April 2021
Menu
Make your menu pop with
COLORFUL, FRESH BERRIES.
California Giant Berry Farms delivers the best berry experience for the foodservice industry by providing an all-season supply of sustainably grown strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries that represent the highest standards for quality, consistency and smiles.
Invested in the industry. Tuned-in to trends. Committed to quality.
Snacking Trend
Clean and Local
Articles
Chef Demos
Consumer’s Top 3 Favorite Fruits
Menu Trends
Snacking Trend
Though three meals is still most common, Americans are eating fewer meals per day, aligning with the growing snack trend.
Eating Behavior
Base: 400 (U.S.) & 8,701 (global) foodservice consumers, Q: Of all the food/beverages you consume in a typical week, how many meals do you have per day? How often do you consume a snack? Q: Please indicate the degree to which each statement describes you, on a scale of 1 to 5. Showing top two box
Source: “The Blueberry Consumer” USHBC
Clean and Local
Americans prioritize transparency over clean and local ingredients, though all are important.
U.S.
Global
Healthy Eating Attitudes
Ingredient Attitudes
Source: “The Blueberry Consumer” USHBC
Articles
School Foodservice Resources from the California Strawberry Commission
Blueberry Cooking Tips & Common Problems
2021 Foodservice Trends & Predictions: It’s the Year For Produce to Shine
One of the greatest lessons learned in 2020 was that we are all able to be more flexible, creative and nimble than we ever thought possible. In keeping with that theme, it is more difficult to make predictions for 2021, but some of the commonalities among respected resources include:
- consumers looking at healthfulness and sustainability in their food turning towards a more plant-based diet
- the continued evolution of delivery services from both restaurants and grocery stores
- an increased focus on the environment
Make Plant-Forward Menus the New Normal In Hot Pursuit of Deliciousness
It’s a fact: People simply aren’t eating nearly enough fruits and vegetables to meet their basic nutritional and health needs. Federal nutrition guidance advises everyone to fill half their plates with produce at every eating occasion, every day, to reduce their risk of many chronic diseases. Yet, we’re nowhere close. Just one in 10 adults meets these recommendations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Chef Demos
Check out these recipe demonstrations and chef recommendation videos:
Consumer’s Top 3 Favorite Fruits
Blueberries and Strawberries were ranked by consumers as their top 3 favorite fruits
3. Blueberry Customer Segmentation, April 2019 and Winter 2020, Topline U&A Study Wave 2, Jan/Feb 2020
Source: U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council
Menu Trends
BLUEBERRY
- a soft fruit with a blue exterior and dark blue-purple juice
- most often used to flavor beverages like smoothies, cocktails and lemonade
- also common in breakfast items like pancakes, muffins and oatmeal as well as desserts like cobbler, pie and frozen yogurt
MAC™ Stage: ubiquity
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Blueberries are found on 25.2% of menus. (+9% since 2016)
Blueberries: Historic Menu Penetration
Source: Datassential SNAP™ 2021
CULINARY CALENDAR
Unleash your culinary creativity with the versatility of fresh berries.
There are plenty of reasons to celebrate!
CHEF’S CORNER
Chef Sam Blackburn
Sodexo
2020 Chef Invitational Winner
“The beauty of the berry lies within the endless possibilities of flavor pairings for each individual berry type. I love eating blueberries by the handful, but I also love taking the time to think about different applications and how they would complement other ingredients, such as blueberries + balsamic + chicken! Each berry presents a world of opportunities and menu applications. When I bite into a California Giant strawberry, I’m immediately transported out to the field where it was picked, and my flavor pairing thought process begins…I like to think about how I can incorporate spicy, savory, sour and salty components to transform the already delicious berries into something even more exciting and beautiful!”
Chef Travis Peters
Chef/Owner, The Parish Gastropub
2019 Chef Invitational Winner
“My entire life was changed the day I picked and ate a strawberry straight off the plant at one of California Giant Berry Farms. I’ve never tasted a berry so delicious in my entire life, it was plump, juicy and was so sweet that I fell in love immediately!
As a professional chef, berries are one of my favorite ingredients to work with because they are so versatile and can be used in just about anything you can think of: savory, sweet and everything in between! I use them for pickling, making hot sauces, alcohol infusions, brining proteins, pies, barbecue sauces, fresh salad components, salad dressings and more! California Giant Berry Farms is an amazing company filled with incredible people who work very closely with talented farmers. In my professional opinion, there is no better berry on the market which is why I use them exclusively at all of my restaurants!
Berries are so versatile and easy to work with, I suggest adding them to some of your favorite recipes and see what you come up with, berries are only limited by one’s imagination!”
Chef Luis Reyes, CEC
Sysco
2018 Chef Invitational Winner
“Berries as a category are first thought as garnish for desserts, or maybe as an ingredient for a dessert. What is true now, is that berries are part of every segment of foodservice, from breakfast at a dinner, snack at a school cafeteria, to an ingredient for a sauce on an entree in a white tablecloth wine pairing dinner menu. Berries are a part of menus in all foodservice outlets these days. They can take a complete leading roll on a menu item or be perfectly fine as an addition to complement another fruit plate. In the last decade, berries have taken an important role in the foodservice industry, not only for their nutritional value, but for their ability to complement other ingredients in the bar, salads, apps and even entrée applications. Chefs are turning on to berries as ingredients to attract the interest of their customers and bring a different flavor profile to their dishes.”
Berry Storage and Handling Best Practices
High-quality, colorful, flavorful berries are always on our menu. California Giant Berry Farms delivers all-season smiles.
Unload all berries immediately into a cold room 32°F. Never allow a shipment to sit outside of a cold atmosphere.
Check for maturity, ripeness level, quantity, packaging, size, count, weight, and grade. Report any discrepancies immediately.
Store unwashed, in clamshells away from sources of moisture; moisture will cause rapid breakdown of the berry.
Don’t wash berries until ready to serve and use a gentle spray of cool water.
Don’t remove green caps from strawberries until after rinsing. This helps to retain flavor inside the berries.
PACK SIZES THAT FIT YOUR NEEDS
Strawberries
1 lb. • 2 lb. • 3 lb. • 4 lb.
Blueberries
6 oz. • Pint • 18 oz. • 24 oz. • 2 lb.
Raspberries
6 oz. • 12 oz.
Blackberries
6 oz. • 12 oz.
Sustainable packs available:
Ask your sales representative about our sustainable offerings
Learn more about our year-round berry availability.
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