How to make offering new and unique flavors easier than ever

Today’s consumers want it all: quick service, affordable prices and a wide variety of global flavors. That can be a tall order for foodservice operators. With tight margins, high staff turnover and ever-changing customer preferences, owners and operators can be challenged to balance customer expectations with the need to remain efficient in the back-of-house.

Offering global flavors

According to the National Restaurant Association What’s Hot 2018 Culinary Forecast, consumers will continue to expect foodservice locations to implement the trends of their home kitchens into menu options such as vegetable-forward and ethnic-inspired flavors. Now, more than ever, an expanding range of available condiments and sauces help elevate the food service experience with an array of flavors, from Sriracha, sambal and chimichurri to harissa, curry and peri peri.

While chefs strive to strike the right balance between offering consumers the familiar foods they want to eat now and guiding them toward new and exciting culinary frontiers, the incorporation of new flavors has the potential to be costly and take up extra space. This is especially critical for back-of-house operations, where every inch lost and every second saved adds up. Innovative packaging can help hold the answer for operators looking to expand the menu without increasing the kitchen space.

Rather than using the traditional storage options like cans or jars—which require extra space and rely on scooping from one container to another, increasing food safety risks—operators now have another choice. Cryovac FlexPrep™ Dispensing is a flexible pouch system used to dispense condiments and sauces easily and with accurate portion control. The system has wide-ranging benefits, from menu expansion to food safety to operational efficiency and reduction of packaging waste.

Cutting back on containers, not quality

Saving space without cutting corners, the FlexPrep system helps improve customer experience without compromising cost or speed of service. The low-profile packaging takes up less space than traditional canisters or jars, reducing primary packaging by as much as 85%. The use-on-demand pouches stay sealed until put in the dispensing unit, so product shelf life and yield rates increase, which also serves to reduce total costs and prevents waste. With Cryovac FlexPrep Dispensing, foodservice operators can stock more options of sauces and condiments while keeping products safe and fresh—all without the need to increase the size of the kitchen.

With the added benefit of portion-controlled dispensing, FlexPrep makes it easy for all employees to help deliver a consistent flavor profile for customers. The hermetically-sealed, flexible package eliminates the need to transfer products from larger containers, reducing the risk for spoilage or contamination and ultimately increasing food safety outcomes. And without the need to tear, cut or puncture the package, workers don’t need to worry about the risk of injury.

Striking a balance

Consumers base their purchasing decisions on many factors—speed and convenience, consistency and service, quality and flavor and even corporate responsibility. With so many aspects to balance, even the smallest contribution to business efficiency cannot be overlooked. Flexible pouch packaging options like Cryovac FlexPrep Dispensing can have a big impact across foodservice operations, helping savvy foodservice professionals improve the customer experience while optimizing back-of-house efficiency.