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FOODSERVICE MARKETING
PHOTO COURTESY OF WENDY’S
BERRIES:
Small But Mighty On The Menu
Health halo and consumer appeal inspire creativity from restaurant chefs.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF CALIFORNIA GIANT
silver dollar-sized buttermilk pancakes served with the berries, sliced bananas and Nutella (a sweet hazelnut chocolate spread).
“ ere’s something to be said for the simplistic beauty of fresh berries,” says Alisa Gmelich, vice president of marketing for the nearly 1,700-unit chain headquartered in Glendale, CA. “Berries pair perfectly with our core menu items of pancakes, wa es, fresh toast and crepes. Plus, the Fundue is kid-friendly. Kids love dipping the whole berries in the Nutella.”
Both strawberries and blueberries team in Wendy’s recent LTO summer salad. e Berry Burst Chicken Salad went on the menu this past June. is is similar to the popular Berry Almond Salad introduced in 2011 but uses Feta cheese instead of the original Asiago.
“We continue to monitor the trend curves and look at great berry combinations for not just the berries on the salad but also in the dressing,” says Shelly obe, director of culi- nary innovation at Wendy’s. “Our Raspberry Vinaigrette helps to bring fruit avors to our salads through the dressing.”
is duo of berries is also featured in one of the current menu items o ered at the Corner Bakery Café, a 192-unit fast casual chain based in Dallas. is is a Berry Pecan Salad that includes chicken, Bleu cheese, fresh blueberries and fresh strawberries with a strawberry vinaigrette.
“We’ve found consumers are looking for fresh ingredients that are nutrient-rich with ‘superfood” factor,’ ” explains Donna Josephson, chief marketing o cer. “Berries are popular and widely liked fruits that add a special touch to items on the menu. Not only are they packed with essential nutrients, they also add great avor, color, texture and promote a festive seasonality to some of our menu o er- ings.”
Blueberries especially are something more chefs are adding to savory areas of the menu, which aligns with recent consumer trends, according to Victoria De Bruin, marketing manager of the Folsom, CA-headquartered U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC). “In fact, there was a 29-percent increase in consumers using fresh blueberries in savory applications between 2014 and 2017
BY CAROL BAREUTHER
When Wendy’s put its Summer Berry Chicken Salad on the menu as a limited-time o er (LTO) back in 2016, the quick- serve restaurant broke the mold for berries on the menu in three key ways. First, the application was a savory salad rather than the traditional sweet dessert. Second, the combination with other produce ingredients such as iceberg and Romaine lettuces add to the berry’s health halo while simultaneously retaining the fruit image of indulgence.
ese two features weren’t a rst for Wendy’s. In 2011, the Dublin, OH-head- quartered chain introduced a Berry Almond Chicken Salad, made with fresh strawberries and blueberries. It is the third point, the addi- tion of blackberries, that made QSR history. Sourcing enough fresh blackberries for all 6,500-plus U.S. restaurants for the summer- long o er was the result of a two-year sourcing e ort, and made Wendy’s the rst national QSR to serve these berries. Today, many foodservice outlets, from fast casual to ne dining, serve fresh strawberries, blueber- ries, raspberries and blackberries.
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“A search of ‘strawberry’ shows ‘fresh’ is the most commonly associated description,” explains Jackie Rodriguez, senior project manager for Chicago-based Datassential, which tracks menu trends. “Strawberry as a description has the highest penetration, on 51 percent of restaurant menus, although it should be noted this (and other berry variety mentions) would include things like straw- berry jam, strawberry ice cream, etc.,” explains Rodriguez. “Raspberry is next, followed by blueberry and then blackberry. All varieties have risen on menus in the past four years; blackberry has seen the highest increase during that time, up 28 percent.”
Strawberries starred in IHOP restau- rant’s limited-time “Fresh Market” menu last summer as Fundue, a dish that featured ve