SheeFood

July's Indulgence

Let’s  hear it for ice cream. I know, I kind of gave it a passing jab in a post a month ago when I was really making fun of General Mill’s new line of what I lovingly call whole-grain-sugar-coma cereal, which was developed to coax school children into getting their whole grains. They sent me samples. I suggested that since we also need more fruit in the diet, Ben and Jerry’s should send me a sample of strawberry ice cream.

 

I’ll revise that a bit here. I just returned from a Blue Bell ice cream tasting luncheon and was sent home with a half-gallon of Southern Blackberry Cobbler – ice cream with genuine, flakey non-soggy pie crust chunks in it. And I’m not going to make fun of it. No sir. Free ice cream is no joking matter. The star of the five flavors I sampled was Blue Bell’s newest flavor—Caramel Kettle Crunch. And there’s a story. Adding popcorn to ice cream was a dream of theirs for 10 years. It took a decade of research and development to incorporate popcorn without it turning soggy. I’m glad they didn’t give up. The group of us hushed as we spooned it in. Incredible. We nearly applauded—and we were all sent home with a half-gallon of that, too.

 

Homemade vanilla is actually the company’s best seller. It’s also an industry best seller. And here are some more ice cream facts, per Mintel’s report Ice Cream and Frozen Novelties—U.S., May 2009.

 

· The biggest ice cream eaters are those ages 18-34.

· Only 17% of those who eat ice cream say they always buy the same brand.

· Wal-Mart comes in at a distant second (42%) of places where consumers buy their ice cream, compared to 85% for grocery stores. This could be because of the seriously limited assortment available at Wal-Mart.

· Women tend to gravitate to ice cream a bit more. While 91% of all survey respondents said they’d eaten ice cream in the past year, it was 92% for women and 89% for men. (I’ll state the obvious. The rest of the guys must not have women in their lives.)

 

Today is July 27, and we’re at the end of National Ice Cream Month. You know what to do!

Jody Shee

The Fruit of McDonald's

This week, McDonald’s introduces McCafé Real Fruit Smoothies in its gazillion U.S. stores. Even if you hate McDonald’s, you have to suspend that for a second and think about the amazing ramifications.

 

These 12-ounce, strawberry-banana and wild berry deals for $2.29 aren’t going to be freely sampled, as originally planned, because the fast-food behemoth is pretty sure there aren’t enough ingredients available to support that. I have a healthy respect for that situation. There are about 14,000 Golden Arches in the U.S., and just how many berries and bananas would it take to satisfy all that smoothie sampling curiosity? It would take a world of berry vines and bushes. I’ll bet it took at least a year of meeting with growers to plan supplies and distribution before the smoothies could be added to the lineup. I know that when McDonald’s introduced its Asian salad in 2006, it had to move mountains to source enough edamame to support the salad. (It has since been discontinued.) Anytime McDonald’s introduces produce to the menu, it’s a serious and welcome boost to produce growers. What better industry to boost.

 

And back to fruit. There is the hugest fruit consumption deficit in the U.S. – not for lack of availability, but because we have a greater national taste for cookies and potato chips. We are the laughing stock of other countries because we barely fit through doorways, when some clothing stores in Asian countries offer XXX small clothes sizes. Maybe McDonald’s will help more of us learn to love fruit.

 

The third amazing thing about this new introduction is the amount of money McDonald’s spends on advertising – a choking $1.2+ billion annually overall. National television and print ads and promotional materials come easy for them, when the whole of the produce industry doesn’t own that much money to spend on advertising. Yeah that McDonald’s has championed fruit advertising this week.

 

So don’t anyone complain about these fruit smoothies. They are really a national blessing.

Jody Shee

Bar Food Trends

Three of the “Five Trends You Can’t Ignore” from the July issue of Restaurant Hospitality easily live together in one place. Comfort (1) meets gastropubs (2) and elevated bar food (3). I discovered it for myself recently as I talked to numerous chefs for an article I wrote about creative spins on comfort food among restaurant bar menus for the July issue of the National Culinary Review.

 

There’s a layer behind these trends in reduced consumer spending at restaurants and a love for small plates. Economical, familiar-yet-better bar food is an answer for many restaurants that typically haven’t looked much beyond the liquid refreshments behind the counter. Just ask Ruth’s Chris and The Capital Grille, which have seen the light in the past year and developed unique bar menus.

 

In fact, why would a restaurant not do it? Have two menus, and use the bar as the excuse for the second one. Take the familiar and loved BLT, mac & cheese, grilled cheese, tomato soup, corn dogs, pizza slices, fries of any kind… and add an unexpected flavor, shape, ingredient or preparation. Extra profits are born. With two menus, the restaurant serves two types of customers—two occasions.

 

To explore more ideas for updated comfort food on bar menus, read my article to the right: “Raising the Bar on Classic America.”

Jody Shee

Getting a Grip on Wraps

I gawked at the e-mail announcing the location for an upcoming association lunch meeting. Foos Fabulous Frozen Custard (Leawood, Kan.). Had the meeting planners forgotten this was a lunch meeting, not a dessert meeting? I went online in search of the menu. Sure enough, it was probable a person could leave the premises satiated, thanks, in part, to wraps. 

 

That made sense. Any dessert operator could launch into lunch with something trendy, like wraps. I had four Caesar choices: Caesar Chicken Tomato Basil; Chicken Spinach Herb; Salmon Tomato Basil and Salmon Spinach Herb. Add a cup of soup and a bag of chips, and we had the makings for an association lunch meeting. 

 

I got to thinking, there is so much “wrap potential” to boost business. I decided to check out some menu trends with Mintel Menu Insights. I can tell you the average price of wraps among the 10 restaurant chains I viewed is $5.12, and chicken is the most common ingredient. And that’s about it. Zzzzz. Someone wake me up. OK, I’ll wake myself up. Surely there must be something stunning happening at Atlanta-based Great Wraps. Google, click and scroll. That menu, aside from the Falafel Wrap, seems seriously predictable. Goodness. At least name the wraps something interesting.

 

I’m still sleeping. But I’m thinking. College students eating on campus wouldn’t stand for boring wrap choices. I just bet that some of the best wrap ingredient and naming ideas are sprouting on college campuses (well, maybe not now. The students are on summer break.) But I’m wondering, what IS happening with wraps in campus dining?

Jody