State of the Foodservice Industry

Culinary executives from the largest restaurant groups around the world joined PMA for a Chef’s Menu session on Thursday. Moderated by Kevin Ryan, CEO of the International Corporate Chefs Association and Global Culinary Innovators Association, each panelist shared a unique perspective on how their company has been moving forward.

Curt Seidl, VP Culinary Support, Morrison Healthcare
Working in a healthcare setting, hospital cafeterias never shut down. Self-serve soup-and-salad bars were hit hard, and his company has since moved toward a grab-and-go model by partnering with produce companies supplying the products. Seidl noted that sanitation expectations have been extremely high – they go through more gloves used than people served. Hospital cafeterias are where workers and patients go to get away from the stress of their units, and they should not have to worry about the safety of their meal.

Donald Moore, EVP Kitchen Operations and Chief Culinary Officer, The Cheesecake Factory
When lockdown began, they ensured that their staff and management were taken care of by providing hot meals. Their attention then shifted to “the next now” – operating a restaurant during a pandemic. This involved determining the right amount of staff required to sustain a kitchen, with pickup and delivery orders. Purchasing, distribution and logistics is what changed for the company. Moore says the pandemic will not slow them down, and they continue to find an operating model that is profitable and serves up quality food.

Shona Johnson, Senior Manager of Culinary, Chik-fil-A
Johnson noted they have been serving guests through drive-thru and delivery during the pandemic and have slowly been re-opening in shopping malls. The company has introduced a tiered menu based on the hardest (or least) hit regions/counties, to ensure efficiency based on the labor and ingredients at hand. Johnson has noticed that customers are more willing to be vocal about any issues that arise with their orders, such as a brown piece of lettuce. Her company is looking at different technologies to offer a better product, because to Chik-fil-A, cost is important, but food quality and safety are primary.

Once again this week, all the executives shared the importance of maintaining partnerships, and the benefits of communication and transparency. This message continues to surface and should not be ignored in day-to-day foodservice operations.

All executives shared that they are still looking to find new items that will excite customers, and encourage service providers to continue pitching new products. With plant-based menus continuing to grow in popularity, Johnson says it is important to ask how we can we create demand for fresh fruits and vegetables.

This might be a challenging time, but finding new efficiencies can be very rewarding. The strategies and creativity seen during this time will propel the industry forward in the months and years to come – for the better.

Global responses to COVID-19 have impacted the foodservice supply chain and consumer behaviors as Singapore, Australia and New Zealand reopen. The second Foodservice: Delivered Chef’s Menu session on Wednesday, July 22, took a deeper global look with speakers Michael Simonetta, CEO of Perfection Fresh Australia; Steve Kent, GM Fresh & Processing Division Bidfood Limited; and Gary Loh, Founder and Chairman of Dimuto, in a discussion moderated by PMA Australia New Zealand CEO, Darren Keating. Here are some of the top takeaways.

COVID-19 Accelerated and Exposed Pre-existing Trends
While the pandemic has impacted countries in the Australasian region differently, it has amplified trends that were already developing in each area. Technology, sustainability and personalized health were just some of the trends on the rise as the pandemic began. As country lockdowns changed the way we worked, moved, and fed our families, consumers and businesses looked to technology to create access to healthy food. From online shopping to direct-to-consumer fresh food box deliveries, businesses pivoted to meet the demand of consumers who became more and more keen on “eating their way to health” through the course the pandemic.

Traceability and Food Safety are Key
Consumers became more attuned to what they were eating, and they became interested in knowing more about their food. All speakers reported an increase of interest in locally grown and processed fruits and vegetables, and an increased concern about produce safety. Though sustainability remained an important consideration for Australasian consumers, plastic packaging was on the rise based on impressions of greater food safety. Additionally, the supply chain relied even more heavily on traceability to be able to ensure and communicate the safety of products.

Innovation Continues to Drive Recovery
From enhanced traceability solutions to online delivery to refining menus to increase efficiency, innovation not only saved businesses across the supply chain, but it has also allowed many to find new opportunities. While the lockdown was more strict in New Zealand, businesses pivoted to provide direct-to-consumer delivery and ramped up development of their social media presences to stay in touch with consumers. Singapore and Australia saw similar types of opportunities arise, though some have begun to disappear as the countries begin to lift restrictions and resume more normal activities.

Community is the No. 1 Pandemic Takeaway
While we all crave a return to normalcy, there are some changes and innovations that should likely remain permanent. To each of the speakers, the No. 1 takeaway from the pandemic is the sense of community. While joining together as a community helped to carry them through difficult times, conversations about what we eat and where it comes from have led to a renewed sense of engagement with consumers. Singapore, which had ambassadors going from business to business to see if people in offices could instead work from home, has committed to increasing the produce grown in country in the next several years. Australia and New Zealand have both had a renewed interest in locally grown produce. Traceability technology is poised to help communicate the provenance of produce to help consumers understand just how much of their food is grown in country.

The conversation stood as a reminder that even though COVID-19 has had unique impacts on each country, all of them have reported unexpected positive benefits. While we will likely never return to business as usual, the industry’s resilience and tradition of innovation has meant we may now be even more safe, sophisticated and in tune with our consumers than before.

Foodservice: Delivered served up its second day of content and networking on Tuesday afternoon with the Chef’s Menu session “Meet the Post Covid-19 Consumer” led by Jack Li, Haiku Master at Datassential, a leading food insights agency. Li led listeners through an overview of the results of PMA and Datassential’s new study looking at operator and consumer perspectives on produce in foodservice. Here are some key takeaways from the session:

• Fresh doesn’t rule out frozen
  Once consumers have decided to venture out to eat again, a decision driven by a combination of cleanliness, taste and affordability, the next most important thing on their minds is freshness. When asked to expand on what “fresh” meant to them, consumers not only named fruits and vegetables, but also words like “healthy,” “quality,” “clean,” “ripe” and “tasty.” With changes to frequency of deliveries and an inability to predict product demand, shelf life has become a growing concern and foodservice operators are not ruling out frozen produce as an option in their dishes.
• Storytelling is essential
  Consumers are most likely to try a new ingredient or product if their family and friends recommended it or if it’s similar or comparable to something they’ve already tried. Helping consumers understand our products and how they can be enjoyed means also helping operators understand the same. Share your product story to both your buyers and your consumers. Right now, one of the most important storylines to consumers? How to boost their immunity.
• Variety is a differentiator
  The research showed that while operators are more focused on year-round supply, consumers crave seasonality and variety. Helping operators guarantee year-round supply but with a variety of products can be a major differentiator when determining the right supplier. Also, key support for operators involves providing information about how to get the most out of a product such as recipes and preparation methods.
• Innovation will carry us through (and beyond)
  We know that many of the changes to foodservice prompted by COVID-19 are likely to last into the foreseeable future. Innovation will be how we not only address challenges posed by COVID-19 but also how we become a more efficient and successful industry overall. For example, providing pre-cut product can help operators limit the number of people needed in the kitchen, and help keep those employees safe. Innovation to work processes, menu options, and marketing will all help drive consumer demand as they start to connect again with foodservice as the pandemic continues.

The research helps us see a few things clearly. First, consumers will continue to return to foodservice with a few new drivers determining their menu and restaurant choices. Taste, quality and freshness remain a consistent expectation and remain aligned with fruit and vegetables in the minds of consumers. As we all look for ways to help consumers feel safe and excited about dining out or taking out, the produce industry should not forget the power of education. Whether it be helping operators see the potential in products or helping consumers see the immune-boosting properties of a healthy diet rich in produce, now is the time to tell our industry’s stories.

Members can find the executive summary and full report here.

Foodservice: Delivered kicked off its first event on Monday afternoon with a Chef’s Menu session focusing on the state of the foodservice industry, and what lies ahead. Moderated by Kent Shoemaker, CEO, Lipman Family Farms, the panel of supply chain executives spoke about how their companies had to re-pivot in the wake of the global pandemic, and how their working relationships have evolved. Here are some of the key takeaways from the session:

• COVID-19: Each executive outlined some of the changes their companies have made in the past few months, whether it be scaling back menus, offering mealkits, partnering with delivery services or even the creation of “Chipotlanes” – a designated pickup spot from mobile orders. Shake Shack’s Lisa Kartzman, VP Supply Chain, noted that the pandemic has led her company to update its crisis manual’s Standard Operating Process.
• A common theme emerged: The importance of the relationships between vendors, suppliers, distributors, growers, and even consumers. The past few months have served to heighten communications throughout all aspects of the supply chain, and innovation and creativity have become more important than ever before.
• Future opportunities for technology: The panel noted that technology will play a large role in what’s to come, whether it be for customers order on an app, or growers using AI, traceability, and machine learning. As Hari Nagabhirava, Senior VP Supply Chain, The Cheesecake Factory put it, there are “lots of lessons to come out of this so that we’re more nimble than before.”
• Leadership and diversity matter, too: As Anissa Mandell Chance, Senior VP, Supply Chain, Focus Supply Chain said, “if your leadership looks the same, you’re missing out on a lot.” Now more than ever before, companies should be looking to diversify their staff and leadership in order to fully represent the customers of today.

What does the future of foodservice look like for diners? Level of confidence in dining out once again remains a primary factor. They will be looking to restaurants to provide santizer and show that they are taking all necessary precautions to keep them safe. It has taken a global pandemic for us to change our day-to-day operations, but foodservice exes are now faced with a variety of possibilities for the future. As Carlos Londono, Vice President Supply Chain, Chipotle Mexican Grill, put it: “Let’s keep on going… together.”

This is the first of many Chef’s Menu sessions running this week. We hope that the industry leaders featured will provide you a look at the latest information and trends, inspiring you with insight you can use to propel your business forward.