These are the spring 2021 foodservice trends for produce
Fresh produce plays a leading role in ghost kitchens, virtual brands and delivery-only concepts taking the spotlight during the pandemic and not stepping off stage soon.
United Fresh Produce Association released its spring 2021 Fresh Insights for Foodservice report, revealing trends that growers, wholesalers, marketers and other industry professionals can use in making decisions.
Edited by Andrew Marshall, director of foodservice and foundation partnerships, the report is sponsored by Produce Alliance and uses data from market research firm Datassential.
Foodservice operators are looking for innovation and ideas from their produce suppliers, Josh Kern, chief marketing officer of SPB Hospitality, said in the report. The company is operator and franchisor of hundreds of full-service restaurants in 39 states and the District of Columbia and has three ghost kitchens with more being tested.
“We have seen great usage of fresh fruit in salads, and we’ve also seen success with green cabbage recently. Hatch green chile is flying out the door too,” he said in Fresh Insights.
According to Datassential, 42% of operators think ghost kitchens — delivery-only concepts without consumer-facing locations — are a long-term trend.
“Visual appeal can be an uphill battle for delivery-only fare. Between the packaging, handling and travel time, what the consumer receives isn’t always what the operator intended. Look to fresh produce to brighten up dull dishes and provide color contrast that can make foods more enticing,” according to the report.
“And, for virtual brands looking to stand out in a sea of burgers, wings and sandwiches, plant-forward additions may give entrees the ‘health halo’ consumers today are increasingly gravitating towards.”
Spring produce
Artichokes and strawberries used in new ways are trends to consider as we round the corner on spring and step into summer.
Spinach and artichoke dip is in the ubiquity, or the final, stage of food trends, so foodservice professionals should look for next-level applications, according to the report.
After all, 61% of consumers who have tried artichokes love or like them, according to Datassential’s Flavor survey.
“With plant-forward eating an overarching trend, consider leveraging artichokes in center-of-plate applications – think stuffed with savory fillings or grilled and drizzled with lemon vinaigrette or aioli,” according to Fresh Insights in Foodservice.
“To make artichokes even more approachable, operators could consider deep-frying them, as 64% of consumers love or like deep-fried foods.”
As consumers are very familiar with and love strawberries, this fresh fruit is also ripe for innovative applications beyond raw uses and typical breakfast and dessert dishes.
Think pizza toppings. Or, operators can take inspiration from Rose’s Luxury, a restaurant in Washington, D.C., that serves a signature Strawberry Spaghetti dish using tomato and reduced strawberry sauce topped with ricotta, red onions and black pepper.
Fall produce
Plan ahead for fall with underutilized figs and turnips.
Only in the second, or adoption, phase of food trends, operators can still try next-level takes on fresh figs, “such as grilled and stuffed with cheese, in plant-forward concepts (for example, swap the pig for a fig to create ‘figs in a blanket’) and in highly approachable fan favorites like grilled cheese or pizza,” according to the report.
Also in the adoption phase, turnips can work the same way potatoes do: mashed with butter and herbs or as a fresh spin on french fries, which 88% of consumers love or like, according to Datassential.
The Fresh Insights report suggests that if you haven’t found a way to jump on the bandwagon of this feta baked pasta recipe that’s gone viral on social media, do so now. It’s a simple recipe that uses two pints of fresh cherry tomatoes and fresh basil.
Menu trends
The top chain-restaurant trends with produce in recent months are pineapples, jalapeños and blueberries.
On children’s menus, carrots have increased by 15% in the past four years.
“Today, kids’ menus are filled with globally-inspired foods and dishes that might have
been unthinkable a few decades ago,” according to Fresh Insights.
Almost 60% of parents say trying new foods at restaurants is important to them, while nearly two-thirds of millennials say the same thing — and 80% of U.S. births are now from millennial women, according to the Pew Research Center.
Mexican, Asian, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes are appearing on children’s menus more.
Avocado is up 157% on kids’ menus in the last four years, according to Datassential MenuTrends.
