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.
Taste and value are important regardless of restaurant type. At more casual establishments, natural ingredients, local sourcing, and dish uniqueness fall to the bottom of importance while those attributes are important at fine dining.
Ordering Decision Factors – % Frequency Most Important
Q3. Please think about the factors that go into your ordering decision when you visit [S4 RESTAURANT TYPE]. How important, if at all, are the following in your decision? You will see groups of specific factors. For each one, please select the most important factor in your ordering decision, and also select the least important benefit.
(Total, n=1,004; Fast food, n= 222; fast casual, n= 217; casual dining, n= 221; Polished Casual dining, n= 219; fine dining, n= 125)
Source: USHBC Foodservice Patron Study July 2021
Blueberries are generally found appealing at all restaurant types. Avocados, raspberries, peaches, and pears are more appealing in fine dining compared to more casual experiences.
Appeal of Fruits Used as Ingredients or Add-ons – % Very/Somewhat Appealing
Q5. When eating at [PIPE IN S4 RESTAURANT TYPE] how appealing is it when the following fruits are used as ingredients or add-ons to dishes you order?
(Total, n=1,004; Fast food, n= 222; fast casual, n= 217; casual dining, n= 221; Polished Casual dining, n= 219; fine dining, n= 125)
Source: USHBC Foodservice Patron Study July 2021
Plant-Based Trends in Every Department: 7 Innovations to Watch for in 2021
Throughout 2021, innovative plant-based brands will greet wellness-focused customer demands with new items such as plant-based seafood options and improve on existing staples like dairy alternatives and supplements.
From Functional Snacking to Climatarian Lifestyles: Here’s What We Know About Dietary Trends in 2021
Functional ingredients continue to attract shoppers who want nutritious benefits from their favorite items.
What is functional snacking? Foods that contain functional ingredients (i.e., vitamins, high protein, probiotics) turn a quick bite into a convenient way to get nutrition between meals or on the go.
Large majorities agree that blueberries are an easy way to get vitamins/antioxidants, add a pop of color, and generally make dishes healthier. Yet, three in four note that blueberries tend not to be featured on menus – this sentiment is high across restaurant types.
Agreement with Statements – % Strongly/Somewhat Agree
Q11. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements.
(Total, n=1,004; Fast food, n= 222; fast casual, n= 217; casual dining, n= 221; Polished Casual dining, n= 219; fine dining, n= 125)
Source: USHBC Foodservice Patron Study July 2021
Technomic’s Take: COVID-19, The Foodservice View
Operators are experimenting within these new ways of business through menu offerings.
Restaurants will continue to explore ways to draw in guests, either by offering to-go and delivery specials or by gaining their trust by promoting new safety precautions for dine-in occasions.
Blueberries’ Role in the Restaurant of the Future
FOODSERVICE TODAY: Strawberries
While many consumers eat fresh strawberries raw, they also can star in a wide range of applications, both sweet and savory. Showcase strawberries in light salads geared towards spring and summer dining, integrate them into health forward smoothies or overnight oats, or feature them in indulgent desserts that could induce nostalgia, such as trendy vegan cheesecakes. Since strawberries are highly familiar among consumers, they can be a prime fruit for showcasing in more innovative applications too. For example, strawberries can be featured as pizza toppings, and inspiration can be taken from Rose’s Luxury, a restaurant in Washington, D.C., that serves a signature Strawberry Spaghetti featuring pasta with a tomato and reduced strawberry sauce topped with ricotta, red onions, and black pepper.
FOODSERVICE TODAY: Blueberries
New menu items and returning LTOs at chains incorporated blueberries in both sweet concepts and entrees. On the sweet side, Casey’s brought back their Blueberry Cake Donuts for a limited time as an alternative format to their blueberry muffin. Del Taco also introduced a Blueberry Mini Popper Shake, featuring blueberry bobas in a premium vanilla shake. Corner Bakery added yogurt-based breakfast dishes to their menu, including the Berry & Almond Overnight Oats with oats, vanilla yogurt, toasted almonds, dried cranberries, and a mix of green apple, banana, strawberry, and blueberry. As part of another fruit medley, blueberries starred in Braum’s Strawberry Poppyseed Chicken Salad, which the chain brought back to their menu showcasing chicken, strawberries, pineapple, blueberries, almonds, carrots, red cabbage, and a bed of spinach and romaine lettuce
Source: Fresh Insights for Foodservice Spring 2021 United Fresh
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
As the dust begins to settle from the tumultuous year that the pandemic has created in the hospitality industry, we are definitely seeing an increase in sales and return of guests within Healthcare Retail environments. While many restrictions have lifted – restrictions within Healthcare are here to stay for the foreseeable future. In spite of it all, people are getting more comfortable eating in public, which provides operators with an opportunity to strategically place berries throughout their menus! From yogurt parfaits to smoothies to savory applications, berries never disappoint! As I travel throughout the country, I am pleased to see California Giant Berry Farms product in the walk-ins of the hospitals that I’m working in, and the usual taste test and spot check is a requirement for me!
Chef Travis Peters
Chef/Owner, The Parish Gastropub
2019 Chef Invitational Winner
I took one of my favorite condiments – pickled onions – to the next level by incorporating California Giant blueberries. The color is incredible, the taste is outstanding, and the recipe is simple. These are fantastic on tacos, salads, barbeque ribs and chicken, grilled seafood, BLTs, and I recently discovered how delicious they are on baked brie. Their magical, tangy crunch combined with the sweetness of the berries is the perfect complement to any rich food. The bonus is you can recycle the vinegar to make more onions or make a delicious vinaigrette!
Here, soft strawberries are pureed with water, thyme, and honey and frozen into cubes. The frozen strawberry puree chills and flavors the lemonade and, at the end, can be enjoyed almost as sorbet. The drink is garnished with fresh sliced strawberries and honeycomb.
The blueberries are quickly smoked and pureed with bitters and Amarena cherry syrup, then frozen in a sphere silicone mold. After freezing, serve with bourbon and a splash of bitters. As the smoked blueberry sphere melts, it acts as the simple syrup to finish the drink.
Chef Luis Reyes, CEC
Sysco
2018 Chef Invitational Winner
Berries beyond the kitchen…
Incorporating berries as ingredients for alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are popular and profitable for our customers. With the increase of sales and the nationwide struggle of understaffed bars and restaurants being understaffed, managing inventory is crucial for the profitability of restaurateurs. Serving the freshest ingredients should be the priority of all, but in reality, the uncertainty of service volume and inventory of perishable ingredients, especially produce, needs to be managed closely. Just like ripe bananas are great for fruit baskets, bananas fosters or pudding; overripe bananas are excellent for banana bread. Just because they are not suitable for one application does not mean that they should be thrown out. Berries are also a perfect example of that scenario. Fresh Berries are great ingredients to more than fruit salads or garnishes for desserts – they can be incorporated into all segments of the menu. When they start to get a little ripe and soft and not suitable for a garnish or the hero on a spinach & berry salad, they can be the star of other ingredients in the menu, especially in the bar. Processing very ripe fruits into new ingredients adds flavor and color that can be the hero on a drink in the bar. Here are two drink ideas using strawberries and blueberries.
Berry Storage and Handling Best Practices
Unload all berries immediately into a cold room, roughly 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
