Produce Trends

What Does Field to Table Produce Management Mean?

As a food service operator, you may be familiar with the term “Field to Table Produce Management.” It’s a term used by many Produce Management companies to bring you the utmost fresh, safe, and reasonably priced produce to your operation.

In more depth, Field to Table Produce Management is a holistic approach to sourcing, focused on pricing, quality, food safety, and service throughout the supply chain. Each step in the supply chain is uniquely important and plays a crucial role in protecting quality, price, and food safety.

If there are failures or mismanagement in growing, transportation, cooling, packing, processing, distribution and even handling inside the restaurant, the entire supply chain fails. Like any Team, the final result is only as strong as the weakest link. By qualifying and cultivating relationships with each key stakeholder in the supply chain, an operator can have a deeper and more rewarding experience with each supplier, which will produce higher yields, better products, and lower costs. Field to Table Produce Management is a form of food traceability, which is, the ability to follow the movement of a food product and its ingredients through all steps in the supply chain, both backward and forward. This documents and links the production, processing and distribution of said products, according to the FDA.

When you are transparent to your customers about where your produce comes from, it shows that you prioritize where and how your food is grown and where it is sourced from – which is local. You’re giving your guests that reassurance their produce is carefully handled, thoroughly washed, and safely prepared for them to enjoy without hesitation.

Field to Table Produce Management puts your mind at ease because you know you’re getting quality produce that is carefully managed while paying the correct price. You’re also partnering with a company that demonstrates safety and loyalty to its food service operators.

Join Fresh Concepts today to help improve your Field to Table Produce Management and ensure risk management and traceability are always a top priority for your operation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43gb7_eAgM0

  

 

Produce Trends This Year and Beyond 

Every year, new and up-and-coming ingredients make their way onto restaurant menus, such as fruits and vegetables. We’ve seen it with brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower and more.  

But how do these trends come to be? 

For produce specifically, innovative chefs continue to incorporate under-utilized fruits and vegetables in their dishes and look for new, creative ways to highlight them through non-traditional preparations. When an application is particularly successful, restaurants and guests can spread the word on the innovative creations with help from useful tools like social media. 

Keep reading to learn what the produce trends this year and beyond are gearing up to look like. 

Fruit and Vegetable Trends 

Cauliflower, kale, and brussels sprouts are expected to remain popular. We might even see potatoes show some increased interest coming out of the pandemic as chefs look at new ways to top off what is considered a healthy vegetable (that is, unless they’re topped with butter, sour cream, cheese, and bacon. I mean, who doesn’t like a loaded potato? I sure do!) 

Still, there are so many varieties and so many other plant-forward options you can pair with potatoes.  

It’s also suspected that we will continue to see other international fruits and vegetables come into the country due to increasing flavor and menu diversity in the usual large markets. Local produce will continue to grow in popularity, as it remains a popular buzzword. 

What About Produce Trends That Aren’t Edible?  

The biggest trend we are seeing happen in Produce is not item specific – but buying specific. It’s called SKU optimization.  

More than ever, foodservice operators are under immense pressure to keep food costs down and buy as efficiently as possible. As a result, their buying direction is to purchase full cases wherever possible instead of splits, and to buy whole product instead of pre-cut for critical menu items, to help with shelf life and flavor. Not only are the full case quantities more cost-effective per pound, but the consolidation of SKUs would be beneficial for distribution to help eliminate labor, carbon footprint in packaging, yield loss, and traceability concerns. 

Effective SKU management and optimization can easily result in 10%+ savings on key commodities.  

Unfortunately, identifying where the SKU Optimization opportunities are within your buying can be challenge itself, let alone difficult to manage and implement across all locations due to availability.  

Fresh Concepts is in Your Corner 

At Fresh Concepts, we are uniquely capable of managing all SKUs and finding the most impactful opportunities to optimize your buying. We also help you stay up to date on commodity insights and trends.  

Our team of produce experts can help you with all your produce management needs. From menu development to produce specification selection, we are here to keep you informed on the latest produce trends, find you the best savings, and provide you with the support you need to manage your produce process. 

Contact us today to get started!  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNiBHei-fd8  

 

  

 

Improve Your Bottom Line with Access to Up-To-Date Commodity Insights

Food prices continue to rise as supply and demand challenges persist throughout the supply chain.

These days, food costs are one of a restaurants’ biggest concerns. Operators are scrambling to pivot to profits and are challenged with offsetting high food costs without effecting the quality of their menu.

Let’s look at how having access to up-to-date commodity insights can improve your purchasing and your bottom line.

Menu Promotions Can Be Impacted

Foodservice operators often schedule promotions months in advance to prepare for the marketing and training component as part of a produce promotion or new menu rollout. Those plans are often made before the vegetables or fruit that are needed for the promotion are even planted.

Weather conditions also play a huge role in the planning of a new promotion. For example, the fruit on a tree may suffer a devastating freeze between the time of the initial planning and the new menu rollout.

The last thing a restaurant wants to do is put up a sign saying, “Out of Stock.” Up-to-date commodity insights can help operators prepare for and potentially even modify a promotion due to changing market and weather conditions that could unintentionally have a financial hit.

Fresh Concepts Can Help

In the world of produce, knowledge is power. Having up-to-date commodity insights can be highly beneficial to cost savings and can help avoid possible shortages.

When Food Service Operators have up-to-date, relevant updates for the commodities they’re buying, they have the ability to pivot their buying to account for changes in the Market.

Let’s take tomato purchases for example. Often, there are times when the Tomato Market might experience a shortage on Rounds, but not on Romas. If a foodservice operator has been purchasing Round Tomatoes but receives a commodity update about Round Markets being escalated, they may be able to update their buying from a Round to a Roma. Having the ability to make quick changes like this can potentially save an operator money. Not only can they save on the actual case cost of the product, but this information can help prevent things such as product shortages, second deliveries, and quality issues – all of which could very well affect the bottom line.

This same method applies to other shortages as well. For example, it can be used for specific sizes for purchases of products such as Citrus or Avocados. The Food Service Operator can switch over to a smaller or medium size SKU if larger sizes are running tight. This then saves them money and increases efficiencies.

If your operation is interested in learning more about transparency into commodity information and price trends, look no further. From Controlled Pricing to Real-Time Visibility, Fresh Concepts has the solution to all your needs.

Schedule a free consultation today with our Produce Experts!