Foodservice giant Bidfood has hosted its latest instalment of its virtual customer development session Bidfood Kitchen in order to provide inspiration as operators prepare to welcome back their customers.
The session specifically focused on how to help them tap into growing 2021 trends to shape their menus and drive footfall, as well as honing in on the importance of incorporating health and wellness into menus.
Over the years, and accelerated by the pandemic, consumer’s attitudes and behaviours have dramatically shifted towards a stronger focus on wellbeing, with mental health very much top-of-mind. 75% of consumers say eating a healthy diet is important to them and over two thirds say the pandemic has made them more concerned about their health overall,[1] therefore it’s vital for operators to leverage the ‘wellness my way’ trend and appeal to this growing consumer mindset, to help entice their customers back.
Focusing on the trend, ‘wellness my way’[2], the session highlighted how operators could develop healthier food choices for these consumers when eating out, through insights, guides and recipe ideas.
Read More: Bidfood reveals its foodservice trends for 2021 – Better Wholesaling
Craig Miles, development chef at Bidfood, showcased some recipes ideas exploring functional ingredients and feel-good mood boosting foods. The recipes spanned across all day parts, from breakfast through to dinner, and included a hidden veggie beetroot brownie, a baked vegetable bhaji, coconut fluffy pancakes; alongside a lighter lunch option using Bidfood’s new Pier 7 fish range, and a grab and go healthy chicken wrap using Farmstead products.
Discussing the virtual event, David King, senior customer marketing manager added: “From a recent survey, we can see that ¾ of consumers feel their food choices affect their energy levels and moods, so will therefore affect their diet and lifestyle choices. Reflecting on this, we wanted to support our customers as best we can, by giving them an insight into ways in which they can appeal to this consumer mindset when designing their menus.
“These are really challenging times for everyone, so we wanted to provide customers with the tools needed to ensure they leverage the trends to help drive footfall, whilst showcasing our passion for food and trend-led ingredients in an engaging and fun way.”
For more information and to read some of the recipe inspiration, follow this link https://www.bidfood.co.uk/inspiration/recipes/
[1] Bidfood consumer research in partnership with the CGA
[2] https://www.bidfood.co.uk/2021-food-trends/
