CPMA: Don’t say the word ‘pivot’ but fine, foodservice pivoted
Steve Bamford was reluctant to utter the overused word “pivot,” but there’s good reason it’s been said ad nauseam in the past year.
How foodservice businesses have adapted and innovated since the pandemic began was Bamford’s focus as moderator of the foodservice panel and session at the April 12-16 Canadian Produce Marketing Association’s virtual Fresh Week conference and trade show.
“Like you, we had to make some very difficult decisions,” said Bamford, CEO of Fresh Advancements, a wholesaler in the Ontario Produce Terminal. “It’s amazing how you guys have adapted and moved forward.”
The panel included Tom Bak, national director of produce at Sysco Canada; Craig Sheridan, founder and CEO of Vancouver, British Columbia-based Legends Haul Supply Co.; and JP Potters, executive general manager of Vancouver-based Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar.
Sheridan transformed his business model to create Legends Haul Grocery Delivery. In “the before times,” his company was a traditional manufacturer and distributor, and 50% of his business was foodservice; now his company manufactures, takes product to market and handles direct-to-consumer business with its online grocery store.
“We leveraged our people, trucks, equipment. We added lines that restaurants could offer as a value-add. It was a very fast-paced growth process, especially on e-commerce side, putting together a tech stack like that,” Sheridan said. “The way I look at it is there’s a clear reset that’s happened. Things have changed.”
When the produce is in season in the customer’s region, local produce is no longer an extra benefit. It’s an expectation, Bak said.
Consumers want to know the food’s origin and story. They also want to know about how the business operates and interacts with local communities.
Bak kept track of how his foodservice customers adjusted their orders since the most intense pandemic upheaval in 2020.
“The first thing that came off the table were a lot of the nice-to-haves, and we were really driving must-haves: fruits and vegetables that work for freezer applications and take-home/to-go’s. We quickly looked for smaller pack sizes,” Bak said.
Restaurants wanted more frequent deliveries because of the uncertain, changing provincial operating rules during COVID-19. On the health care side of foodservice business, including institutions and extended care, customers wanted fewer deliveries in order to limit outside contact and keep safe.
To deal with government-enforced pandemic restaurant closures, Potters said his luxury fine-dining restaurant group created alternative revenue streams, such as Provisions, an online store for “elevated essentials and theatrical chef-curated packages for the home,” according to the website.
Because there’s no way the artistic plating can be employed in any environment other than the server’s jaunt from the chef’s kitchen to the restaurant dining table, Provisions offers consumers next-day pickup or delivery of the components of those dishes. Plus, the company started chef-led meal kits.
“It’s a better fit than doing to-go food, as our food is complicated and doesn’t travel well,” Potters said. “Now that we’re open inside again to some degree, it’s a supplemental income stream.”
Boulevard shed its breakfast and lunch service and had to lay off a lot of staff.
As restaurants fully reopen and people emerge from their homes, Potters expects a shift: “From good enough to exceptional, whether it’s on produce side or restaurant side,” he said.
“If they’re spending that money, they’re going to demand that level of product. We’re going to see in the future an insistence on that.
“Producers need to be bold and think how you’re going to market your produce as the primary part of the plate. I think the market is ready for that. They want local, healthy and more plant-based.”
