FESmag

Joseph Carbonara

Chains Turn to Portion Control to Rein in Food Costs, Webcast Is Tomorrow
August 25, 2008

The fact that foodservice operators are wrestling with higher grocery costs is no longer a new topic of conversation. But it remains interesting to see exactly how these operators grapple with the impact of higher food prices and to look for ways the members of the foodservice equipment and supplies distribution chain can help offset these woes.

An article in last week’s Wall Street Journal mentioned how Burger King is experimenting with a Whopper Jr. that uses hamburger patties that weigh 2 ounces, down from their original 2.2-ounce weight. The same article mentions that Chuck E Cheese has switched to a different kind of cheese, one that when it melts it provides greater coverage across the piecrust. This will allow Chuck E Cheese restaurants to provide the similar pizzas using less cheese, according to the article.

This article struck me for two reasons. First, it shows clearly how these chains hope what may seem like the smallest changes to a casual observer can pay potentially big dividends. Second, it clearly opens the door for the supplier for any foodservice operator to have a discussion with their customers about portion control and the many tools they can provide to assist in this area.

Dealers, consultants, reps and everyone else in the distribution chain that has operator contact like to talk frequently about the importance of relationships and oftentimes refer to their clients as partners. Well, partner, it’s time to step up to the table to understand the operator’s pain points in the area of food costs and present solutions that will help them get greater yield from their raw product and help lower, or at the very least hold steady, operating costs.

Indeed, increasing food costs remains top of mind for nearly all foodservice operators. In fact, 95 percent of the operators surveyed in FE&S’ Mid-Year Forecast Update indicated that rising food costs is the biggest business issue they face.

To learn more about what operators and dealers told us about their business to date and what they expect moving forward, sign up for tomorrow’s webcast on this very subject. It’s free and hopefully very informative. The webcast, “Foodservice E&S Fiscal Update and Industry Forecast", begins at 10 a.m. (Central) tomorrow and will last for an hour. Joining me will be Technomic’s Kevin Higar, who has developed a sterling presentation on which kinds of concepts will be successful and those that will struggle in the months ahead.

Posted by Joseph Carbonara on August 25, 2008 | Comments (0)