation
Stacey Kinkaid, senior director of product
development at US Foods, provided insights
on key menu development trends expected
in the near future.
Q: What is the driving force behind the
introduction of the Fall Scoop product line?
US Foods is committed to helping chefs
and operators "Make It," and Scoop is a key
component of our "Great Food. Made Easy."
strategy. It's really important for operators
to stay current with the latest and greatest
food trends if they want to keep customers
coming in. The culinary world is constantly
evolving, and we are always lookingI lik for
new ways to help our customers succeed.
In Fall Scoop, it's about making sure chefs
have access to the hottest trends to offer on
their menus. US Foods identified five trends
that we see really driving innovation on
menus. These are products that are forwardthinking, yet functional, so our customers
can move forward with adding the latest
trends to their menus but can also feel confident while doing so.

Q: Why is it more
important than ever
for independent
foodservice operators
to be distinctive with
their menus?

We were also inspired by the intersection
between food and fashion, which is why
we created Fall Scoop under the banner of
"Food Runway." Fashion and food trends
have a lot of similarities. They both have significant impact on society and move through
similar life cycles. Food and fashion have
also inspired one another. Because of this
constant collision, we thought connecting
the two would be a fun comparison to make
in Fall Scoop. These 27 new products are
fashion-forward because they're on-trend
and buzzworthy and diners everywhere are
looking to try them.

Photo: US Foods

Consumers have endless
options at their fingertips - menus are readily available on websites,
and almost half of consumers check online reviews before deciding to
go to a new restaurant
(Touch Bistro). Simply
put, if you're not distinctive with your menus, you
might not even get that
new customer through
the door. Fall Scoop
brings an assortment of
versatile, on-trend products that helps ensure operators stay on the leading edge of dining trends
and diner interests.

Q: What are the inspirations?
Our inspiration for Fall Scoop centered
around two key themes. One was the idea
of introducing the right trends, at the right
time. Food trends are part art, part science.
Identifying trends is definitely about what
dishes and ingredients are getting a lot of
buzz, but it's also about timing, availability
and knowing our operators' business needs.
At US Foods we use a mixture of data, expertise and understanding our customer base to
decide when a trend is ready for restaurants.

Chef's Line Artisan
Chia Ficelle Roll.

Q: How does US Foods make their ability
to be distinctive on menus all the easier?
We take all the hard work and guessing
games out of introducing trends to restaurant menus. The products we develop for
Scoop are backed by extensive research to
ensure we're introducing the right trends at
the right time. For example, our Devonshire
Premium Black Raspberry Ombre Cake with
Vanilla Icing is actually four separate cakes
that are hand-assembled and decorated. Instead of the operator having to bake four
separate cakes, on top of assembling and
decorating it, our cake arrives baked, assembled and sliced to help reduce labor and
time costs.
Q. What are the hottest ingredients that today's consumers are really clamoring for?
We've seen a trend towards functional ingredients and protein. For example, seeds are
on 31 percent of US menus and have grown
at +19 percent over the past four years. Chia
seed is showing exceptional growth of +244%
(Datassential). This is one of the reasons we

decided to add chia seeds to our Chef's Line
Artisan Chia Ficelle Roll. Our ficelle is also a
great example of the movement towards traditional baking techniques. Since traditional
baking techniques are more time consuming,
some food manufacturers favored additives
to speed up processing times. However, our
ficelle, and many of our Chef's Line breads,
include two pre-ferments that are aged for
7-9 hours prior to use, providing superior flavor and premium quality.
Q. What's been the response to the new line?
We've had great response to the line and
the Chef's Line Cookie Butter Tart has really been one of the stars. We were really
excited about these products and designed
them to help operator stay on-trend and save
the time and labor costs - we're happy that
our customers see this value and are excited
about them too! They continue to surprise
us with their creative application uses and
feedback. For example, one of our chefs
caramelizes the cookie butter tart and tops
it with caramel sauce and smoked salt! Their
creativity continues to inspire us for our future Scoop editions.

commissary INSIDER * NOVEMBER 2018 * 29

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Instore - November 2018