Consumers have more options than ever when choosing where they dine at. For operators, this means there’s extra pressure to deliver not only great food, but a great experience as well, to ensure satisfaction and encourage repeat visits. Amid industry woes including labor challenges and rising food costs, it can feel difficult to keep the menu fun and the environment exciting without stressing out staff or maxing out the budget. But with some key ingredients in the back-of-house, restaurants can add whimsy to the menu and ensure their diners leave happy—without adding a lot of extra labor.
Industry issues
Technomic’s Q2 2023 Consumer & Operator Outlook Report finds that 57% of operators are concerned or very concerned about food cost increases, 56% are concerned about recruiting qualified employees and 48% are concerned about retaining qualified employees. With rising costs and skeleton crew staffs, it can be difficult to offer new and exciting menu items. And with labor shortages, making everything from scratch can exacerbate issues with both cost and labor spend. Thankfully, there’s a way to add exciting, fun options to the menu without making everything from scratch—or sacrificing quality and taste.
Versatile, convenient ingredients make menu planning easy
Delivering fun experiences through food doesn’t have to cost a lot, nor does it have to involve a myriad of ingredients or an array of dishes all made from scratch. Rather, savvy operators can use a few key products that offer the versatility, flavor and quality needed to create a variety of dishes diners will love—all without maxing out labor in the back-of-house.
Conagra offers several products that can make food prep easier than ever. For instance, PAM® Original Cooking Spray makes all sorts of prep easier, and can be used in recipes such as Buffalo Caramel Popcorn to help prevent the sweet-and-spicy snack from sticking to pans while it’s baking. Reddi-wip® flavored whipped topping, another versatile product, can be used in delicious beverages and desserts, offering a fun, nostalgic topping for an array of sweets—all without the cost and labor associated with whipping fresh cream from scratch. Other products Conagra offers help operators develop fun menu items across dayparts—check out how to use some of them to create menu magic:
- Swiss Miss® Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix: Layer refrigerated biscuits with hot cocoa mix and other ingredients, bake, and serve up delectable Hot Chocolate Monkey Bread—perfect for the brunch or dessert menu…and don’t forget the Reddi-wip!
- Udi’s® Gluten Free 10” Pizza Crust: Perfect as a shareable appetizer or main course, Chopped Salad Pizza offers diners the best of both worlds—delicious chopped salad with all the fixings, and a favorite food for many a guest—pizza.
- Krusteaz® Thick Cut French Toast: Offer a twist on traditional grilled cheese with the Cheese Stacker—thick cut French toast serves as the carrier for four cheeses and crisp bacon, making this an indulgent, familiar comfort food diners will love.
Serving up fun is a breeze with Conagra in the kitchen. To learn more about how to streamline prep work while offering diners the experience they deserve—all with versatile products from Conagra—visit www.conagrafoodservice.com/.
This post is sponsored by Conagra Foodservice