Consumers crave healthy menu items now more than ever. This means operators are turning to fresh produce more often to help meet this need. Available in a stunning array of colors, textures and flavor profiles, fresh produce is a great way to bring value and variety to your menu. But first, you may need to change the way you look at fruits and veggies.
From Side Dish to Center Stage
Spring is produce’s time to shine, when many fruits and vegetables are at their absolute peak of perfection.
As the season changes, carb-heavy dishes that dominated winter menus are being replaced by lighter options featuring the bounty of spring at the center of the plate. From breakfast and brunch to late-night bites, fresh produce is taking center stage with big, bold flavors that challenge even the meatiest entrées in regard to visual appeal, heartiness and perceived value.
Protein-packed Produce
As meat alternatives—plant-based milks, grain-blend burgers, veggie steaks—continue to rise in popularity, many diners are moving toward protein-packed veggie options on a more regular basis. For operators, just offering a veggie burger won’t be enough. Customers want more, from simple fare like three-bean chili to more complex and exotic flavors like curry-roasted purple cauliflower served with a harissa-spiked yogurt.
Have a Field Day with Produce
Fresh produce is one of the broadest, most flexible categories in the foodservice industry. There are opportunities for incorporation in every day part and across every menu category, whether you use it as an ingredient or as your featured main. For example, vegetable charcuterie (seemingly an oxymoron) is popping up on innovative menus with tasty treats like beet chorizo, multicolor lentil terrine, smoke-cured root veggies and wild mushroom pâté. The key is to have fun and get creative.
Let Flavor Work for You
Seasonal produce is bursting with flavor right now. With most in-season produce, you don’t really need to do much to bring out that natural goodness—a little salt and pepper go a long way in letting fresh flavors speak for themselves. Some veggies, however, work best as a foundation for your signature spice blends, sauces and cooking techniques. However you choose to prepare them, when you let fresh flavors speak for themselves, your customers will like what they hear.
Brands in Bloom
Spring is a time of renewal, not just in the farms and fields where our fresh produce grows, but in the Sysco Brand family as well. For more than 30 years, Sysco Brands have exemplified quality and reliability, providing the ingredients our customers need most to deliver consistent experiences day in and day out.
Soon, you may notice that our brands are starting to look quite different. Driven by a company-wide commitment to more sustainable operations and new FDA regulations on clear and clean labeling, the packaging and branding around our products will soon feature a fresh, new look.
Quality and Freshness Come Naturally
Sysco/FreshPoint® is North America’s largest foodservice produce distributor, offering everything from the fruits and vegetables every operator needs to regional and local specialties. Known for delivering quality, Sysco/FreshPoint products will soon look as good on your shelf as they do on the plate, with newly designed packaging that is more sustainable and easier to read. Rest assured that no matter what changes on the exterior, you can always count on one thing to remain constant: Sysco/FreshPoint’s dedication to delivering the best products to your door. That will never change.
