Beyond the cutting

A stellar Group Purchasing Organization is always changing. At Entegra, we thrive on fast-paced, exciting and energizing evolution.

One of the ways we further the evolutionary process at Entegra Culinary is with product cutting, or physical product evaluations. These evaluations look at two like products and, after the evaluation, Entegra maintains contractual likeness with whichever product proved superior. This exercise positively impacts net costs and, often, improves quality.

However, Entegra recognizes that some organizations do not have their own, similar robust R&D departments and they need additional resources in order to stay ahead of the competition. As such, new for this year, the Entegra Performance Kitchen (EPK) has launched a variety of related services providing culinary solutions for our operator partners.

While a physical product evaluation is most beneficial when conducted using side-by-side physical work, Entegra culinary partners now enjoy access to virtual activities designed to speed up the evaluation process. These micro-video productions provide answers and qualitative measures for chefs, prompting sample requests and direct evaluation exercises designed to finalize operational product selection and specification.

We have also begun providing consultative services such as strategic menu development, limited time offer development and even complete concept consultation. The EPK team and the facility are also uniquely qualified to design and develop qualitative and quantitative research strategies, delivering the strong consumer opinions needed by savvy operators when making menu changes or new launch decisions.

Thus far, we have seen remarkable results, building strong bonds with operators and establishing a cadence with their operations teams. These new offerings help us further build trust with our partners as we work side-by-side through all stages of their development. (Selfishly, though, they make the process more enjoyable for the Entegra culinary team as well!)

As the operational needs of our partners become more dynamic and demanding, the Entegra team is here to answer the call in all things culinary. Stay tuned, as we accelerate our growth, developing even more new offerings with the help of our expanding team.