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BLURRING THE LINES OF RETAIL AND FOODSERVICE
Chefs’ Magic Inspires Retail
Produce-centric, cravable offerings trending at a supermarket near you.
Foodservice — with its collective culinary genius, continual menu innovations and demanding guests — is always one menu item away from reinventing the marketplace. Restau- rateurs and retailers alike scurry in a frenetic landscape to
adopt and tweak the latest tantalizing dish into one of their own. Many consumers still
remember when produce in the
supermarket prepared foods
department was limited to
commodity-style potato salad
and coleslaw or a slice of lettuce
and tomato on sandwiches. But,
oh how things have changed.
This meager fresh fruit and
vegetable representation went
out of style ‘light years ago’
at Heinen’s Grocery Store, a
23-unit chain headquartered in Warrensville Heights, OH, according to Carin Solganik, director of innovation and meal solutions.
20 / APRIL 2019 / PRODUCE BUSINESS
Today, fresh produce is ubiquitous throughout the retailer’s prepared foods department. Examples include salads such as Black Bean, Corn and Edamame; sides such as Broccolini with Fried Garlic; and sandwiches such as Grilled Veggie & Goat Cheese Flatbreads. This increasingly familiar scenario represents a blurring of the lines
between traditional food- service and trending culinary operations at retail. It’s also a not-to-be-missed burgeoning opportunity for fresh fruits and vegetables in-store beyond the produce department.
“I think one of the most crit- ical trends in foodservice right now is the democratization of where great food can come from,” says Maeve Webster,
president of Menu Matters, an Arlington, VT-based independent food- service consultancy. “While fine dining will always set the standard,
BY CAROL BAREUTHER
Grilled peach salad at Heinen’s